Serve and protect God's creation

 

Reflection 26^th September 2021

 

I don’t know about you but during this last 18 months I’ve valued time with nature more than ever before. Whether that’s been in the garden watching bees and butterflies, or hearing bird song, robins, blackbirds and even an owl. At dusk watching bats flitting around. And, on those occasions when we’ve ventured further afield, we’ve seen hares and birds such as egrets. Even as I wrote this I am looking out of my window and saw two wonderful spiders’ webs on a bush outside.

These moments with nature have been precious. And they have made me feel more and more strongly of the need for us, as God’s people, to be speaking out more loudly about the need to care for God’s planet. For that is our understanding of this world. God who created this planet has lent it to us to care for and nurture.

In Genesis 2:15 we hear that

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. NIV

But the Hebrew can be translated differently. It could be translated as “God put the man in the Garden of Eden to serve and protect it.” The Contemporary English translation captures this well:

¹⁵ The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. CEV

When we think that way, that we are you to serve and protect this planet on God’s behalf, we get a clear understanding that the Earth is not humankind’s to do with as we please. It is God’s. We are God’s servants, and we are called to look after his creation. Think of it this way. A friend gave you a precious possession to look after. We’d do so, wouldn’t we? Why then have we treated our beautiful planet so differently?

Despite what many people think, our planet is not a commodity. It is God’s precious possession. He’s allowed us to use it. But by exploiting it and damaging it we are hurting God. And we are hurting Christ too.

In Colossians 1:17 we are told that:

¹⁷ Christ himself is before all things, and in^[a] him all things hold together.

The Church has tended to move away from thinking this. There has been an avoidance of wanting to place too much emphasis on nature for fear of worshipping nature itself. But as long as we remember that it is through Christ that everything holds together, we understand the importance of nature and our part to play in caring for it and valuing it. All too often people have done things in isolation without realising the wider consequences. If we damage one thing, we damage everything. All parts and all people, all issues are interconnected. In Christ.

For example. For many years there was no concern expressed about the rain forests being cut down. But gradually there has been a realisation that the vast rain forests provide an important part of keeping our planet habitable by taking CO² out of the atmosphere and releasing oxygen. As well as the rain forest proving habit for all manner of creatures and people. If we destroy the rain forests, we destroy the planet.

If you like me enjoy orchestral music, you’ll understand that in an orchestra all instruments have a part to play. Without them all, the orchestra loses its harmony. In fact, the harmony is destroyed. And it is the same with our planet. It matters that God’s creation is being destroyed. If the harmony of God’s creation is disrupted, then all of nature is not together.

The responsibility to care for the planet belongs to all people. But I feel that as Christians we have a special responsibility. In fact, we should be setting an example. We should be seen to be taking a lead in all we do. Whether that means ensuring our investments are ethical, buying toilet paper made from recycled paper, thinking about using green energy providers at home and in church, lobbying our MPs. There are so many ways in which can demonstrate to the wider world that we care and recognise that in serving God we are tending his planet.

Of course, there are many people outside Church who see this as an important issue. Young people especially. I’m sure many of you will have found that your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are really into this. And rightly so. It is their future we are talking about. They are looking to us to act. I was watching something on television last week and an advert came on for a green initiative targeted at companies to make them greener. It featured children around the world speaking about their concerns. But the one that touched me was a little American boy saying “I’m six! What can I do to sort it? You need to sort it.” Very true.

Caring for the earth is part of our worship. In caring for God’s planet, we are worshipping him and his precious son Jesus. After all, God made the planet for Jesus too!

In caring for our planet, we worship God, both in our attitudes and our actions regarding creation. You may remember how in the creation story in Genesis 1, God creates human beings and, depending on the Bible translation we read, it says that people will rule over the planet and creatures or have dominion over them. I think that way has led to an attitude of exploitation by much of humanity. I much prefer how The Message puts it “Let us make human beings in our image, reflecting our nature, so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle And, yes, Earth itself, Genesis 1 26 – 28 The Message

We are made in God’s image. So why have human beings not cared for God’s creation? We are supposed to be stewards of HIS planet, yet we’ve exploited it and harmed it. However, we must remember that Jesus promised that through him there was a new creation. Through Jesus we as his followers can hope for things to change. But we must be part of the new creation ourselves.

