Changing times, same needs

After a funeral service which I had led recently, I was chatting with one of the mourners, who was a relation of the deceased.  In reminiscing, she looked back to the time of her own wedding, which was, I think, back in the 1950s.  The wedding took place in the Leicestershire village where she lived at the time.  The lady said that the number of people attending the wedding was around 120, of which about 100 were relatives.  What I found really interesting was that she then went on to mention that all 100 of the relatives who attended the wedding lived in the same village!

This reminded me that there was a time, which has to a large extent disappeared, when families tended to live close to one another.  This newly married couple had the constant love and support of siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles etc.  Though families are never perfect, I am sure that for many people in days gone by the support, care, wisdom and friendship of various family members proved invaluable, and a great support network.

There has been much recent publicity about what has been termed an "epidemic of loneliness" in our society.  I wonder whether that, and a number of other social problems of our time, have at least partly been caused by the disappearance of many of those family support networks.  Even families which have maintained strong bonds over the years often find that geographically they are a long way from each other.  Tracing my own family tree revealed that for many generations, down to my own generation, my family had always lived in Yorkshire.   Now, very few of us live in that beautiful county (though I hope that one day I may return!)

One of the images which is used of Church is "family."  The Gospel writer John, speaking of those who rejected Jesus, goes on to say,  'Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.' (John 1.12).  Through Jesus we are welcomed into God's family!

In recent years we have been blessed with new people being welcomed into the local churches where I serve as Minister.  They have been attracted by the warmth of the welcome and love which they have experienced, and have become part of our church families.  Of course we don't always get it right, but at its best (and as Jesus intended it to be) Church should be like a family, offering the love, care, support and encouragement which we all need at times ('Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn' - Romans 12.15).  In a society in which many are afflicted by a terrible sense of loneliness, it is as important as ever that we be the kind of Church to which we are called!

A poignant message

Sue and I recently spent a couple of days in the city of Hull (or Kingston upon Hull, to give it its full title).  Hull has been designated as the 2017 UK City of Culture.  It is also the place where Sue and I lived for the first few years of our married lives.  We thought that with Hull being City of Culture this year, it would be a good opportunity to return and see what has changed over the years.

We enjoyed our brief time in Hull, and took the opportunity to visit some of the places which we never quite got round to visiting during the time when we lived in the city, including museums, art galleries etc.  In one of the places we visited, I noticed a poster on a wall which caught my attention:

The more I thought about those words, the more challenging they became.  Whether we realise it or not, the way we live our lives, our actions and our words, can make a real difference (for good or evil) in all sorts of ways.

During our time in Hull we visited some long-time friends, Les and Marjorie; we first got to meet them when we were members of the same church in Hull back in the late 70s / early 80s.  We have remained friends ever since, though we haven’t seen each other much in recent years.  We spent a lovely evening with Les & Marjorie and their daughter Alison.  It’s great how easily friendships can be renewed, even when you haven’t met for some years.  We really enjoyed sharing some happy memories and looking forward to future plans.

The poignancy of the message of the poster on the wall was brought home to us very strongly when we learned that just a day or two after our visit, Les was rushed into hospital with a suspected stroke, and a few days later he passed away.  It is a desperately sad time for all Les’ family and friends, even though we know that because his faith was in Jesus he is safe in God’s loving care.

Les was a builder by trade.  Many years ago, he stayed with us when we lived in Norwich and built an extension to our kitchen.  Even though he has officially been retired for some years, he was still very active helping out in practical ways whenever he could.  He was a down to earth sort of person, but at the same time he was a gentleman and a gentle man.  He had a heart to reach out to anyone in need.  He was a good friend to many, and will be greatly missed.  I have no doubt that the way that Les lived his life was an influence for good in so many ways.  His life really did help shape the lives of many others.

His sudden death is a reminder, if we needed it, that this earthly life is very fragile.  We truly don’t know what the future will bring, but here and now we have an opportunity to use our lives to help shape the future for good.  The choice is ours!

Father Abraham

As a child I was often entranced by the great stories and characters of the Bible; indeed, the attraction has never left me!  The Bible tells it as it is, without pulling any punches.  There is no sugar-coating, and no glossing over the major character flaws in the lives of many of its major figures.

Take the Old Testament figure of Abraham, for example, whose life we examined this week in our Lent group  Abraham is one of the Biblical heroes; indeed, he is revered within all three great monotheistic religions, Christianity Judaism and Islam.  The 11th chapter of the New Testament book of Hebrews is a list of the names and heroic deeds of faith of some key Biblical characters.  Abraham gets more column inches than anyone else, and is warmly commended for his great faith.

There is no doubt that at times Abraham demonstrated tremendous faith in God, and was obedient to God's commands even when they didn't seem to make any sense.  Yet we know that at other times his doubts overcame him.  One of the main examples of this is when Abraham and his wife Sarah travelled to Egypt to escape the famine which was taking place in Canaan.  At this point, Abraham was more concerned for his own welfare than Sarah's:  

As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarah, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife.” Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.’  When Abraham came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarah was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abraham well for her sake, and Abraham acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels'  (Genesis 12.11-16).

Perhaps the implication is that Sarah was taken into Pharaoh's harem.  The episode didn't end well; when Pharaoh discovered the truth he sent the pair packing.  Not a great example of Abraham's faith or integrity!  Later in the story, Abraham failed to trust God to fulfil his promise that Abraham and Sarah will have a son; he took matters into his own hands and had a child by his servant Hagar.  Yes, Abraham had some deep flaws.  Just like Israel's greatest king, David, who not only committed adultery with Bathsheba but arranged for her husband to be killed.  Moses was a murdered and a fugitive from justice.  The list could go on!

What all this means is that when we mess up, God doesn't write us off.  In fact, he never gives up on us.  As the verse of the old hymn states,

Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet;
why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget;
home, weary wanderers, home!
Wonderful love dwells in the heart of the Father above.

In Jesus we can know forgiveness and new beginnings.  There's always hope, for every person.