COMMUNITY LETTER - St John'stide- July 2010 -

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Dear Members & Friends of The Christian Community in Hawkes Bay,

In the film “The Only Witness”, a child became an unnoticed witness to a crime while he was sitting on the toilet. Without him this crime would not have been solved. During the film, again and again, one sees the big brown, wide-open eyes in the face of the eight or nine year old boy. One person knows something through the presence of ‘another’. This is the meaning of the word ‘conscience’ – from the latin con-scienta – someone is present.

How often do we do things in life, where we are happy that we have no witness looking at us? Would we think or do certain things if we had a witness? How insecure might we sometimes feel when a new person, an unknown visitor takes part in our life!

In Christianity there is one great witness – John the Baptist. He appeared out of a life of solitude in the desert, standing there with his wakeful eyes and mind. He came to fulfil a mission, an inner task amongst human beings – not only to simply be there, but to awaken people and bring them to an inner movement: “Change your hearts and minds!” he calls with his mighty voice, and offers baptism. Through the baptism everyone is led to the threshold of death, and suddenly, as if from outside – as if a foreigner was looking from outside, he finds himself as a witness to his own life. In a way that he had never experienced himself before – shaken to the depths of his soul, he understood:  “I have to live my life differently from now on. I have to change my life.” From then on, the voice of conscience began to speak out of his inner being.

This was the preparation for Christ to enter into Jesus of Nazareth through the baptism and to become a human being through Jesus. After the resurrection, he unites himself with the inner self of every human being who opens his soul to Him. In Him we have a witness in our inner being, the voice of conscience. He does not judge what we think or do, but he knows. Whoever is able to experience this, really changes his life – and that means hard inner work.

John, in his eternal individuality, is still the one who prepares the way and cries out within the human soul: “Change your mind to prepare that Christ may enter into your innermost being.” Many are needed who can hear the call of John, and who may also take up his call. Through that, the festival time of John could become a time of listening and calling.

After the service on Wednesday morning, and also on Sunday morning, every-one is invited to get to know better the Epistle of St John’stide, and through the epistle, the whole festival  time. John is also the preparer for Christ’s light and love. To deepen our understanding of love and of Christ as the “Teacher of the love of man” as it is said in the Children’s service, we will hear the talk: “The Four Stages of Learning to Love” on Thursday evening. All are welcome.f t

With warm greetings,