Why communion is special

 

Reflection 15th August 2021

A significant part of my calling to be a minister is that I felt a strong call to be able to preside at communion as the phrase has it. In other words, to be able to dispense communion. And by definition a Methodist “presbyter” to use the official term, is “A Minister of Word and Sacrament”. In other words, I preach and share the Gospel wherever and whenever I can, and I give communion.

Now before I go on, I should say that a question posed very often to me is “Why is it only ministers can serve communion?” The answer is that for time immemorial in most denominations only those who have been ordained can serve communion.

For me being able to preside at communion is a central part of my calling. And when I entered ministry in 2007, I held this in reverence. I took it very seriously and felt that everyone who received communion should treat communion with reverence too. So, when one of my churches told me that it had been agreed that children could receive communion as long as their parents were happy with that, I was not very pleased. How could a child treat this “solemn memorial” as communion is sometimes described in Methodist doctrine, with reverence? Nevertheless, I agreed – for the moment – to go along with it.

The first Sunday I took communion at that church a family came up to the communion rail. Mum and Dad and three children including a 5-year-old. I went along the rail and placed bread in each of their hands. Then I came to 5-year-old Jenny. Jenny looked into my eyes and gave me a beaming smile as she held her hands out. My heart melted. And at that moment I felt ashamed that I’d had negative thoughts about children at communion.

One of my other churches also had the practice of children receiving communion. After my experience with Jenny, I was fine with this. And duly gave communion to several children there. Several months later, after one communion service in which a small boy had dropped his communion glass spilling the “wine”, an elderly lady came up to me after service. “I don’t know we allow children to receive communion. They don’t understand what is going on!” I replied to her “Tell me Mrs Evans. Do you really know what is going on at communion for I don’t, and I doubt you do either!”

The Methodist Catechism says that

 “In The Lord’s Supper Jesus Christ is present with his worshipping people and gives himself to them as their Lord and Saviour. As hey eat bread and drink the wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit they receive him by faith with thanksgiving. They give thanks with the whole Church for Christ’s sacrifice of himself once and for all on the cross. The Lod’ Supper recalls Christ’s Last Supper with his disciples. It proclaims Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, unites the participants with him so that they are a living sacrifice in him, and gives them a foretaste of his heavenly banquet.”

 

The Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion is a sacrament, and as a sacrament it is an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. In other words, it is just like in baptism. When the water is poured over a person's head or into which a person is submerged, it is a sign that the person has been spiritually changed from the inside out, and they have died with Christ so that they might rise with him. In communion the bread and the wine become for us a sign of what Christ is doing inside us, in our very souls.

American Methodist Minister Will Willimon relates the following story. It was a cold Christmas Eve.  Will Willimon, was rushing his family to get into the car.  They were running late for the communion service.  "Where are my sermon notes?  Where is the pulpit robe?  Don't forget to turn off the lights.  Everybody get in the car and be quiet!"

On the way to the church, rushing through the traffic, their 5-year-old- daughter, Harriet, got car sick and vomited.  "Great!"  Will Willimon thought, "If people only knew what preachers go through."  He wheeled into the church parking lot and jumped out of the car, leaving his wife, Patsy, to clean up the car and get the kids into the church… and he thought, "If people only knew what preachers' spouses go through."

His wife, Patsy, led a still unsteady and pale Harriet into the church.  They sat on the back pew in the darkness just in case Harriet got sick again.  Their son, William junior, aged seven, ran down to the front of the church to sit with his grandparents.  Will Willimon threw on his robe, took a deep breath, and started the service.  He made it through the first part of the service and the sermon.  Then came Holy Communion.  Mrs Willimon came forward to receive the sacrament, but she left Harriet on the back pew.  Harriet was still so pale and so weak and so sick. 

