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Reflections - Archive - 2007
These reflections are published most Sundays on the front page of our parish newsletter.
Current reflections may be found here.
16 December 2007We all make promises but if we are wise, we will not make promises that we cannot fulfil. Because of people’s expectations of us this can be a hard time of the year. If we have promised too much, reality may be hard to face. It may mean hours of preparation or inconvenient trips to shops, friends and relatives. Hopefully, in the end, it will have been worth it and the joy of giving and seeing the joy of others will lift us.
God made many promises to his people about a Messiah who would restore Israel. This King would reveal his glory to his people and to the whole world. The promises pile up on one another. He will bring peace, he will bring salvation, his kingdom will never end, he will baptise people with the Holy Spirit and he will bring justice to the nations. He will bring good news to the poor and heal the broken hearted. Surely God’s promises could never be fulfilled by one person however great.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem it was the start of a life that would be everything God had promised. His promise is there for us today and we too can know freedom from sin and hope of eternal joy if we believe and trust in him. We too can know the comfort and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit within us and we too can look forward to being with him for ever. ‘For it is he who is the “Yes” to all God’s promises.’ (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Alan Lewney
The birth of her baby is close. Mary and Joseph will be full of hopes and fears for their child. Mary has the God-given assurance that her baby is beyond special. Even so she worries about a baby being born into troubled times. Mary and Joseph have only to look around to see the dangers that face defenceless babes. They must wonder if their love and commitment will be enough to shield and protect, to nurture and develop the unique potential that is within their child. How will they share their values, their love of God to this baby and will they provide direction and purpose to a child who will have to deal with the temptations of the age he will grow up in.
The fears and concerns that actually faced Jesus’ parents were different to what they imagined. They had to flee their country, experience the stigma of being different. They had to learn a new culture, a new language, understand what uprootedness felt like.
There are many people like this today in our land. We know what the adult Jesus said about the dispossessed. He must surely have got some of this positive, inclusive message from his parents’ experience of living as strangers in a strange land. It leads to the conclusion that we parents, we adults have to give our children the same message. We can do this by valuing differences in each other and being prepared to have our values and opinions challenged and open ourselves to the possibility of change. The adult Jesus had core beliefs which were centred in his love for God. Beyond that he was open to change. This is why he extended an invitation to everyone to follow him. We need to have this same openness and invite the strangers in our strange land into the family of God.
Richie Brown
I am always fascinated by unusual gifts that people have. I know someone who can tell you the time without looking at a watch or being near a clock. She just knows what time it is. Most of us would use a watch so that we can check what time it is and probably look at it several times a day, particularly if we need to be ready at a certain time.
This Sunday marks the beginning of a very special season called Advent. Like Lent is a preparation time for Easter, Advent is a preparation time for the coming of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Christ, but it also marks our looking forward to the return of Jesus.
Jesus told us that he would come again, but he didn't tell us what time he would come. In fact, he said, "No one knows the day or hour when I will return. Only the Father knows. That is why you must be ready, I will come at a time when you least expect it." (Matthew 24: 36,44)
But how can we be ready if we don’t know when he is coming. One thing we can do is spend time with God. Seek his kingdom (Matthew 6.33), and in Micah 6:8 "…what does the Lord require of you? Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."
By doing the things that Jesus would want us to be doing - loving one another, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, and helping the poor - we will be ready when he comes.
And these are probably also the very same things that we should be doing to get ready for the celebration of Christmas! Thinking about what we can give rather than what we will get.
Barbara Chambers
I recently had the privilege of visiting a Christian acquaintance in hospital who has endured years of pain through rheumatoid arthritis and numerous operations for joint replacements. At the beginning of the year following another hip replacement operation, she contracted MRSA leading to septicaemia. After weeks in intensive care, in order to save her life, her right leg and part of the lower torso were amputated. Every now and then as we talked, she would say, “You know God is so good.” She was excited that God must have saved her life for a purpose and was eager to serve him in whatever he called her to do. “What an opportunity I’ve had” she said “to spend time with God and pray for others.” Her love for God was so unquestioning, she was totally free – free from anger, free from regret, free from unforgiveness, free from resentment, free from self-pity. The real bondage not being what happens to us but our reaction to it and always that choice, life or death.
Struggling with many difficulties through her life, in many respects, from a worldly view, she has nothing but yet has everything. Her life consists of either lying in bed or sitting in a wheelchair, day after day the same, totally dependent on others and yet one of the most content people I have known. Death has lost its power over her as she has no fear of death and is certain of her place in heaven. The light in her, no matter what life throws at her, has never been and will never be extinguished; the strength she has, to endure, is supernatural, being recognised and unexplained by doctors involved in her care. It brought to reality the verse in Matthew - “and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” She was God’s church in that hospital, witnessing and shining for Christ. What a challenge, how much do we really want God, for himself alone, not just for the things he can give us? Do we long to press in closer to his heart or is he merely a quick fix for our problems. We are in exciting times in the life of St Luke’s with Simon and Lisa joining us in June and a new shared ministry team. Let’s pray Paul’s prayer for each other that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know him better…and for us to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge and that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Shirley Wallin
We are thinking especially today of the work of Sefton Women’s And Children’s Aid (SWACA), which gives free and confidential help and support to women and children who suffer from domestic violence in any form.
That anyone can suffer abuse of any sort in their home is sickening to any civilised person, but the media, and the horrendous examples in NSPCC appeals, remind us that it is all too prevalent in contemporary society. Every minute in 2003 the police in the UK received a phone call from the public reporting domestic violence, yet this represents only 35% of actual cases.
Violence/abuse can take many forms. The scars from physical violence are visible, yet many women will give false reasons for the injuries they or their children exhibit. The invisible scars from emotional abuse can last a lifetime. Children who have been subject to the lack of love which gives rise to ridicule, scorn, exploitation, or to being completely ignored, grow up with no belief in themselves, with disastrous consequences for their educational achievements and life choices.
So as Christians, what can we do?
1. We need to “open our eyes to the suffering that is all around us”. Is there a negative change in behaviour of the women
or children we come into contact with at any level, any unexplained injuries, or jumpiness at sudden movements? Depending on the level
of our contact, a gentle enquiry, or a quiet word with someone in closer contact may open the way for victims to seek help.
2. If we are concerned about possible domestic violence – frequent rows or screaming from neighbours, or a child crying continuously
in a house - a 999 call may save a life. We may feel reluctant at appearing to interfere, but we cannot refuse to act in defence of those
being abused, if we truly claim to follow Christ who commands us to love others as we love ourselves.
Margaret Quayle
In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amidst the guns below
Tom McRae 1915
Who can forget the last scene of the last series of Blackadder? This is the moment when the three main characters-with no more cunning plans-go over the top. In a moment the scene changes. The dark, muddy trenches become a beautiful field of poppies. The familiar theme tune is transformed to somber reflective music. We are left in no doubt that these characters who we have loved and laughed at are gone. I’m still choking a bit just thinking about it.
