Barnes in Common

the magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
September/October 2006

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Prayer

PEACE be with us

During November, the month of remembrance, it's appropriate to focus some of our praying on peace. One of Haydn's masses, entitled Mass in Time of War, ends with a setting of the words ‘Dona nobis pacem' (Give us peace) which is startling. Instead of the more usual quiet, gentle prayer, it's a shouted, insistent demand, repeated with great intensity. I suspect in 2006 we can enter into Haydn's frame of mind, as we continue to be surrounded by the noise of war. Because that noise is far away, it may lack the immediacy of bombs in London's streets, but we know it's as real and as devastating in Helmand, Baghdad, Basra, Darfur and elsewhere: lives are lost, families are bereaved, innocent people suffer alongside the combatants. At times, our prayers will reflect the despair we feel, and it's right that we express it. As God gives us hope, we continue to pray for a just peace. We know that peace - a word of greeting familiar to us in the eucharist, but used by those of the other faiths of the Book - is understood to be far more than the absence of conflict. That's why a prayer for just peace, peace with justice, is truly Christian. We pray for God's kingdom, for the establishment of peace which cannot be broken, because all have been gathered into the divine will.

Time to CONFESS

In December, we're inclined to use the advent season to talk about preparation, and that's fine. But we should not forget the solemnity of the Advent message, which isn't only about a twinkling star approaching Bethlehem, or the opening of the doors on a calendar: it's about God's judgment upon us. Prayers of confession are a way of looking deeply into ourselves, being honest with ourselves, measuring the reality of who we are and our relationships not against other people, but against what we know of the will and purposes of God. By that measure, our lives will continue to prompt us to make our confession. For some Christians, that's about speaking directly to a priest. For others, it's a secret, silent, private prayer.
A prayer of confession is often spoken early in our acts of worship, and it can seem as though we're beginning by grovelling before the Almighty. But we should perhaps have in mind the return of the Prodigal. The Father ran out to greet him and embrace him. The son had turned around, not so much in repentance as in recognition of his true situation of poverty. His true confession came as a result of the Father's embrace. When we have a sense of God's extraordinary love in Christ, and the embrace of God is real for us, then confession is a prelude to the party.

JOY to the world

The party which is Christmas in our culture often begins early and ends almost as soon as the turkey has cooled down and the Queen has spoken. We're carolled-out by then! Ah well, no point in being too pious and boring about that! Hopefully, though, our prayers at Christmas can carry us over in thanksgiving and an overflowing joy into the new year. God is with us. Hallelujah. Amen.

Roger Hutchings

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