But then something beautiful happened.  Seven-year-old William junior got up and came back to the communion rail.  "What on earth is he doing?" wondered his parents.  "He's already received communion once.  What is he up to?"  They watched him race to the back of the church and scoot down the pew toward his sister.  He opened his hands revealing a small piece of bread.  "Harriet," he said, "This is the body of Christ given for you."  Without hesitation, little Harriet picked the bread out of her brother's hands and plopped it into her mouth and said, "Amen."  And in that moment Holy Communion had never been more holy.  Then 7-year-old William patted his 5-year-old sister Harriet on the head.  He smiled.  She smiled.  And then he turned and ran back down to the front of the church to re-join his grandparents. 

Think of that. 7-year-old brother William thought to include Harriet.  Either because she wasn't being included, or he thought it might help her feel better he reached out to his sister with what really mattered — the body of Christ in the form of communion.  There's a name for that. It's called LOVE! 

 

Let's be mindful of why communion is so special. Let's look upon the sacrament with wonder and awe, and bring our sins, and even our doubts, and behold the very presence of Jesus in the humble sacrament of bread and wine, of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

The royal law - Love your neighbour as yourself

 

Reflection Sunday 5^th September 2021

Chapter 2 of the Book of James starts off with a short illustration:

2 My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won’t treat some people better than others. ² Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. ³ You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. ⁴ That is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge. James 2: 1 – 4 Contemporary English Version

James is writing to address a problem within the early church in Jerusalem – that preference is shown to rich people at the expense of the poor.  James is addressing those who claim to profess the faith of Jesus, but do not live up to it. It’s a reminder that preference for the rich, rather than the poor, is a betrayal of God’s law, the law of love.

The behaviour described in James’ story isn’t just confined to a first century church. It is typical of human behaviour on so many occasions. All so often the rich and prosperous – especially if they are well dressed and have the outward trappings of wealth – are welcomed in, and the poor are excluded.

As I was writing this I remembered a film called “Pretty Woman”. If you’ve not seen it, it is a story of how a very wealthy man falls in love with a prostitute – Vivian Ward. He saves her from the gutter as it were and then they live happily ever after. In one scene, after they have just met, he decides that if Vivian is to be his companion she needs to dress more smartly. He gives her his credit card and sends her off to some exclusive shops. However, when Vivian walks in to one shop in her scruffy jeans and t shirt, the swanky shop assistant refuses to serve her kind. Vivian is served in another shop, and she returns – beautifully dressed – to the first shop to point out the costly mistake of the shop assistant.

That is how people often are. Societies all too often treat the rich with worldly honour; meanwhile the poor are addressed with scorn and degradation. 2000 years ago, James was able to identify this behaviour going on in the early church.

James pulls no punches in telling those in the early church who favour the rich over the poor that they have done wrong.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? James 2:5

These words echo Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes Matthew 5:3, or in Luke 6:20

James reminds us that God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in respect of faith. God has promised that the poor are the heirs of his kingdom. The view of society – that the rich should be honoured – is completely at odds with the preaching and teaching of Jesus.

And James reminds us that there is a royal law:

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’^[a] you are doing right.

Christianity always has a special message for the poor and marginalised. The Christian message has consistently been that those who matter to no one else, matter immensely to God.

So often we in church are concerned about dwindling numbers. There are many reasons for the decline. But I cannot help feeling at times that one reason is that what the church says goes so far against the values of the world.  When we have a society that idolises the rich and encourages wealth – seemingly at any cost – then our message:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.

And

‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’

falls on deaf ears. But our message is truth and we must keep proclaiming it. In our own society when we are all rich when compared to most of the world, then people think they don’t need the Gospel. However we as Christians need to challenge the world. We need to keep proclaiming that:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.

And

‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’

That means we as Christians must be the voices for those who have no voice. That means for example, instead of tutting at refugees coming across the channel in small boats, we should be questioning why they are fleeing their countries in the first place. I use the word refugee. Sometimes the press talk about “Migrants”. Sometimes about “Asylum seekers”. And those terms have taken on a negative image in the press. But first and foremost these are people. They are human beings. We must remember that.

Maybe if we started to think of refugees and migrants as people needing Christ’s love, our attitudes would change? Maybe if we knew their names, their faces, their ambitions and their fears, their loves, what they fled from, then we’d begin to think of them as our neighbours? Maybe we’d challenge our politicians. Maybe we’d try to help them in some way? And maybe we’d be prepared to offer them sanctuary and help instead of rejection?