What is so moving about that scene is that it shocks us into thinking about the reality of the loss caused by war. That television moment can only ever give us the vaguest hint of what is felt by those who have lost sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, partners in the apparently endless cycle of war. We are familiar with the horrifying statistics—almost 20,000 British killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. But each one had been a child; loved by his family and loved by God. The poet Wilfred Owen, who died in the last days of the First War, wrote this in Soldiers’ Dream
I dreamed kind Jesus fouled the big-gun gears
And caused a permanent stoppage in all bolts
And buckled with a smile Mausers and Colts;
And rusted bayonet with His tears.
You can almost imagine the cries of pain from the heart of God as humanity tears itself apart. No wonder that Jesus declared the Peacemakers to be blessed. So let us not forget all those who have died or suffered in conflict. The Bible looks forward to a time when war will end -
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their
spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 2:4
On this day when we say that we will never forget; let us work and pray for peace in our world.
Steve Cornforth
Perhaps one of the most comforting verses in scripture can be found in Matthew 11 verses 28 and 29. The words of Jesus still speak to us today. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for our souls.”
Where can we go to when we are troubled, when we feel as if we have lost our joy and we are heavy with sadness. Jesus used the words weary and burdened. These two words convey the thought of having to carry on bearing a heavy load when we are really really tired and worn out. The worst thing we want to hear sometimes is ‘it will be alright’ or in the modern way of speaking ‘get over it’. Jesus does not say this, he says something far more powerful ‘come to me’. He is wanting to embrace us, comfort us, restore us, and then send us out again with a new vision and hope.
Why come to Jesus? Because he is gentle and humble in heart. Who wants to share with somebody who is judgemental and hard? The Saviour is receptive and understanding of all our problems, forgiving of all our shortcomings and respectful of our need to be useful in our lives. But first of all we must commit ourselves to him because until we do he cannot really share himself and his vision for our lives with us. The only thing he wants us to do is to come to him. He will never impose himself on us but he longs for us to turn to him.
Alan Lewney
Today is Bible Sunday when we think about the importance of God’s Word for our lives. Why is the Bible so important? Is it just a collection of books gathered and written by religious people over many periods of their history or is it something more. Eugene Patterson, the translator of The Message suggests that the words of Scripture need to be ‘taken into the soul — eaten, chewed, gnawed, received in unhurried delight’, as in them we hear the ‘living voice’ of our risen Lord, and respond in believing obedience.
Surely if we have the opportunity to allow that which is holy to touch and enter our mundane lives, we will not remain unchanged but challenged and moved to follow God’s ways rather than our own. Each of us will read God’s word in different ways and different times but if we give God’s word time to speak and enter our souls he has promised that it will not be wasted. In the parable of the sower, we are told by Jesus that ‘the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it, he produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty and thirty times what was sown’.
When I was a boy I joined “The Young Sowers League”. We answered a question on every chapter of the New Testament and some completed the whole Bible. At the end we received a special version of the New Testament or Bible with a picture of a sower on it. How much time do we spend feeding of God’s word and do we use any of the helpful daily notes available to us that will help us to live fruitful God centred lives.
Alan Lewney
This week, a large group of people from Churches Together in Great Crosby are going away together to Yorkshire for a few days. It’s an annual event where they will visit a number of different places, often with a Christian association, this time for example, they are visiting York Minster amongst other places. Bishop James Jones is currently in the United States to once again press upon significant church and political leaders, in the run-up to the Presidential elections next year, the need for lifestyle change in the face of the threats to our environment.
The Bible is full of people going on journeys because God sent them: Abraham left his home to go somewhere he didn't know, Jacob's family left their home in search of food and found his son Joseph, Moses' people left Egypt and eventually found the land which God had promised, Jonah went to Nineveh after going the wrong way, Jesus didn't stay in one place as many needed to hear the message of the Kingdom of God, and Paul's missionary journeys are described in Acts.
People who go on journeys have a reason for doing so, a destination in mind. If we want to see something we've never seen before, we have to go on a journey. This will mean some planning and certainly a change from the routine. Last week, I watched part of a DVD entitled Leaving Safe Harbours in which Liverpool's Roman Catholic Archbishop, Patrick Kelly, set out a vision for the mission of the church in 2007 and beyond. It was a compelling one and as the title of the DVD suggests, it’s about the Church in its own understanding and practice moving out of comfort and security and into adventure and risk.
In the same way here at St Luke's, we need to move from the comfort and security of what we know to the adventure and risk of what we do not know. I believe that God often calls us to do this. We have some significant financial challenges ahead of us for example. We have just selected our Shared Ministry Team. We continue to grapple with the question of how we reach people of all ages who do not know the good news of Christ. We need to remember that on our journey we have a guide who will show us the best way to go and what he wants us to discover and will supply what we need.
Pete Spiers
Jesus the Healer
Our reading this morning is an account of the healing of the 10 lepers—10 outcasts, forced to live apart from everyone else for fear of contamination. As they cry out to Jesus, he responds to them with compassion, but in a most unusual way. He gives no word of healing, no touch, just a command to show themselves to the Priest as though already healed. In faith they left Jesus and all 10 were healed. Why go to the temple to thank God when he is with you in person? Why offer cleansing sacrifices when God's final sacrifice for sin has arrived? Well maybe if the other nine had returned they would have realised this. Healing meant reconciliation with family, acceptance as one of God's people, a new life, a second chance, yet only one came back to thank Jesus, the one whom society would have least expected to—a Samaritan, whilst the rest were Jews. Perhaps it explains his gratitude, he had less to trust in, less to rely on, less to be proud of and probably felt less deserving. Only one was made well—well enough to enjoy the blessing of salvation through Jesus and Jesus' disappointment shows because this is so much more important than just physical healing.
Jesus' ministry is holistic, it cares for the whole person and is still the same today. He brings healing in our emotional lives, our physical requirements, our mental understanding and our spiritual needs. Do you need his touch, are you in a dry place, maybe in depths of despair? depression? grief? confusion? guilt? exhaustion? In these places of suffering, it is easy to feel that God has abandoned us, these are the hardest parts of any spiritual walk, when we have to exercise 'hanging on by the fingernails' faith and cry out to our Lord.
Healing springs from the activity of the Holy Spirit, Jesus healed in this way, as did the first Christians and it's no different today. We have an opportunity to receive God's healing in a special communion service this Thursday, 18th October at 7.30 pm as we celebrate St Luke's day. This service will include anointing with oil and prayer for healing. Healing can come from many places, but only wholeness comes from God.
Shirley Wallin
Luke 17: 5-10
In today's story from Luke's gospel, the disciples say to Jesus, "Increase our faith", but he doesn't. Neither does he tell them how they might increase their faith. He merely confirms their lack of it.
The disciples were at an early stage of their Christian journey. They had been with Jesus less than three years and they hadn't yet realised that God doesn't provide instant fixes, but works slowly and surely and gradually inside those who have opened themselves to him. We cannot increase our own faith, for faith, like love and hope and praise and prayer, is a gift from God. We can't make any of those things happen by an act of will, by making a decision to become more faithful or more loving or whatever.
