REFLECTIONS
These pieces are written each month by members of our clergy team.
August Leader
The month of August often arrives with a strange paradox. Logically, it sits at the height of summer - a season that should inherently invite us to slow down, bask in long evenings, and breathe a bit deeper. Yet, there can sometimes be a temptation to treat it like the final, frantic sprint before the chaotic gears of September and the autumn routine grind back into motion. To avoid this temptation, we could do worse than read the ancient words of Psalm 23, where we find a profound, counter-cultural narrative that serves as an invitation to rest.In a world driven by a relentless culture of "more" - more hustle, more achievement, more connection - the Psalmist begins with the famous lines, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want," which is an expression of absolute trust in God’s provision. By saying "I shall not want" the psalmist is declaring that, in this present moment, ‘what I have’ and ‘where I am’ is enough. August can be the perfect time to practice the kind of contentment that the psalmist expresses. It can be a time to put down the internal ledger of what we haven't accomplished this year and simply be thankful for what we have been given.
The theme of rest runs through the psalm: "He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters." Sheep do not instinctively lie down if they feel threatened, hungry, or agitated. The shepherd has to create an environment of such safety and abundance that the sheep finally feel permitted to rest.
Many of us require a similar gentle disruption. We are so conditioned to constant movement that slowing down feels like a risk, or worse, a failure. Choosing a slower pace in August - whether that means turning off email notifications, spending an afternoon watching shadows shift across a lawn, or sitting by literal quiet waters - is an act of trust. It is a physical declaration that the world will keep spinning even if we stop spinning with it.
According to the psalmist, this kind of slowing down can make space for healing. The third verse reminds us of the ultimate purpose of this quiet: "He restores my soul." The psalmist seems to be saying that the soul cannot be restored while travelling at high speed. It’s almost as if the soul needs that time by the still waters to ‘catch up,’ as it were, with the body. The evidence seems to show that when we are constantly in a rush, our interior life can become fragmented. With that in mind, a slower August can act as a sanctuary for integration, giving our minds and spirits the quiet environment they need to mend from the fractures of a demanding year. Even as the Psalm transitions into darker territory - the "valley of the shadow of death" - the theme of rest is still there. The Psalmist notes, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Even when surrounded by conflict, pressure, or the looming anxieties of what the future holds, the Shepherd provides a feast, not a war council. We are invited to sit, eat, and linger.
As the heat of August peaks, we can let it be a boundary marker. We can let it be the month where we consciously choose the green pasture over the treadmill of endless productivity. By letting the Shepherd guide us to a slower pace, we are not wasting our time; we are allowing our souls to be restored, ensuring that when the busier seasons inevitably return, we meet them from a place of deep, unshakeable fullness.
Stephen
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as he did, the sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that he will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever.
— Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971
Reflection:
Welcome to this month's Bulletin. Today we have just one verse from Matthew's Gospel to reflect upon. What are we to make of this illustration that Jesus uses to describe the Kingdom of God? Let's look at the treasure buried in the field. In Jesus's day there were no banks as we know them today, people buried their valuables in fields, especially when they feared invasion, or they were going away for a long period of time. That is why today people with metal detectors can sometimes unearth collections of ancient coins buried in random places. Similarly in the above illustration a man walking through a field stumbles upon some buried treasure, rather than tell everyone he shrewdly re-buries it, sells everything he has, buys the field and lays claim to the treasure all for himself, job done!
Jesus takes this man's clever and ruthless drive for wealth and asks us to apply it to the spiritual life, for Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of God is like buried treasure and that once we find it we should want to possess it above everything else. First, what is the Kingdom of God? God is love and his reign is the reign of love. We are called to be loving people, to love God, to love ourselves and to love others. Jesus's death on the cross allows us to love God and to receive God's love, because our sins have been washed away, they are no longer a barrier between us and God’s love. With this in mind, the treasure in the field is God's love. It is not always obvious, it has to be searched for, but it is there and when we find it there is a light bulb moment. ‘Ah’ we say to ourselves, so this is what life is really about, it's about love and I will be most happy, fulfilled, at peace, forgiven, enriched and joyful when I love God, serve Christ and belong to a loving Christian community. This is the treasure and it's worth relinquishing anything that might distract us from owning it - sin, material possessions, wrong priorities, pride etc.
Treasure is time with family and friends under the umbrella of God's love, it's a walk in the countryside knowing that all you see is a gift from God. Treasure is feeling the Lord's forgiveness when your sins have left you in despair. Treasure is the warm welcome of your fellow Christians and their love and concern for you and you for them. Treasure is trusting your loved ones to God's love and having hope in the face of death. Treasure is Midnight Mass and a Church full of Easter flowers, it's holding a baby and hearing a child say 'Amen'. Treasure is the privilege of serving Christ and following him. I could go on. Where's your treasure?
All of this treasure is a lovely gift from God, it is free to us and worth everything for it lasts to eternity. How important it is to work out for ourselves, in the shortness of life, what really matters, what is ultimately of value and making sure that we know it, recognise and own it.
In 1848 gold was discovered at Sutters Mill in California, this triggered one of the biggest gold rushes of all time. People sold everything they had to purchase wagons and tools to go West. 300,000 flooded into California from as far away as China, Europe and South America. The vast majority of them never found any gold, only destitution.
MatthewABOUT ST. GILES CHURCH
Monthly Bulletins
It has now been 5 years since we started sending out our monthly Bulletin as a result of the Covid pandemic and I know from various feedback that the Bulletin is very much appreciated. Going forward I remain very committed to making sure that all of us who love St. Giles are kept informed not only of what is going on at our Church but encouraged in the understanding and practice of the Christian faith.In the future we will continue to write to you but every other month making sure that our bulletins coincide with the important occasions in the Church's year. Our next Bulletin will be sent out in July.
Matthew Hughes, May 2025