Staycation or holiday? Either way we need it

About 10 years ago now a new word entered the English language It was “Staycation”. The 13^th edition of Chambers Dictionary (published in 2014) defines Staycation as “a period of holiday spent at one’s home”. And over the last year or so a lot of people have been having a staycation as it’s not proved possible to go away. But this year, as restrictions relaxed people started to use “staycation” in a different way meaning taking a holiday in this country. Is it me, or isn’t going on holiday in this country just going on holiday?

I think what reporters meant was that people couldn’t go abroad for a holiday so were having to stay in this country for holiday. I must admit I got cross about this – not so much about using “staycation” in a different way to its dictionary definition, but because the suggestion that going on holiday in this country was some how second best.

Over the years with my family, I’ve enjoyed a few holidays abroad but I’m aware that for many people a foreign holiday is still a dream and in fact any kind of holiday is treat.

That said, a holiday of some kind whether a staycation, in this country or abroad is important. For a holiday provides us with much needed rest. IN the account of Creation in the Bible we are told that after God had created the world, on the seventh day he rested (Genesis 2:2). Hardly surprising!

The story teller’s point is the importance of rest. And for the Jewish faith, and subsequently the Christian faith a day of rest, a Sabbath Day, has always been part of our faith.

But we see in Jesus’ ministry times when he needed rest and solitude

IN Matthew 14: 22 – 23, after Jesus had fed the five thousand, he left the crowds and the disciples for a time of solitude and prayer. In Mark 6: 30 – 32 he said to his disciples:  Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So, they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place”. And in Mark 7:24 we are told “Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet He could not keep His presence secret” Even Jesus wearied of constant contact with other people – just as we can – and need some time to himself.

Taking a break isn’t always easy. We may not be able to afford it. We feel guilty. We replay all those things we should be doing. But we must make time for rest. As followers of Jesus, we try and live our lives by modelling his life as best we can. Therefore, if Jesus had a staycation, then so should we.

 This blog was written for the website of the website of the North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit https://www.northwiltsmethodistcircuit.org.uk/welcome.htm

Bread of life

 

Reflection 1^st August 2021

 

During 19^th century, missionaries started taking the Gospel into China. Initially there seemed to be a lot of success. Churches offered food as well as the Gospel and people were hungry for – food. Many were converted and baptised and joined the church. They remained active members if their physical needs were met through the generosity of others. But once their prospects improved and their families no longer needed rice, these so called “rice Christians” drifted away from church.

Of course, this isn’t just something seen in 19^th century China. It has been seen throughout church history. For example, I remember my grandmother telling me of when she was what we would call a teenager, during the First World War, the chapels in her South Wales village were full. (This was not long after the great Revival in Wales too.) But once the war was ended people drifted away. They had come to pray for family members but had no use for the church afterwards.

In the Bible passage we are thinking about today – John 6: 24 – 35 – we see the equivalent of rice Christians flocking to hear Jesus in the aftermath of his feeding the five thousand. They come to him for their own wants to be met. They had seen or heard about the miracle Jesus performed with the loaves and fishes, and rather than seeing it as a miracle, or sign pointing them to faith in the living God and God’s Son, they saw it as away of being fed.

‘Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. John 6:26

Jesus points out to them they have got it wrong:

²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6: 27

With the phrase “Food that spoils” Jesus is moving the discussion in a different direction. Jesus means the crowd must work towards a true faith rather than faith of convenience. Jesus is reminding those who are hearing him of the story of the Israelites in the wilderness. They received manna from heaven, but it did not keep fresh longer than a day. The manna did not “endure” but “spoiled” overnight.

There is a real danger for us in not seeking or expecting food that endures and instead looking for something that is for here and now or is just for our own needs and wants. We can think of the things of this world in that sense. So many people after all seem to try and satisfy their hunger by materialism or through drink or drug or sex. Mother Teresa in her book Life in the Spirit expressed it well:

 “The spiritual poverty of the Western world is much greater than the physical poverty of [Third World] people. You in the West have millions of people who suffer such terrible loneliness and emptiness. They feel unwanted and unloved ... These people are not hungry in a physical sense, but they are in another way. They know they need something more than money, yet they don't know what it is. What they are missing really is a living relationship with God.”