All those things grow within us, usually while we're totally unaware of anything happening at all. All we can do is hang on, sometimes by our fingertips—waiting for God, doing our best to be open to him and to receive him and accept all he has to offer.
Faith isn't an overnight change, but is a gradually maturing process, which takes a lifetime to become anything like effective, but like good cheese or good wine, a mature faith at the end of a long life is very good indeed.
Barbara Chambers
The world has been holding its breath all week as the determined and courageous Burmese monks have peacefully marched on behalf of some of the most oppressed people in the world. Burma is ruled almost entirely by the military. Human rights abuses abound. There are no independent courts. Lawyers are routinely arrested. Human trafficking and forced labour are common. Opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been under permanent house arrest for years.
As I write these reflections there is disturbing news of a crackdown by the army and fatalities among protesters. All this reminds me of Jesus’ words in the Synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:18-19).-
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
Because he has anointed me
To preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
And recovery of sight for the blind.
To release the oppressed,
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Let us take the time this week to pray for the oppressed people of Burma. The monks have called on supporters to pray at 8.00 pm each day. We may not share their faith but we do share their burden for the poor and oppressed. So let us all pray this week for a peaceful resolution and that the people of that distant country will be released.
Let us also continue to pray for all people in the world who are suffering at this time and let us pray that our leaders will do all that they can to support them. As we celebrate Harvest Sunday let us also pray that the poor in the world will be fed and that the oppressed will be freed.
PS My Faith and Politics blog is now up and running again on: www.myspace.com/littlecorn.
Steve Cornforth
The Call of God
As Christians we believe that like the disciples and St Paul we are called
by Christ into God’s service, but what does “being called” involve? - Here are some words associated with the
letters C-A-L-L which came to mind as I reflected on this.
C
Underlying all our sense of calling is that we are called through Christ, who has Chosen us. We are called to Come but
in so doing we accept the Challenge and the Cross. Our Commitment to Christ must be total. This will inevitably
require a willingness to Change—to be Converted—not once but daily and to live in obedience to Christ’s
summary of the Law—to live with God alone at the Centre of our lives, and to live out Christ’s Commission to
want for our neighbours what we have received.
A
‘A’ reminds us that to be Called/Chosen by Christ proves that we are Acceptable to him, despite our faults. As
St Paul reminds us, we are forgiven—Absolved—from all that we have done to hinder Christ’s work. We are Affirmed as
his friends. We are called also to Answer by Accepting Christ’s invitation to that wonderful state of Abiding in
him that we may become fruitful, and Active workers for His Kingdom.
L
As we respond we are called to Let Go of all that would hold us back. So we open ourselves to receive the Love which
is poured out upon us and to live in the Liberating and Life-bringing Light of Christ and to shine forth in his world.
L
Margaret Quayle
Shared Ministry Team
We began our PCC meeting on Wednesday 12 September to select the Shared Ministry Team (SMT) with the account from Acts 6.1-7. In it we discover that the early church needed to make sure that its work in caring for widows was fulfilled, but not at the expense of its work in prayer and preaching. They did this by appointing another group of people, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to fulfil this important ministry.
I drew the parallel that our ministry at St Luke's is wide-ranging and we need to make sure that it is carried out effectively. Those selected to the SMT will take responsibility for various aspects and with others develop each area, eg worship, administration, cell groups, pastoral care, welcome, premises, children and youth.
During our meeting the PCC agreed that rather than ask one person to take on 'children and youth', they should ask two people, one to do 'children' and one to do 'youth'. As there might have been members of the congregation who were drawn to 'children' but not to 'youth' or vice versa, they felt it only right to share this with the congregation. Therefore, please have a word with Pete if you would like your name to be put forward for one of these posts within the next couple of weeks.
At our PCC meeting on 3 October we will be making a final decision on the selection of the SMT so please continue to pray for God's guidance for us all as a church.
Let us also pray that each one of us 'lives a life worthy of our calling' (Ephesians 4.1) and let us be confident that 'The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it' (1 Thessalonians 5.24).
Pete Spiers
A Prodigal Returns
In today’s reading Paul wants to send Onesimus, a former slave, home to his previous owner Philemon and have him treated as his brother and not a slave. And in a parable with a different focus Jesus talks about a man who has lived a profligate life that includes behaviour you and I might be angered and shamed by, but who wants to return home and be accepted again. Paul and Jesus seem to want us to accept an individual’s ability to change at face value.
Even in the best of families and within close friendships rifts occur, relationships break down, bitterness and recriminations fester. When a loved child takes to drugs or becomes addicted to some other behaviour that you and I find difficult to understand or deal with we blame ourselves, society, other people’s influence or perhaps we blame our loved one. Whatever the reason there are times when loving relationships are damaged.
But as is shown in the examples above, individual lifestyles and attitudes change. Individuals can become responsible and turn their lives round. When such changes occur it is possible for all of us to forgive and work to restore the former good relationship.
But what about those individuals who have not completed their journey of recovery but come to us still held down by a besetting behaviour? We need the Lord’s help to deal with our anxieties and the difficulties of our loved ones but the Lord isn’t here in person. He wants us to develop trusting relationships within his church but once trust is gained with another person or small group then spiritual, emotional and practical support is available to help us all as we continue the journey to recovery alongside our loved one.
Ask God in prayer for his guidance.
Richie Brown
Luke 14:7-15
In our lectionary reading we again find Jesus using a meal setting to teach kingdom values. Amazingly he seems to have access to the
tables of both rich and poor. Jesus watches the guests as they arrive for dinner at the house of a prominent Pharisee, jockeying
for the places of honour, weaving their way unnoticed to the best seats. He doesn’t look at how they are dressed or where they
are from or what their jobs are, he looks for what they love, because where your treasure is, is where your heart is. He sees that
their treasure is: they love the praise of men. Jesus speaks strongly about this form of idolatry “Beware of the teachers of
the law, they like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the market places and have the most important seats
in the synagogue and places of honour at banquets … Such men will be punished most severely” [Luke 20:46] What follows
is a teaching about humility — “Kingdom living” — not to be self-serving, trying to get ahead of others … to
get people to notice you, so that they would think you are really an “important somebody”. Humility is not being a doormat
or passive but being confident enough in how God really views us that there is no need to impress others. I am reminded of the last
supper, after the dispute with the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Time was short, they would soon be left to minister
alone, there were so many things Jesus could have taught them, the do’s and don’ts of church leadership, how to prepare
a sermon or give a testimony but Jesus chose to teach them about humility. He does a mundane and menial thing they had been too proud
to do for each other. Wrapping a towel around himself, he gets down on hands and knees, like a servant, and washes their dirty feet.
