Saturday 19 September 2015

Refugees Welcome!

In recent weeks, our news reports have been filled with the plight of the thousands of people fleeing their home country for a better life in Western Europe.  Feelings on both sides have been running high and the tension between Governments and the refugees has intensified.  It took the grim photo of a tiny boy washed up on a beach to focus people's attention and there is a glimmer of hope that more of these people will find refuge.

Last Saturday, London District abandoned some of their Synod agenda to join a protest march to Downing Street.  Many Methodist clergy were there in their dog collars as a very visible presence, standing in solidarity with the refugees.  On that day, even though I was unable to march, I was proud to be a London Methodist.  Social responsibility sits at the very core of what Methodism stands for and it sat at the very core of Jesus' ministry too.

Surely in our response to this crisis, we must ask ourselves the question "What would Jesus do?"  That must be our guiding thought, and when we have accepted that, to follow through by appropriate action.  Support charities, local initiatives, lobby MPs and most of pray that the situation improves dramatically.

Thursday 5 March 2015

The Great Commandment

Jesus never missed an opportunity to challenge those he encountered.  Reading the Gospels, you get the impression that he just couldn't hold back from each opportunity to put people on the spot and make them think.  If you turn to Matthew 22: 34-40, we read of Jesus answering a question from the Pharisees on what was the greatest commandment.  The Pharisees were obsessed by the law - they had volumes of rules governing all aspects of human life.  Jesus' reply was a show-stopper for those who were trying to lure him into a trap:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it.  Love your neighbour as yourself.

Who is our neighbour?  When Jesus said these words, he didn't just mean those who live above us and beside us.  He meant everyone.  The commandment is tough because it demands that we love the unloveable.  It demands we pay attention and be gracious to those who don't count amongst our friends and that's not easy.

The first commandment remains no less challenging today than it was for those who heard Jesus speak those words nearly 2000 years ago.  To love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul and with all your mind - how does that work in practice?  It has to mean leading God-centred rather than self-centred lives.  It means putting faith before fortune, faith before pleasure, and that we enter into a personal relationship with God through Jesus.  It means following Jesus' example in our dealings with others and upholding Kingdom values in a society that sometimes can feel quite hostile to those with religious conviction.

We know we are getting closer to keeping the Great Commandment when we sense the conflict between our day-to-day lives and our commitment to God.  It becomes more real when we are confronted with a sense of calling, when we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to pursue ministry, local preaching or other service of the church.

If we all strived to keep those two commandments, what a different place the world would be.  It is however, a glimpse of our future.  A glimpse of the time when God's Kingdom will be fully established.

Saturday 24 January 2015

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139:13-18 NIV
[13] For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. [15] My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. [16] Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. [17] How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! [18] 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. …

Psalm 139 is beautiful, it reminds us that we are created by a wonderful God.  We are part of creation, part of his grand design for this world.  It also reminds us that God never leaves us, we cannot escape him.  Not even if we run to the farthest corner, God is there.

That is such a wonderful thing to remember when we feel burdened or  even at our wits end.  No matter how desperate our situation, we are never alone.

Some will say that if God really cared, we wouldn't have to face such difficulties, but that is the price of our free will, that is the price of evil having entered our world.

We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.  Let us walk hand in hand with the one who created us.

Sunday 18 January 2015

Speak Lord, your servant is listening

Today's Old Testament reading came from 1 Samuel 3:1-10.  It's the account of God calling the young boy, Samuel.   As a child, this always had a special meaning and I promised that if God ever called me, I would respond just like Samuel.

It is a profound experience to hear God's call.  It brings with it great responsibility to honour His Name and fulfil His purposes.  As a fully accredited local preacher, I have begun that journey God has mapped out for me, and I am sure there are a few more hurdles to climb before my ultimate purpose will be revealed.