However, there is that danger that even those of us who think of ourselves as Christians are not much more than “rice Christians”. If we only see being a Christian as being part of friendly club then do we really see Jesus as “the bread of life”? In terms of today we must be 7 day a week Christians rather than just Sunday Christians.

Bread for many cultures around the world is staple. It is an everyday thing. A basic food. Most of us may well have eaten bread sometime over the last week if not every day. And that is the point Jesus is making. He is that staple. He is someone we should be ingesting, consuming every day. Few of us have bread just once a week so why should be thinking of Jesus only on Sunday?

If you’ve ever been on holiday to France then chances are you will have visited a Boulangerie, a bakery. They are special places, for in small towns and villages certainly, the boulangerie is a key part of the community. And on occasions where we’ve come across a village in France where there is no boulangerie then there is something lacking. The French seem to treat bread with reverence, they do not take it for granted. And certainly, at most French meals bread is always present.

Jesus “the bread of life” should not be taken for granted. We should be seeking to include him in everything we do in our daily life. We should be praying with him, reading about him in the Bible, taking more of him in. Jesus the bread of life should be central to us. We should not be leaving him in our spiritual bread bins!

The truth being communicated by Jesus’ saying ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 is difficult for us to understand and comprehend. And despite my exhortation in this Reflection to encourage you to “eat” the “bread of life” so that you won’t be spiritually hungry, it’s hard to really explain. But maybe that is the point.

We are so used nowadays to having an explanation for everything, that we aren’t comfortable with the not knowing. The 16^th century theologian John Calvin was once asked to explain the Eucharist (Communion.) He replied that he would rather experience it than understand it. And I think that is the point. To feed upon the truth of who Jesus is, to find spiritual sustenance in him, is better than trying to understand him.

Having the fragrance of Christ

 

Reflection 8th August 2021

5 ¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, ² and live in love, as Christ loved us^[a] and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5: 1 - 2

Our sense of smell is the physical sense most associated with memory. Smells, more than sounds, more than sights, more than touches, transport our minds and bodies back in time to an imprinted memory. Nothing evokes stronger emotions and memories like the sense of smell. Each of us has memory smells.

In the days of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, burnt offerings were the norm — sometimes grain, but more often small birds, lambs, calves, all were sacrificed and burned. Burnt sacrifice was offered to appease God’s righteous anger over the sins and transgressions the people of Israel had committed. The sacrifices were made with herbs and oil. No wonder all those sacrifices were referred to by the priests as “fragrant.” The sweet smell of roasted richness coupled with the belief in its aromatic road to redemption, made for a heady atmosphere.

Jesus changed everything. The community of faith that came into being after Calvary was not based upon temple sacrifices. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice, which made all those unnecessary. With Jesus’ death the powers of death itself were forever banished. And so was the perpetual need for seeking divine forgiveness via sacrifices in the Temple. In the theology of Temple Judaism, Jesus’ sacrifice was so perfect and complete that nothing more was required.

Our faith in Jesus means a commitment to be his presence in the world through the community of faith which is the Church. We, Jesus’ people, are the aroma of Christ in the world.

In this week’s Ephesians’ text, the author describes what a community of faith, a true Aroma of Christ, might look and smell like. No lies, only truth. No hate, only love. No condemnation, only forgiveness and love. An Aroma of Christ in the Church reflects God. We are to be “imitators” of God — forgiving, loving, open to all, sinners, and seekers. Those who embrace and embody these actions and attributes emit a special “smell.” It is the “fragrance” of Christ.

Apparently in 2019 the Fragrance Industry was worth £7 billion to the UK economy. And worldwide in 2018 it was worth $31.4 billion. People spend an awful lot of money each year trying to mask their body odours or attract someone else! What the writer to the Ephesians says is that there is only one scent that Christians are called to carry — that is the “fragrance” of Christ. If we were to try and describe this “fragrance” it would be the essential essence of divine love and forgiveness that wafted its way on the world from the hill called Calvary.

