If there were an A to Z of prophets, Zephaniah would be a tailor-made entry to end it. Zephaniah is all denunciation, unbridled vilification of oppressors and abusers of power. Whether found among the chosen people or the Gentiles, this kind of behaviour, he says, is unacceptable in the sight of God. Zephaniah gave us a day of judgment with knobs on. No mincing matters. We’re all heading to Doomsday – and it won’t just be a book commissioned by William the Conqueror.
So it came about that the traditional Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, coloured by Verdi’s music, invests the Day of Judgment with the terror of the Dies Irae (the Day of Wrath). By contrast the temperate words of the creeds as we have them in ‘Common Worship’ and the advent themes of death, judgment, heaven and hell are sanitised versions of the day of wrath as Zephaniah understood it.
Modern man finds it hard to countenance the idea of a day of judgment. Yet it continues to haunt us. We can hardly avoid being aware of the shortcomings of human systems of justice. Court proceedings, jury findings and judicial sentencing have manifold imperfections. At our best we do well in seeking justice but we can never be sure we have got it right. We just do not know the depth of personality clashes and the intricacies of human motivation and discordant society. Like democracy, adversarial legal systems are the worst form of regulating behaviour apart from all the others that have been tried.
We have an unavoidable sense that there must be a better understanding of justice prevailing somewhere. A maker who created a cosmos functioning according to exquisitely defined patterns must, it is felt, have a concern for evaluating his work. If it were not for the Christian doctrine of redemption we might well feel utterly forsaken. Zephaniah does not make for comfortable reading but he is on to something.
COLLIERS WOOD
Christ Church, Colliers Wood, south London is now part of the Merton Abbey team. It has a lively programme and has a ministry team led by Alison Judge. What was Merton Abbey, next to the River Wandle, is now a Sainsbury’s supermarket. Nelson once lived in Merton.
BACK FROM SABBATICAL
John Routh, Rector of Holy Trinity, Sutton Coldfield, reports on his recent sabbatical in the current parish magazine. The church website makes good use of videos to introduce the church to newcomers.
PUDSEY PROJECT
Pudsey parish church, Yorkshire declares its readiness to entertain ‘risky and creative thoughts’ about its local responsibilities and it is looking into the possibility of acquiring and adapting a property to house its community project – featuring food supply, help with shopping etc. Richard Dimery leads the ministry team.
HATLESS IN ILKLEY
Hatless or otherwise, a visitor can only admire the effects of the ongoing development project at All Saints’ church, Ilkley, Yorkshire. It now has a stunning interior, spacious and laid out in a manner befitting the 21st century understanding ot a building as a container for worship. It has a website overflowing with news and a strong team led by Mike Coe.
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