How ashamed they must have felt, watching as their Lord stooped low before them, serving them in a way they had each considered beneath
them. We need to go back and reflect on Jesus’s refusal to claim his rights, his rejection of hierarchy, his simple lifestyle,
the time he always had for the excluded, the despised, those on the margin of society, the poor, the women, the children. This is
Jesus, our king, “who had equal status with God but did not cling to the advantage of that status”.
Shirley Wallin
Have you ever felt restless, totally at a loss what to do, useless, frustrated? Just after the resurrection, Jesus’ disciples, having seen their risen Lord, were themselves at loss as to what they should do next. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, they felt powerless to move forward. Peter, being a man of action rather than reflection, just had to do something. So he went fishing, maybe feeling that getting out in a boat on Lake Galilee would help him ‘get himself together’ again. Out on the lake he would be on ‘familiar ground’, not here in this city where his world had been turned upside down. He was undoubtedly still worrying whether Jesus would ever forgive him after his threefold denial. However, Peter, having been with Jesus for the previous three years, should have realised that Jesus loved him, and his denial would not in any way change his personal relationship with him. Peter was forgiven there on that lakeside, and from then on, he was to know that things could never be the same again. He was to find that he could do nothing without Jesus, and furthermore, he was to know his life changed by the one who had risen from the dead, and whose ministry was to continue through the outreach of Peter himself. For Peter, in his turn was to help turn the world of others upside down! In the same way that Jesus knew Peter’s weaknesses he knows ours too – he knows we will get it wrong, yet still he continues to love us and call us to his service.
Stan Woods
Today we are thinking about Peter and his restoration by Jesus. He had specifically told the women after his resurrection to tell the disciples he would meet them in Galilee and in Mark's gospel he mentions Peter in particular. Jesus asks Peter three time does he love him and three times says feed my lambs. He had denied Jesus three times and now he is accepted by Jesus to fulfil his commission to bring his love to the World.
Peter with all his faults is fully restored. The key to this restoration is the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Peter was imperfect. He failed and yet he was loved and used in a special way by the Saviour. What thought and consideration was put into his welcoming back.
The Lord knows our weaknesses but he loves enough to forgive us freely if we hurt him. The key to our unity and effectiveness as a church is surely dependent upon our forgiveness and love. If we are to fulfil our commission to feed his sheep we must thank God for his forgiveness and then love and forgive each other as he has loved and forgiven us. This can be painful but if we can do it we not only free ourselves from burdens, we show the way of freedom to others.
Alan Lewney
As I am writing this the news is full of the scandal of the BBC in trouble over telephone competitions with many prizes apparently going to staff members. The main theme is that people have ‘lost confidence’ in our most trusted broadcaster. Things like this come as a bit of a shock. Not only because of the misconduct itself but because we feel that we have been let down by somebody we trusted – by our old friend who gave us Andy Pandy and The Archers!
In a world of insecurity and fear we need friends. We need those that we can rely on. Who will stand alongside us and not let us down. As always there are two sides to this. We need to think about those who are our true friends. To give thanks for them and what they have meant to us. Equally, what about us? Can we be relied on? Will we always be there? Or are we so filled with our own world and our own needs that we are more interested in what they give to us?
This is a real issue in an age where there is pressure to get to the top and people are expendable.
I knew somebody who wrote a book called Jesus is yer best mate. This reminded inner city kids that in a world where everybody else might hate them Jesus was a true friend who valued them for who they were. Remember Jesus's final words to his friends were that he was with them to the end of time. That is such an encouragement to us. Do we know anybody who is without friends? They are our responsibility. The question is not what we get out of it. But what we can give.
The French writer Albert Camus once wrote, ‘Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.’
Amen
Steve Cornforth
When Jesus sat down in the heat of the day by a well, he probably expected to meet someone. A woman came along and he asked her for a drink. He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan and these ethnic groups didn't mix together. The resulting conversation is recorded in John 4 and if you read it you can see how Jesus led the woman by a series of questions and statements to want to find out more. She ended up telling the rest of her village to come and meet Jesus. I have been saying over the last few weeks that St Luke's needs a strategy if we are to move forward further and more effectively in our mission. We support In Another Place wholeheartedly as part of this strategy but we also have a personal part to play. Who are you telling about Miracles in Another Place? It's amazing if we stop and think about it just what opportunities we have with others. Just this morning a lady called at our door and seeing the poster for the event asked for one to put up in her block of flats. Not being able to find one, she took a bundle of flyers instead and said she would deliver them!! If you know you will be at a meeting this week why not take a few today and be ready to hand them out, leave them on a table etc. People love being given things because it makes them feel special! Even if you don't have a flyer, think of a good question like: Are you going to Crosby marina next Saturday? If they look blank, you can tell them all about Miracles in Another Place. If they say no, you can simply say that if it's anything like the last few, it should be really good! Please pray that you will make the most of the opportunities you have this week. When we look back over our own lives we can see the many links in the chain that have brought us to where we are in our faith and we might just be a missing link for someone else. Just ask Dean (playing the part of St Peter next Saturday!!).
Pete Spiers
Luke 10:1-11,16-20.
We usually take some time to plan and organise our holidays. We look forward to getting away from it all and having a rest in a different environment from the one we are used to.
My planning is done. I’m not packed yet but have made several lists of what I need to take, amongst other things clothes - enough for the time I am away, washing gear and make up, some comfortable shoes for all the walking I will be doing. I’m sure I will forget something but I am looking forward to getting away from it all.
The Bible tells us that Jesus appointed seventy-two of his followers and sent them out, two by two, to go into every town and place where he was about to go. Jesus said to them, "Go, carry no purse, no bag, no sandals." Those first century missionaries were to take nothing with them, but the clothes they stood up in. I’m sure that when Jesus sent someone on a mission, their success or failure didn’t depend upon what they brought with or back with them - it depends on him!
Jesus told the 72 when he sent them out, "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
Just as Jesus sent out the 72 people, he wants you and me to go to people today and share the good news that the kingdom of God is near. The results don’t depend on us. We should not become proud when people receive the message and we should not be discouraged when they reject the message. We should just go and tell as if everything depends on Jesus - because it does!
Barbara Chambers
A Well Tended Garden
A well tended garden is pleasing to the eye. The quickening growth of shrubs, fruit and flowers after the sun and rain have warmed and softened the dormant roots brings the variety of colours and smells that cause people of my age to stand and stare and admire. But leave those gardens for a season and nature fights back. Weeds take a strangle hold and the beauty of the individual flora is in danger of being eclipsed by faster growing interlopers. But stop. Take a closer look. The rose and anemone are hiding behind the weeds. Minutes with a secateur or a spade quickly returns them to their former glory.
The Bible reading today is an invitation to search for spiritual gifts. We all have them. We have had them all our lives but from time to time they are eclipsed by demands on our time. They can be called skills, talents and abilities as well as gifts but they can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, be used for the benefit of everyone. But how do we know if it is a gift? When other people are blessed, helped or assisted in some way is a sure sign we are getting close.
