Sunday 27th April 6th Sunday of Easter

A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out.

A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."

An objective person came along and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."

Confucius said, "If you would have listened to me you wouldn't be in that pit."

Buddha said, "You're pit is only a state of mind."

A realist said, "That's a pit."

A scientist calculated the pressure necessary, pounds and square inches, to get him out of the pit.

A geologist told him to appreciate and study the rock strata.

The country inspector said, "Did you have a permit to dig that pit?"

A professor gave him a lecture on the elementary principles of the pit.

A self-pitying person said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."

An optimist said, "Things could get worse."

A pessimist said, "Things are going to get worse."

“Jesus saw the man in the pit, took him by the hand and lifted him out.

A counsellor did the next best thing and got into the pit with him until he was strong enough to get out…..”

At the heart of this rather entertaining illustration is a truth which we are all well aware of.

When we are down in the pit – there are always people who will try and help us and quite often they miss the point.

Probably because they are not listening!

“Jesus saw the man in the pit, took him by the hand and lifted him out.

A counsellor did the next best thing and got into the pit with him until he was strong enough to get out….”

I wonder how many of you have ever been to a counsellor?

If you have you will no doubt agree with me that a good counsellor will walk with you until you can walk on your own. I have had counselling on a couple of occasions. The last time, some years ago was to seek help when I used to have occasional panic attacks. The panic attacks were very stressful and I certainly felt like I was down “The Pit”. The counsellor, through a number of sessions helped me talk through a range of issues and after I had confronted each of them I was able to deal with the panic attacks and thankfully I haven’t had one for many years.

And having worked in the health service for many years, I am well aware of the numbers amongst us who depend on a range of counselling services for both short-term and more serious long-term mental health problems.

Sadly, these services are always under threat as doctors come under increasing pressure to save money. And yet, we live in a society where more and more of us are in need of being heard. The Children’s Society only a few days ago released figures for its Good Childhood Inquiry which suggests that more than one in four children often feel depressed.

Whilst professional counselling plays a very important part in helping people cope with a range of problems, we all have the ability to stand alongside people who are going through a tough time. Standing alongside people can simply mean being prepared to listen. It means being prepared to keep our mouths shut when we have said “how are You”? It means waiting for the response.There are plenty amongst us in need of someone to listen.

Some of us are bereaved; some have financial difficulties, relationship problems, difficult decisions to make or concerns for our children or partners.

Talking to another person when we are confronted with difficulties in our lives helps us to let go of some of the negative feelings we may have.

In the same way that we need to encourage eachother to listen we need to encourage each other to speak. The British stiff upper lip is in need of relaxing and I am pleased that people like John Prescott, who recently revealed that his suffers from bulimia, have spoken publicly about his problems. It is reassuring when those who seem to be strong and confident reveal their vulnerabilities to the rest of us.

Many fear that by opening up and talking about their feelings that they will fall apart. I wonder if that can be any worse than being deep down in the pit in the first place?

Unloading our burdens another person is important to some people when they have done things they want God’s forgiveness for. I know that for some people, I include myself in this, the ministry of reconciliation (or confession as it is more traditionally called) is an important part of their spirituality.

Confession not only offers an opportunity to ‘wipe the slate clean’ but also to strengthen our relationship with God and to make us more aware of God’s love for us.

It’s that willingness to be open and put our thoughts and feelings on the table which lets God in to do the work.

It’s a ministry we don’t often talk about but given what we know about the therapeutic benefits of off loading I feel that we need to make more people aware of the availability of our ministers to people in this way.

This church is fortunate to have a number of people trained and willing to listen. We have the ministry team but we also have a number of pastoral assistants and many without title who are good listeners.

Speak to any minister and we will point you towards someone who can help.

In our Gospel reading this morning Jesus continues to reassure his disciples that his leaving will be for a good reason.

In last week’s gospel we had that beautiful and reassuring passage that Jesus was leaving to prepare a place for us in one of the dwelling places in his Father’s kingdom. I know, from the few funerals I have taken, how important those words can be to those who are bereaved.

This week Jesus reassures the disciples that when he leaves he will ask the Father to send another Advocate who will be with us forever.

The word Advocate comes from the Greek word Paraclete – which means ‘someone called alongside to help or assist’. That’s why in many translations the word Advocate is replaced by the word Counsellor. Jesus will ask his father to send a counsellor who will continue to walk with the disciples once Jesus has returned to his father.

Jesus was going to leave them in bodily form, but He was not going to leave them as orphans with no-one to protect them.He would still be with them, but not in a way that they expected or understood. He was to be with them in His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of love and truth which comes from the Father and the Son, the third Person of the Trinity. The Spirit through which He is with us. The Spirit through which we are able to enter into eternal life.

Jesus has passed on the gift of the spirit to all who profess him as Lord.

Supporting each other through counselling – talking and listening - is just one way in which we can use this gift. But we must also be open to hear what Jesus has to say to us. One of the wonderful things about the Advocate is that he enables each and everyone of us to have a deep, meaningful and personal relationship with Christ.

Although sharing our suffering with another person can sometimes lighten the load, Jesus has left us his Advocate, wonderful counsellor, holy spirit. By sharing our troubles with him, in his various forms, Jesus assures us that we can know the truth and the truth will set us free.

I close with a prayer from a new Church of England resource for those who have been victims of abuse but it’s a prayer for each and everyone of us.

Help us to transform your
church into a place of safety,
where we can tell our stories;
where we can choose to show
the scars of wounded bodies,
hearts and minds;
where there is the possibility
of healing
and a willingness to
stand as pain bearers
for one another.
God who bears all
things, help us.

Amen

© Renos Pittarides 2008