{"id":597,"date":"2020-12-12T16:00:58","date_gmt":"2020-12-12T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jointpublicissues.org.uk\/?p=9008"},"modified":"2020-12-12T16:00:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T16:00:58","slug":"advent-3-everlasting-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/standrewsurcrustington.org.uk\/?p=597","title":{"rendered":"Advent 3: Everlasting Father"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI ain\u2019t going back to the
\nstreets\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been working in homeless services for over 15 years, and since March I have seen a real difference in services.\u00a0From day one of lockdown we saw agencies across the sector really coming together.\u00a0I was asked to help manage a hotel for people who have been rough-sleeping within the \u2018Everyone In\u2019 government programme.\u00a0This was initially for 45 people with complex needs.\u00a0We worked with the hotel, mental health services, substance misuse team, doctors, police, faith groups and charities.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

This was an amazing time of relationship building and of seeing people\u2019s lives becoming more settled through being given a safe place to stay and being supported by people who care.\u00a0I was very aware of God keeping me strong and peaceful during this busy time as I worked with our guests.<\/em><\/p>\n

I can remember one of the guests said to me: \u201cLockdown saved me from life on the streets. It\u2019s just having that connection with people in the hotel. I ain\u2019t going back to the streets. I\u2019m looking forward to the future in a place of my own\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

~ Eleanor, Methodist Central Hall Manchester<\/a><\/p>\n

For many, 2020 saw us spend more time at home than any year
\nbefore.  As jobs, social lives, and
\nstudies ground to a halt in the wake of coronavirus, the places we call home
\nand the people we share them with have never been more important, or more immediate
\nto us.<\/p>\n

For people experiencing homelessness, this year too has been a
\ndiversion from the norm. In spring, the Government began providing temporary
\nhousing for around 5,400 people experiencing street homelessness, as well as
\nfamilies within the immigration system, as an emergency response to the
\npandemic. And yet whilst in the immediate term fewer people were forced to
\nsleep on the streets over summer, the other shoe is yet to drop. Homelessness
\nis no less an issue now than it was before the crisis, and in all reality, it
\nlooks likely to worsen as the economic consequences of the pandemic begin to
\nemerge. <\/p>\n

As life begins to fit itself around this virus, responses to
\nhomelessness must adapt to the new normal. Practically, the playbook of church
\nhomelessness outreach no longer fits, as night shelters and the like are just not
\nfeasible this winter. Instead we, as the Church, face a new challenge. How can
\nwe provide hope and support for those without home this coronavirus Christmas? <\/p>\n

In Isaiah 9:6, God\u2019s people are promised a leader who will be called \u2018Everlasting Father<\/strong>\u2019. In some ways, this name can be confusing. Most of us know Jesus as the Son to God\u2019s father. Yet in Him, a baby born into a stable and a man killed on a cross, we see lived out God\u2019s heart as father for His children. As Jesus himself says, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). His life provides us with a tangible vision of what having an Everlasting Father means.  <\/p>\n

Later on in the same book, Isaiah again writes about the coming
\nKing, Jesus. He says;<\/p>\n

\u2018The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power,
    bringing with him the people he has rescued.
1<\/sup><\/strong>He will take care of his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs together
    and carry them in his arms;
    he will gently lead their mothers.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Here we see a model of a father that rescues, not only
\nspiritually, but practically. A father who gathers up His children, leads them
\nforward, and literally carries them himself, when they cannot continue on their
\nown. In Jesus, we meet this father in the flesh. He is a father that loves
\njustice, urges us to stand for the oppressed (Isaiah 61:8), welcome the
\nstranger and feed the hungry (Matt 25:45). <\/p>\n

As we learn what kind of father God is to us through Jesus\u2019 life,
\nwe are invited into a family in which we too play a part. As brothers and
\nsisters, we are called into God\u2019s redemptive plan to make all things new. We
\nare made part of a family that is led by a father that loves completely, and so
\nare invited to love others just as he loves us. To love sacrificially, giving
\naway what we have and carrying one another when we cannot go on alone. As Jesus
\ndemonstrates in His life, this is a love shown not only spiritual, but
\npractically. As Jesus, did, we are called to seek out justice and to stand for
\nthe marginalised and oppressed. <\/p>\n

And as Isaiah points out, in God we have a father who is everlasting.
\nHe is beyond this life, greater than the earthy struggles and daily trials, and
\nyet chooses to be present in them anyway. In John 14, Jesus tells us that the
\nfather\u2019s house has many rooms, and that there is a place prepared for us there (John
\n14:2). God is not only our father in the now, but forever; His love for us is
\nbeyond our conception or limitation. In our everlasting father, we have a home
\nthat will not pass away, beyond the brokenness of this world. There is a hope
\nbeyond our current circumstances, beyond coronavirus and the trials that 2020
\nhas brought.  <\/p>\n

This winter, as we reflect on the trials of this year and the
\ntimes that God has carried us when we could not continue on our own, what would
\nit mean for those without a home to know tangibly today an everlasting father who
\nhas prepared a place for them? How can we, as brothers and sisters in that
\nfamily, follow Jesus\u2019 example to seek out justice and share with those in need?<\/p>\n

Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where this year have you seen God as a father who has carried you
\nin times of trouble?<\/p>\n

How might you\/your church community be able to act locally to
\nsupport those experiencing homelessness this Christmas?  <\/p>\n

How might you be able to join calls nationally for housing justice
\nthis winter?<\/p>\n

Prayer <\/strong><\/p>\n

Everlasting Father,
We thank you that in you we find family,
That you call us your sons and daughters,
And that you have prepared a place for each of us in your presence.
Gather up your children who are lost and hurting this winter,
Especially those who are without a home,
And carry them onwards.
Help us love one another as you have loved us,
And pursue justice for our brothers and sisters in need,
In the knowledge you are coming in power.
Amen. <\/p>\n

The post Advent 3: Everlasting Father<\/a> appeared first on Joint Public Issues Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI ain\u2019t going back to the streets\u201d I have been working in homeless services for over 15 years, and since March I have seen a real difference in services.\u00a0From day one of lockdown we saw agencies across the sector really coming together.\u00a0I was asked to help manage a hotel for people who have been rough-sleeping […]
\nThe post Advent 3: Everlasting Father appeared first on Joint Public Issues Team. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-urc-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t