Our church leadership needs help. As it moves towards shared leadership it is an opportunity for us all to offer our skills and abilities afresh for the good of all. I suggest we meet with our partner, friends or cell group and spend an enjoyable evening recalling the times our talents have been used by the Lord for the benefit of others and pray together for them to be used again.
Richie Brown
The Healing of a Demon-possessed man
Rejected, put outside the city, shackled, living in the death place, naked, mutilated flesh, crying out desolately. Here this demonised man encounters Jesus, who for us all would take his place, rejected by his own people, naked and mutilated, outside the city with a desolate cry, his last earthly shelter, a tomb.
But for this man Jesus brings healing and restoration where human effort has failed, he treats broken people with great dignity, longing to restore the image of God to those who have been dehumanised and destroyed by sin and evil. He unconditionally loves and accepts. He chose a demonised woman to be the first to witness his resurrection, Mary, delivered and set free by her precious Lord. Women at that time were subservient to men and not regarded as reliable witnesses. How he turns society's prejudices upside-down, choosing not only a woman but a demonised one at that! Reminding us that God chooses the foolish things to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, the lowly things and despised things and the things that are not … to nullify the things that are.
So is this story relevant to us today? Yes! Where are the strongholds in our culture, churches, schools, businesses, lives, where powers hostile to God have a controlling influence, where thoughts, decisions and values are built on principles which are set against God. These are characterised by hopelessness, anger, bitterness, unforgivenness, violence, addiction, division, jealousy, despair … the list goes on. But let's not be fearful of the power of God as the local inhabitants in Gerasene were, or the disciples after the storm-stilling, let's do battle for we have divine power and are fully equipped … "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." And just as the evil spirits cringed and quaked and had to acknowledge Jesus, so too they will cringe and quake and acknowledge the Holy Spirit within us and the authority we have as ambassadors of Christ.
Shirley Wallin
When we do wrong our natural reaction is to cover up, find a way out, shift the blame. Israel’s great King David had to be faced with his sin before he owned up. The Pharisees were adept at covering their wrongdoing under the cloak of legality. And we all know how to make our wrongdoings seem more acceptable with our explanations and excuses.
There is only one true answer to wrongdoing and that is to tell the truth. Paul says that we should have the belt of truth buckled around our waist. In other words, truth is the basis of our defence against the Devil. God has a way of dealing with sin and it is called Grace. Jesus has paid the penalty and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
The Philippian jailer treated Paul and Silas badly but his response was a good one. He said “what must I do to be saved”. They replied “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”. Do we believe in God’s grace enough to be honest about our wrongdoings. Do we trust Jesus enough to surrender to him and live in his light.
Alan Lewney
It couldn’t be simpler -
What is the Christian Gospel all about? To me it is a simple, straight-forward message but, when I listen to some people speaking in church, I wonder how much of what they are saying the person in the pew really understands. To me the heart of our message is summed up in one single verse in John’s Gospel (John 3:16 – read it for yourself). In the following story we see the power and the simplicity of the message in this verse reaching out to someone of a different faith and culture.
Many years ago a Christian missionary lived in an Indian fishing village where the fishermen brought up oysters by diving. The missionary had many talks with the village headman who was a devout Hindu. One day the headman came to the missionary, and said that he was giving away all his belongings, and going away to the River Ganges to wash away all his sins. He thanked the missionary for his discussions about faith, and would he accept a gift. The missionary asked what it was, and the Headman produced an enormous, beautiful black pearl and handed it to him. He then said “This is my most treasured possession which was brought up by my son from the deepest part of the ocean. In doing so he had a heart attack and died.”
The pearl was extremely valuable and the missionary felt he couldn’t accept it as a gift, so he offered the old man all the money he possessed.
The old man said that the missionary was insulting him by offering him money for the pearl which had cost his son his live, instead of accepting it as a free gift.
At this the missionary said to the old man “Isn’t that just what you are doing? You are going on pilgrimage to wash away your sins in the holy waters of the River Ganges, when God loved you so much that he gave the life of HIS Son Jesus to wash them away. Aren’t you insulting him?”
There was a very long pause, after which the old man finally said “At long last I think I now understand your Christian Gospel.
Stan Woods
We are reliably informed that the earth is 4,600 million years old and that the Sun is 93 million miles away. That the world’s longest river is the Nile at 4,145 miles in length and that the Pacific Ocean covers an area of 63,800,000 square miles. Our God created it all and is greater than we will ever imagine.
We read in Isaiah 55.8-9 “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
And that is what Trinity Sunday reminds us of, that God is bigger than we think; both one person and three. To talk about God the Father without God the Son, or God the Son without God the Holy Spirit is to settle for a distorted picture, which ultimately diminishes God and robs him of his full power.
It is only when we recognise that God’s love flows to us through the Father, within us through the Son, and from us through the Spirit, that we begin to glimpse the wonder of who God is and all he can do.
If we can hold on to this, we can catch just a glimpse of the God who, as Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, “is able to accomplish abundantly more than we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever, Amen.” (Ephesians 3.20-21)
Barbara Chambers
PENTECOST
As we celebrate the birthday of the Church at Pentecost, I pray that we will all be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. St Paul says in his letter to the Church in Galatia, 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control'. (Galatians 5:22-23). Will we know that we have not only received but are being filled with the Spirit? - when we sense the above qualities growing in our lives.
St Paul's list is a description of the character of Christ who is our example in all things. Potential for fruit-bearing is in the tree, in its genetic code; but it is the sun that ripens the fruit. In the same way, Paul makes clear, the fruit of Christian character ripens under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
In our desire to do God’s will, we must not try to manufacture the fruit on our own. The result is as futile as it would be to tie fruit onto the branches of a barren tree as we tie baubles onto a Christmas tree! We have to give the Holy Spirit freedom to affect our lives, opening ourselves to allow him to deal, in his kind but firm way, with all that hinders the ripening of the fruit. We need to 'go on being filled with the Spirit' (Ephesians 5:18).
We must not forget that what we do for Christ is not as important as what we are in Christ: our activity and work is not as important as our character. When people sense the fruit of the Spirit in Christian lives, they will be very attracted. We all know how good fruit is!
May Pentecost be a season of delicious, mouth-watering fruitfulness for us all.
Pete Spiers
Shared ministry in a church is biblical. You only have to look at Moses - the Israelites looked to him for everything. When his father-in-law saw how he was wearing himself out trying to meet their expectations he advised Moses to select capable, godly and honest men and appoint them to share the load, and endure the pressures. God created us to be interdependent not independent. Delegating authority to the right people strengthened Moses for the task of leading Israel the way God intended.
So, as we think about the new Shared Ministry Team, we must consider our responsibility to serve. Jesus, at the last supper, knew that soon he would be leaving his disciples to minister without him. He could have taught them many things about dynamic ministry but instead he taught them about the core of ministry – Servanthood, and to teach them he carried out a mundane and menial thing.
