Thought for the Week

Sunday 12 July – 5th Sunday after Trinity

Collect	Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name: through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Readings	Amos 7, 7 –15
	Psalm 85, 8 - end
	Ephesians 1, 3 – 14
	Mark 6, 14 – 29

Being a Christian can be dangerous!

Looking at the Bible passage that we read today from Mark chapter 6, and if we were to extend our reading to include other passages in both the New and Old Testament, we might consider placing a written warning on the front of our Bibles which reads;

‘Following the God you meet through these pages is usually dangerous’.

God’s way is often not the comfortable option. God has us living our lives and speaking out in such ways that sometimes can lead to rejection and maybe abuse.

Lets think of a few characters from the Bible that were put in that position.

• Noah; God instructed him to build a boat on the top of a mountain.
• David, who accepted the invitation to fight Goliath.
• All of the early disciples, who met together in fear after the death of Jesus.

In our Old Testament reading from Amos, we hear of Amos who was told to push off and go back to his farming because he spoke out a message from God, which his listeners did not want to hear. Then we have John the Baptist who initially announced the coming of Jesus, and then went on to criticise King Herod for his behaviour in marrying his brother’s wife. John was initially placed in prison for doing this but, eventually was beheaded because he ‘pricked’ the conscience of King Herod’s wife. He made life uncomfortable and so he had to go.

All of the above are examples of the type of follower we are called to be. In our reading from Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 we read,

‘He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight’.

Maybe when we see that word holy we just associate it with characters in the Bible. But, this word is for us also. To be holy is to be like Jesus. Of course we can never hope to be totally like Jesus but, we are called to strive to be like him. Remember, the message that Jesus gave was not a comfortable one, and it cost him his life in the end. He did promise us an abundant life though, but not in the way that we would expect.

We should not misinterpret Jesus’ promise of the ‘abundant life’ to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, a constant happiness, a full realisation of your dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer. In a word, we should not expect life to be easy. We should not expect heaven on earth.

I assisted at a funeral last week where a man had died from cancer. His partner told me that the man’s most fulfilling years were after he had contracted cancer and devoted himself to supporting others who were suffering from the disease. Coming to France was a dream come true, but they certainly did not enjoy good health or instant relief from problems. Yet in a wonderful way they enjoyed an abundant life.

Every day we are faced with issues that demand a response from us. How do you react? Do you strive to be holy in your response? Allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us and be a faithful follower. Or do you let yourself become a fearful follower and deny the Holy Spirit the opportunity to guide us.

Let us all strive to be holy. To listen to God and be obedient to what he has planned for us to do. Our life may not be a comfortable one, but it will certainly be an abundant and fulfilling one. Amen.

Adrian Wilson : Reader, Anglican Chaplaincy of Midi-Pyrénées & Aude

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