When the brightness fades

One of the churches of which I am Minister have recently created a new Vision Statement.  It is part of a process of looking again at where we believe God is leading us, and our hope is that it will help us to clarify our goals and future direction.  Last Sunday I took the opportunity to talk during the Sunday morning service about the issue of vision.  I reminded the congregation of the verse in the book of Proverbs which states, 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.'  As someone once said, "If you aim for nothing, that's usually what you get!"

As I was preparing for Sunday's service, my mind travelled back to the year 1990, when my brother-in-law and I undertook the 192-mile Coast to Coast Walk (actually we probably walked quite a bit further than that, as my brother-in-law is not the greatest at navigating!)  In particular, I wanted to use a quote in Alfred Wainwright's guide book to the Walk.  I knew that I still had it, so it must be on my bookshelves somewhere!

I remembered that the book's dust jacket was a bright red and white, so it should have stood out easily from the other books.  It shouldn't have been a problem to find (famous last words!)  Well, I undertook what I thought was a thorough search, and the book was nowhere to be seen.  I must admit that I'm not the best at finding things (maybe it's a man thing?), so I tried again, and again I was unsuccessful.  I was becoming frustrated by the missing book, so I left it for a while.

A day or so later, and after several fruitless attempts, i finally found it.  What I hadn't realised was that the spine, which had initially contained bright red lettering on a white background, had faded over the years to such an extent that the lettering can now hardly be seen.  Over time, the sun had bleached the spine so that it now no longer stood out at all on the bookshelf, but merely blended in with the other books.

I was delighted to have found the book, and was able to use the quote (which was to do with the importance of having an aim, in a walk and in life).  But it did leave me thinking about how what happened to the book relates to our spiritual lives of following Jesus.

In particular, I was reminded of some words of Jesus in the section of Matthew's gospel which is called "The Sermon on the Mount."  He says to his followers,
^'You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead it is put on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house.  In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.'

As followers of Jesus, we are called to be different, to stand out; not because we are better than others, but because we have the light of Christ in us.  It seems to me that there is a real danger of allowing ourselves to become faded, like the book, so that we become like the world around us.  The apostle Paul was aware of this danger when he wrote, 'Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.' (Romans 12.2)

When the bananas cloyed

Apologies to anyone who regularly reads my blog for the three week gap since my last entry.  A very nasty chest infection, which seemed to drain me of energy, is my excuse.  Feeling much better new, so here goes...

One of the privileges of my role as a Methodist Minister is the opportunity to meet all sorts of people.  I often find myself really interested when people tell me about their lives.  I've said to many people over the years, "you ought to write your memoirs."  Disappointingly, I've rarely come across anyone who responds in positively to that encouragement.  Sadly, so many people think that their lives and experiences aren't worth much.  If only they realised that every life is precious.

Earlier today I took a funeral service at the local crematorium.  As I waited for the funeral party to arrive, I looked at the printed list of the names of those whose funeral service would take place today, and was interested to note that it was to be James Bond's funeral later in the day!  No doubt that gentleman got plenty of ribbing over the years.

The gentleman whose service I took, served on the forces during WWII.   This included a period in the Far East.  When I met with the family in preparation for the funeral service, they told me that while he was in the Far East, food supplies were in fairly short supply.  Apart, that is, for bananas, which grew in plenty in the area.  This meant, of course, that the main diet for the gentleman and his colleagues was bananas.  It was through that experience that he grew to hate the taste and even the smell of the fruit, and he never ate another banana following his discharge!

As I was driving home after the funeral service, into my mind came a line from the well know hymn, "Lead us heavenly Father, lead us."  In the third verse of the hymn, the hymn-writer writes about the blessings which are experienced through God's Holy Spirit, including "heavenly joy" and "love."  Then comes this line: "pleasure that can never cloy."  A number of times over the years, I have asked congregations, after we have sung the hymn, whether they know what the word "cloy" means.  Very rarely do I get the correct answer!

Basically, cloy relates to something becoming uninteresting or distasteful through overabundance.  I guess that the gentleman whose funeral service I took today really enjoyed bananas when he was first given them.  But after he had been forced to eat them day after day, week after week etc., they not only lost their attraction for him but became something he hated.  Whenever we have too much of something, even if it's something we really like, it can lose its attraction.

The point that hymn-writer is making is that the joy and pleasure which we find in Jesus can never 'cloy.'  The more we get to know him, the more we taste of the joy, grace and love we find in him, the greater our hunger for him.  We can never get too much of Jesus!

So here's a little challenge for you.  Next time you have a conversation with someone, try and use the word cloy and see what their reaction is - maybe we can start a trend?