We have a great church, we have Christ centred worship, we celebrate God for who he is and what he has done for us, we believe, honour and teach God's word, we have fellowship which extends beyond Sundays. We meet in cell groups, are involved in each other's lives, caring, encouraging, loving, sharing and we have a growing ministry of outreach, our impact, extending outside our walls. There is every opportunity to use our God given abilities, interests, talents, gifts, personalities and life experiences for his glory as he intended.
And if we think there is any reason why we could not be used, just look at the people God chose. Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was co-dependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid. So we have no excuse.
Shirley Wallin
Last week we thought about our being able to make a difference even though we are small. This week we are being reminded about the might and power of the God we serve.
Our God is the one who can defeat any strong army, can feed five thousand people from five loaves and two small fishes, can guide people like Paul by means of a vision and lead him to new exploits for Christ. It has been rightly said that we do not need great faith in a small God but simply place what faith we have in a great God.
Jesus has promised us the Holy Spirit to be with us day by day. He is there to support us, to guide us, to show us the truth and importantly to empower us. We are in a battle and we cannot hope to live a victorious Christian life on our own. When we listen to God through the Holy Spirit and respond to his leading, we can be sure that in spite of our weaknesses we will be able to overcome. Remember 2 Cor. 12:9.
“My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak. I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me.”
Alan Lewney
"If you ever think you're too small to make a difference, you've never been to bed with a mosquito."
Recent research into how people are becoming Christians in the UK has shown that the impact of so-called ordinary Christians in ordinary, everyday contexts in ordinary church communities make the biggest difference.
Some things are so obvious that they need to be repeated. Sometimes they are so obvious that we don't take them seriously. "Eat healthily and take exercise", is one example. But a lot of us don't eat particularly well and do no exercise at all. The research affirms "The significance of the insignificant". Apparently trivial actions, kindnesses, ways of living become beacons, signposts along the way, fragrances of beyond.
As we have seen and heard at the confirmation service this week, the journey towards Jesus can often be a long and winding one. Along the way 'ordinary' Christians doing ordinary things may have contributed.
Everything we do communicates for better or for worse. It is vital to bring everything before God and ask him to touch it with his Spirit. How much more important it is for us to invite others to join us in prayer for the people we meet in the everyday and for the way we do the everyday things we do.
What would happen if we started taking that reality seriously?
Pete Spiers
Sometimes people say 'God has called me to be faithful.' They might say this to justify their perseverance in the midst of trial and tribulations or when nothing seems to be different in their lives. Being faithful in such circumstances is a good thing but it's only a half truth.
God also calls us to be fruitful and that means we need to grow both individually and as a Church. Being fruitful involves obeying Jesus and going to win the world to him and for him, and being transformed more and more like Jesus (fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 6). Being faithful, therefore, means doing as much as possible with the resources and talents that he has given us in the first place.
Success for a church is not about size but about achieving its potential, bearing as much fruit as possible. Jesus doesn't expect us to produce more fruit than we can but he does expect us to produce all the fruit that we can by his power at work in us.
For most of us, we haven't even begun to imagine what could happen in and through us!! If we're not stepping out and stepping up then it's not requiring that we use our faith. If we don't use our faith then we're not being faith-full!!
Over the next few weeks, as we seek names for the Shared Ministry Team, I would like as many people as possible to be asking themselves whether they are being faithful and fruitful. I would like people to consider what God is calling them to do, and if that is a new thing. It is only as we respond to his call that we will hear him say: 'well done, good and faithful servant.'
Now this is the Living Bible: His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. He is brilliant, kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.
One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with jeans, his T-shirt, no shoes and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.
About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties with silver-grey hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?
The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget"
"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"
The above was sent to me by a friend. Would you be the person in the pew or the person with the cane?
Barbara Chambers
EASTER SUNDAY
Hallelujah, Christ is risen! We have a wonderful, amazing resurrected Saviour who loves us now just as much and just as intensely as when he died in our place on that cross.
Each one of us will have had different thoughts over the last week. I have thought of the irony of words spoken in those final days. For example Pilate saying "Behold the man" - when we know the mystery of Jesus becoming flesh, completely human—to deny his humanity would be to deny the depths of physical pain, emotional turmoil or mental anguish that he suffered. Pilate again "What is truth?" when he who is the truth is standing in front of him, its source and fulfilment, truth is not found in words, it is only to be found in him, the Word. The guards mocking Jesus shouting "prophecy!" - he had, already to his disciples about the guards mocking him! Jesus would have seen prophetically down the ages just what his shed blood for all mankind would achieve—the royal exchange—his life of purity and holiness for our sinful ones. The soldiers shouting "Hail King of the Jews" - we know he is the King—to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. The Jewish leaders jeering "He saved others but he can't save himself" - we know he saved others precisely because he wouldn't save himself. Yet Jesus remained silent—he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
But today…we celebrate our resurrected Lord Jesus! If we want life, it's found in him, nowhere else, nothing else. Real life, that puts compassion in our heart and passion in our spirit—it's the work of Jesus as we receive his life. Let's choose to give him everything. We've been brought from death to life, from darkness to light, let's choose to praise God. We are not going to taste death when we die so why worry about it while we're alive! Jesus promises us such a river of living water into our lives that we will be rejuvenated, empowered and made alive—for ever! Let's live in the reality of the life he gives.
Shirley Wallin
What did Jesus do when he needed to decide on the twelve men who would be his closest disciples and who would found the Christian church? He want away to a quiet place and spent the night in prayer. This was a significant point in his ministry and much would depend on his choice.
But surely Jesus was one with his Father, in ways that are beyond our understanding, all the time? Every moment of his life he was dependent on God and in constant communication with God. Only in that moment on the cross when he touched the depths of separation would that communication falter. Jesus shows us the importance of special times of prayer for important decisions. Most of us recognise this and turn to our Christian friends asking them to pray for us for guidance and wisdom.
But daily prayer, talking to God about all the details of our lives, can be the point of greatest struggle. As soon as I close my eyes I begin to think of all the things that I need to do or have forgotten to do! I know we can turn those into prayer but I often don’t stick at it long enough before I get on with the doing! Is that like you? Prayer doesn’t seem to fit with text messages and emails, crowded buses, demanding children, deadlines and targets. Prayer ends up being a source of frustration and guilt. Jesus’ life was like that as well—full of crowds and clamour, endless demands, dusty road and temporary homes.
So we should practise the presence of God—praying about each day as it happens, the decisions, the joys and disappointments, the individuals we meet, our work—quick prayers, short prayers, as well as longer times of prayer when we can. I am thrilled that one of our cell groups has planned a night of prayer when we will be challenged to ‘keep watch’ as Jesus originally asked his disciples on the night before he was crucified. I don’t think Jesus found prayer easy and neither will we. However when we are willing to make the effort, we will find ourselves being transformed by His Presence in our lives. Pete Spiers
‘My Story’
A few weeks ago, the vicar asked all the clergy and readers to give a talk entitled ‘My Story’. The idea behind this was
to give all the people who sit in the pews week by week an insight into the road each of us has travelled to get where we are now in
our Christian lives. As I was preparing for my own talk a few weeks ago, I was wondering where to start ‘My Story’ and my
thoughts went back to a time when Jan and I were involved with CYFA (a youth group for older teenagers). One thing the group organised
roughly every three months was a Sunday evening service. During these services they came up with all sorts of ideas to try and challenge
the congregation, and in one of them they planned a sketch based around the idea that, if for being a Christian one could be sent to
prison, would there be sufficient evidence, from the way one lived one’s life, to obtain a conviction! I remembered being challenged
by this idea at the time and, as I prepared my talk and thought about the road I have travelled, I felt challenged afresh. Is there really
enough evidence of a life lived for Jesus to convict me? I certainly hope so! How about you?
