Its an ill wind that blows no one any good

Many years ago, when the Church of England (C of E) made the decision to allow women clergy, there was an article in a satirical magazine which, having noted that many people left the C of E, as a result, it reported that God had also left. On asking the Archbishop of Canterbury for a comment on this latest news, he answered “it’s a bit of a blow, but we’ll manage”.   

Many believed that the C of E (and the many other churches that followed suit) had opened Pandora's box. Even so, it is hard to believe that only a few decades later, they would have gay and lesbian priests and bishops and the growing madness of acceptance of gender ideology to contend with. 

As to the effects in the pews I know very little; only a recent observation at an Episcopalian church in a remote corner of Kalinga Province in the Northern Philippines. During the American occupation missionaries penetrated the region and some towns became Catholic, others Episcopalian and one Sunday I was stranded in the latter. Whilst I could not participate in their service, as a Catholic, I decided to visit the church for my own morning prayers and stayed as an observer. 

The first thing I noticed was that they had a woman priest.  All the altar servers were girls. All the choir were girls. And the vast majority of the congregation were also women and girls. A few boys (under 10 years old) and 3 elderly men at the back waiting for their ticket to eternity were the only local males present. What happened to all the men? 

A few days later back in Tabuk (the regional capital) I met with people at the Catholic Cathedral and there was one chap who was from that town. He had been born Episcopalian but converted  and is now a Catholic priest serving in another town in the province. Perhaps the rest of the flock will likewise migrate!

“Would we rather have God’s gifts and troubles or God Himself and peace of mind?”

 

I have noticed of late that many people’s woes stem from ‘Needing’ what they want but not wanting what they need. It creates a lot of tension, pressure, disappointment and often broken relationships. Sometimes it seems that God gives in to the whims of His children (and sometimes not) but which is really the greater blessing? 

We can feel at times that some people are jumping the queue when it comes to blessings, that our prayers are stuck in God’s spam folder somewhere and in a spirit of false comparison we feel a bit left behind. But if you take a long view what is revealed may be quite unexpected. 

An acquaintance of mine, a prayerful man to begin with, was given the opportunity to have a business in his chosen field. He did everything in prayer, from applying for contracts, to suppliers, to staff; each meeting or letter he wrote would be under God’s guiding hand. He did well. From being an employee he was catapulted to success, multimillion Peso contracts flowed in like a river and profits with them. At what point things changed I don’t know. He acquired property, vehicles, houses, luxuries, holidays and entered into ventures without seeking God’s guidance and things started to fall apart. Bad payers squeezed the cash flow, unexpected tax bills, and his integrity in money matters was compromised. During that time, periodically he turned back to God, who bailed him out; then he would repeat his folly and back to repentance and so on. It’s an old story of lacking the character to rule the kingdom. Perhaps it’s part of his learning curve. 

Others face economic calamity, pray for a restoration of past glories and instead realise that there is a gift within losses; the discovery of the benefits of simplicity. That having God is enough of itself without being adorned with gifts and blessings to make life comfortable. 

Would we rather have God’s gifts and troubles or God Himself and peace of mind?