As one of PCI’s military chaplains serving with the Royal Air Force, I am writing this blog in quarantine overseas as I am currently deployed on operations for the next number of months.
Coming away to serve with our troops overseas is not just a simple task - it is a privilege, but one that comes with a lot of preparation. There is kit and uniform to be sorted for each of the countries I might find myself in over this deployment. So never again will I be able to complain about my wife taking too much luggage on holidays. Passports and visas to be organised, medical appointments and various vaccines, doses one, two and three over a number of months. Dental appointments and so many courses to attend, some a few hours long and others a number of days. Getting many documents signed off, dog tags and other “bits and pieces” that need issued for a padre. Planning ahead for the sorts of services and situations I might find myself in, everything from a regular Sunday service to services that you hope and pray you will never have to take. What books to pack? What will I pack to take communion?
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At times, while I was preparing, I wondered if I would ever get it all done, that I simply wouldn’t be ready in time. Finally a few days at home with my family and then it was back to my unit base. During those final days, there was nothing else I could really focus on, my mind was totally focused on the task in hand to be as ready and prepared as I could be. Anything that had nothing to do with heading away, was put to the side, either to be dealt with in a few weeks’ time, or it will have to wait until I get back later in the summer months.
Preparing for the Easter journey
You may well wonder what this all has to do with Easter? For me this time of preparation has aligned with much of Lent. Now I know as Presbyterians many of us have not been brought up with the tradition of Lent and fasting. However, over these last number of years, I have found Lent to be a critical season for me. It is quite simply a time of preparation. As I prepared to come away on deployment, this time before Easter is a period for me to focus on the wonderful gospel story of what Jesus did for us, in his death and resurrection. For me there are many parallels to think about at this time of year.
I have been reading and following Paul Tripp’s book Journey to the Cross. He too has been reminding me of the need to use this season to prepare, to reflect on the journey that Jesus took, a journey where he knew what lay ahead, the gruesome rejection and pain he would suffer, the darkness and pain that he would face. The night of his arrest, when Jesus went to Gethsemane, to pray and in his hour of need, those closest to him let him down. ‘Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38).
As Jesus prayed and prepared himself, as Jesus said those amazing words, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26: 39), the disciples were not able to stay awake and keep watch. They fell asleep, the disciples let Jesus down, they were too weak. Then we all know of the account of Peter saying he had no idea who Jesus was, not once, but three times. Then in John’s account we have the spectacular prayer in chapter 17, where Jesus prays first for himself, then for the disciples and finally for all believers.
What is the takeaway from all this? There are two themes running through this for me:
1. Personal preparation
Focus on Jesus and what he has done for us. That wonderful picture of Easter morning when the stone was rolled away and Jesus was no longer in the tomb. The wonderful message of the risen Jesus and the hope that we have that no matter how messed up our lives are, we have the hope and promise of a living Saviour. For me that personal preparation means not fasting, but using this time to draw nearer in my walk with Jesus.
In my work as a padre, I come across people who have faced death in ways that we normally don’t in civilian society or parish ministry. The military is predominantly made up of younger people. Death in these circumstances is always tragic. Preparing to come away, I had to talk through with my family, the albeit unlikely circumstances, that something tragic could happen. This is the case for all military personnel, especially when they come away on Ops.
We are reminded of the importance of being prepared when Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew chapter 25, five who were ready and five who were not and when the bridegroom arrived, they were not prepared. As I approach Easter this year, as Christians we have the hope and promise knowing that we are ready. For me it is really simple, as a padre, at this time of year, I have a fabulous opportunity to speak of Jesus and the hope that we have in him.
2. Prayerful service knowing God is still at work
I love the verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” As I walk around and meet people I can pray quietly and silently. As I do my physical training, whether runs or in the gym, I can pray. Short prayers about the people I have met that day, people who the Holy Spirit prompts me to pray for. As I run past a building or pass someone I know I can pray for the people.
These are the most wonderful opportunities - being able to serve in this environment and knowing that nothing is impossible for God. That all I have to do is serve and know that God is at work. That as God changed my life, with all my faults and failures, and even though I still continue to fail, I know the hope and promise that my war is already won.
This is the hope of Easter, this is the hope that I have, the hope that I – we - want to share.
Rev Michael McCormick is RAF Chaplain. You can find out more about PCI Chaplains here.
You can access more Easter blogs and resources here.