Stan Woods
Mothering Sunday
Believe it or not Mothering Sunday did not start out as a celebration of motherhood. No one is absolutely certain exactly how the idea of Mothering Sunday began, but we know that, about four hundred years ago, people who lived in little villages made a point of going not to their local church but to the nearest big church. To what was called the Mother Church. This would mean that some would go to the nearest city to worship in the cathedral. People who visited their mother church would say they had gone "a mothering." It was often the only time that whole families could gather together.
In later times, Mothering Sunday became a day when girls and boys 'in service' were only allowed one day to visit their family each year. Often the cook would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home for their mother. Sometimes a gift of eggs; or flowers from the garden was allowed. Flowers were traditional, as the young servants would have to walk to their village, and could gather them on their way home through the meadows.
Mothering Sunday is an opportunity for giving thanks for all the things our mothers do or did for us.
We know that Jesus loved and cared for his mother. One of the last things that he did from the cross was to ensure that his mother was taken care of. As Christians can we do any less than to love and care for one another.
Barbara Chambers
During Lent we think about the last journey of Jesus to Jerusalem where he knew he would give his life to save us. Sometimes we talk about ‘walking in the way of the cross’. By this we mean that our lives too should be lived with an awareness of heavenly issues and an understanding that through sacrifice we too can overcome.
On this last journey the disciples found it difficult to grasp the meaning of sacrifice preferring to claim their rights as people who had given up everything to follow him. Through parables and direct teaching Jesus gently guided them towards an acceptance that they themselves could do nothing to justify themselves to God and that in his mercy he had provided a way for them to enjoy the blessings he promised them.
Do we try to do a deal with God or do we gratefully accept the path he has chosen for us knowing that through following him we will find true fulfilment? The words of the collect for today express this very well.
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace.
Will you chose to follow him in the way of the cross?
Alan Lewney
Do Something this Lent
On the road from Nazareth to the River Jordan on his way to meet John and be baptised I wonder what Jesus was thinking about. During this time of Lent I have been reading and thinking about these scriptures. We know Jesus, after he was baptised, went off by himself to the desert, no doubt to think about the plans his father had for him and to decide on the tactics he was going to use. I imagined his life as a son, as a carpenter, as a brother and as a friend and found myself wondering what he was preparing to give up to carry out his father’s plans. As a son he would miss the daily shows of love and concern, those many times he would catch his mother looking at him with affection. As a carpenter he would miss the opportunities to serve others, to be appreciated for his talent and gain satisfaction from a job well done. As a brother he would miss that special relationship where he could show his tetchiness at a brother’s annoying habit or have a moan about one of his sisters who was always in the way. As a friend he would miss those times when he could relax and share a joke or an activity that he enjoyed with people he knew and liked. Then I read a newspaper and found Archbishop Rowan asking us, instead of giving something up, to do an act of kindness each day in Lent. Examples included having a conversation with someone from a different generation, giving away the free packet of salmon in a 2 for 1 offer and to bake a cake and give it to someone. This is a great idea. After all each of us might find a real calling in something we do and may find ourselves continuing to do it after Lent is over. If you haven’t already decided to give something up for Lent why not give this a try! Richie Brown
What on earth am I doing here? That's a question that we will all ask ourselves
at some point in our lives. However its also a good question to ask ourselves on a regular basis. During Lent, I have asked those preaching
to tell us their story to illustrate how they have sought to answer this question for themselves. In our house, we are all looking
forward to the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in July, the last in the series. A lot of other people are getting
very excited to see how it will all turn out. Our lives are like unfinished books. Whilst some of the chapters have been written, there
are still a number to be written. There are some things that we do not know, some things that we are looking forward to and some things
that we are anxious about. Whatever the circumstances, it will be our character and what we believe about Jesus and his will for our
lives that will determine our response. Another analogy often used about being a Christian is driving a car. When we are in the driver's
seat, we are in control. The other passengers might offer their advice but we decide where everyone's going! Some people think that
being a Christian is staying in control and receiving advice from Jesus. The truth is that being a Christian is letting Jesus sit in
the driver's seat and take control of our lives. He might take us to places we could never have imagined but he will always be with
us! The Christian life is meant to be an adventure. When Jesus is driving your life you will be able to answer the question: What on
earth am I doing here?
Pete Spiers
God’s promises to us are unbreakable. He promised the people of Israel
that he would be their God and they would be his people. He promises us that he will never leave us or forsake us and he is always
willing to welcome us back when we go away from him. God also says that if we keep his laws and follow him he will bless us and our
lives will be able to reflect his nature and his values. We too make promises to each other and these promises make our lives more
secure and more productive because we know we can trust each other to be there when we need them. Many people today are reluctant to “commit” as
they say. They feel that this will somehow restrict them and prevent them being free to do their own thing. When we make our promises
to God in marriage we are giving ourselves the best possible basis to a relationship. When two people are committed to each other and
trust each other, they can do so much more, get through so many more problems and continue to grow as individuals and as a family.
God’s example of complete commitment helps us to learn to love like he loves. The more we learn to love like he loves, the more
our relationships will have the possibility of becoming deeper. Commitment and love go hand in hand and the more they are shared the
greater the strength of our relationships. We may not have easy lives but we can know God’s presence even in despair as we commit
ourselves to him and do our very best to keep our promises to each other. Let us ask God to give us more and more of his love for each
other as we work out our lives together. Let us too remember our promises to each other so that, following God’s example, we
may resist the temptation to follow our own desires.
Alan Lewney
Last Thursday, a group of us went to hear a presentation entitled Responding
to the Call from the Diocese. The aim of the evening was to get us all to start thinking about God's call and in particular his
call for a sustainable, led and transforming Christian presence in every community in the diocese to enable all to act justly, love
mercy and walk humbly with God. I am glad that here at St Luke's we are often grappling with this question as to how we respond to
God's call. Giving in Grace has made us ask this question again and again. A couple of weeks ago, the Church Council met with our
architect to look at some plans he had made for our church building following on from our consultations with the congregation last
summer. We were all very excited by them and look forward to sharing them with you in due course for your comments. We should not
look at these plans to see if we will be more comfortable but to see if they will enable us to be good news and to introduce others
to the living Jesus. As Responding to the Call points out, we start by asking ourselves what does God want to do for people
and then what gifts and abilities do we need to achieve this and then what financial resources do we need. For me, God's call has
been an adventure never quite knowing what will happen next and where it will take me. As I have continued on this adventure, I have
been changed, challenged, charged and championed by Christ. They say the longest journey begins with the first step and we have begun
those first steps here at St Luke's but there is a long way to go and it will be an adventure! As part of the evening we were each
presented with a card with words from the prophet Isaiah. I invite you to make them your prayer too: Here I am, send me.
Pete Spiers
Last year we walked into WH Smith in Bangor and right in front of us, about
5 foot off the ground were copies of Zoo magazine with two scantily-clad women on the front cover. It was shocking. It was literally
'in yer face'. Annie proceeded to search out the manager and remonstrate with her. Even though the manager was embarrassed by the magazines
herself and had even put them there, she was simply following 'company policy'. Publishers of magazines like Zoo, Nuts and Loaded pay
newsagents like WH Smith extra to place their titles in prominent positions. Society believes that sex sells. Mrs Whitehouse warned
us that society was heading down a slippery slope: some applauded, most ridiculed. That was 40 years ago and perhaps now people will
begin to believe that if we do not stand up for what is right when it starts to go wrong, it becomes very difficult to change because
it has become accepted. Jesus said that if we look at someone lustfully then we have already committed adultery. Walking into your
average petrol station or newsagents these days can be extremely testing if we are to avoid looking at pictures that demean women and
trip a man’s mind. Even the advice they offer their readers is so ‘explicit’ that Claire Curtis-Thomas was warned
that if she quoted from them, she’d be expelled from the Commons for a week. I therefore applaud her 'top-shelf' campaign and
hope and pray that the magazine industry will regulate itself and agree that the vast majority of people in this country are offended
by such titles and do not want them at children's eye level! If she succeeds in her campaign, the magazines would be forced from immediate
view and it may signal the beginning of their end altogether. Sex is a gift from God which is to be treated as such and to be seen
as something very precious. Society has forgotten this and many people find it an area of great confusion, shame and unhappiness. It
is up to us as Christians to offer a positive and liberating view of sex as God always intended. St Paul says: you were bought at a
price, therefore honour God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20)
Pete Spiers
The Feast of the Tabernacles which lasted seven days celebrated the gathering
in of the harvest and recalled Israel’s wilderness journey. It would have been a dignified and impressive service until on the
last day Jesus chose this moment to shout across the hushed temple crowd “If anyone thirst, let them come to me… will
have streams of living water flowing from within.” Have you ever been really thirsty? Please take just a moment to think about
this. As someone whose diabetes is described as brittle and often goes off balance I have several times downed glass after glass of
water and still not quenched my thirst. As Christians our spiritual lives are often off balance; amongst other things because of money,
self-confidence or self-reliance, we are no longer thirsty for Jesus. We don’t pray, we don’t read our bibles, we are distracted
very easily from our relationship with God and deep within we feel that something is not quite right, off balance. The moment we lose
our awareness of our need for Christ or the importance of him in our lives or we begin to trust ourselves rather than the Lord we block
the Holy Spirit’s flow. The Spirit of God no longer has open places to move. The way we trust the Lord has everything to do with
the ability of the Holy Spirit to work in us. We were designed to have God live in us and if we are living close to Jesus, then the
Holy Spirit will fill us. The Gospel message brings the powerful presence of God back into our lives. It began with Christ. He is the
source of the river of life. Believe in Christ and we shall also have rivers of life-giving water flow from our lives.
Barbara Chambers
Do we thank God daily for his provision for the necessities of life? Do we acknowledge that he is the source of everything? Every breath we breathe, every bite we take, every penny we receive is because God is taking care of us. The God of creation, who is infinitely holy, who holds the universe in his hand cares that our physical needs are met, and guarantees that they will be if we seek first the kingdom of God. Just consider how God has provided for his people, according to Genesis and Numbers he provided grains of wheat, barley, nuts, vegetables, melons, grapes, raisins, olives, apples, animals - oxen, goats, sheep as well as fowl and fish. We eat nothing that did not come from the earth, and every element in it is the work of the creative hand of God. Just think God has provided for some four billion people, what a family to feed!! (5000 must have been a doddle)
How wrong it is to blame God for the fact that thousands of people die
of starvation each year. The fault is ours, the problem is one of distribution not production. Mrs Gandhi, once Prime Minister of India
said that there were enough resources in India to feed that nation entirely and then export two thirds of what it produces. God tells
us in Genesis “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never
cease”. Despite what we are told by politicians the problems of the earth are not physical but spiritual, not overpopulation
but spiritual ignorance, lack of dependency on God. If people came into a knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour then
they would be given the wisdom to use the earth's resources rightly. We have an opportunity on this ‘Giving in Grace’ Sunday
to respond to God’s generosity. Let the ‘poor widow’ be our financial adviser! She would have had no idea that for
thousands of years she would be an example to millions of people. Jesus sees the value of seemingly small acts of love and faith. The
value of the gift is measured by the attitude of the giver, not by the amount given. Do we sometimes give to solve our conscience?
Or so we don’t look mean? Or do we not give at all because our contribution seems embarrassingly small? True financial freedom
comes when giving no longer threatens our security, because we know that God is the supplier of all our needs.
Shirley Wallin
Our relationships with one another are very important and our actions and thoughts are deeply influenced by them. The Bible tells us that, although we are made in the image of God, as human beings we have turned away from him and gone our own way. The root of the problem is self. Because self is fallen, listening to self produces not wisdom but delusion, deceit and evil. Because our relationship with God needs restoring then our relationships with each other and with the world can be centred on self and result in discord and unhappiness.
God sent Jesus not just to show us how to live. He did not come simply
to be a good role model. He did not come to be a kind of spiritual guru to help us to fulfil our potential. Jesus came to restore our
relationship with God and to set us free from self. He promises us his Holy Spirit to change us into his likeness. Our relationship
with God is the key to how we deal with our problems. As we live our lives together we will all meet with problems many of which seem
too difficult to deal with. God has promised to be with us no matter what, and listening to his voice is the only way we can be sure
that we are acting with wisdom and love. None of us are too far from him to be restored and whatever our past he can begin his work
in our lives if we turn to him.
Alan Lewney
Over the last few months I have become a dedicated blogger. For the uninitiated a blog is a regular internet diary or comment on particular topics. The internet is becoming the main form of communication. This is one place where the Christian message can indeed be shared with the whole world. I post a daily blog on myspace on the topic of Faith and Politics. Why that subject? Because I read God’s Politics by Jim Wallis last year. I have always had a keen interest in politics but tended to see this as something different from my faith. Jim Wallis convinced me that any good news about the Kingdom of God has to include Godly values on world issues. So combating poverty is a spiritual issue because of the clear biblical mandate to promote justice for the poor. Defending Human Rights is a spiritual issue because all of us are made in God’s image. Caring for the environment is a spiritual issue because we were entrusted to care for God’s creation.
It is wrong to think of this is as a ‘social gospel.’ If we are going