Forget your Chanel Number 5, or gentlemen your Old Spice! There should be no higher compliment to a person than this one: “I smell Jesus in you.” There should be no higher compliment to a church than this one: “the bouquet of Jesus is all over your church.” Or how about this compliment: “the fragrance of Jesus just gets stronger and stronger in your church.”

If we think of an expensive perfume, it is often made up of exotic ingredients and accordingly it is expensive and hence extravagant to use. In today’s epistle lesson, some of the ingredients of the aroma of Christ are spelled out.

First, they’re not exotic. We might even read the advice in today’s Ephesians’ text as nothing more than “be loving and forgiving”. But the repercussions of love and forgiveness are life-changing and world-changing.

Second, the ingredients of the aroma of Christ are not extravagant. Some people like to douse themselves in perfume or cologne. In the words of the old Brut commercial “Splash it all over”. But the truth is that just a little aroma of Christ has transformative properties. Just a small amount of Christ’s love and forgiveness are all that are needed.

In meteorological circles there is a technical term called “near calm.” “Near calm” is when only a one mile per hour of wind is recorded. “Near calm” describes a breeze that is just enough to bend a blade of grass. It appears to be an insignificant amount of wind.

But wait a minute: a one mile per hour wind could alter the flight of a golf ball or a tennis ball. A near calm wind could have consequences for Tiger Woods or Andy Murray. Just a tiny amount of “near calm,” just a tiny dab of love and forgiveness in someone’s life, can create huge changes. The aromas of Christ offered by a small community of faith can have massive consequences.

When Bill Clinton met Nelson Mandela for the first time, he had a question on his mind: "When you were released from prison, Mr. Mandela, as you marched from the cellblock across to the gate of the prison, the camera focused in on your face. I have never seen such anger, and even hatred, in any man as was expressed on your face at that time. That's not the Nelson Mandela I know today," said Clinton. "What was that about?"

Mandela answered, " I regret that the cameras caught my anger. I was thinking to myself, ‘They've taken everything from you that matters. Your cause is dead. Your family is gone. Your friends have been killed. Now they're releasing you, but there's nothing left for you out there.' And I hated them for what they had taken from me. Then, I sensed an inner voice saying to me, ‘Nelson! For twenty-seven years you were their prisoner, but you were always a free man! Don't allow them to make you into a free man, only to turn you into their prisoner!'"

We have only to breathe deep of the fragrance of Christ, and exhale that sweet smell upon the world to bring about transformation. Transformation of ourselves and transformation of others who smell the fragrance of Christ.

Note: This Reflection was inspired by a Sermon of Leonard Sweet published on https://sermons.com/

Seeing God at work in others

 

Reflection Sunday 25^th July 2021

 

We are all familiar with the story of the loaves and fishes. (John 6: 1 - 21) And in John's version of the story a
boy who came forward with his five barley loaves and two fishes that Jesus used as the basis for his miracle. From a preacher’s point of view, it’s always a challenge to preach on such a familiar story.

Reading the story once again got me thinking about the boy. What prompted him to come forward? John doesn’t tell us. But I think what the boy’s actions do is make us think about how we can see God in the Ordinary things and how we can see God through others.

I don’t often watch the One Show but last week I saw an episode where a young man from Devon was given a Thank You award by the programme for the work he had done in establishing a book bank in his community. The young man had learning difficulties, but he had used his own money and encouraged others to donate to this foodbank. That is a sign of God at work right there. God in ordinary things working through others.

God can be at work through others even though they don’t know it and even if they don’t believe in God.  God can be seen in the lives of ordinary people. All we need to do is open our eyes and tune our hearts to see God at work.

So where can we see God at work?

We can see God at work when Compassion is offered without embarrassment.

When we were on holiday, we were driving back to the caravan one evening through the outskirts of Poole along a busy road running through a residential area. Suddenly traffic started to slow down and on the opposite side of the road was a nice Mercedes car, in the middle of the road, with hazard lights on and the driver’s door open. We wondered if there had been an accident. But then we saw on the opposite side of road on the pavement an elderly lady who had fallen. The Mercedes driver had clearly seen it happen and had stopped to help without thinking of all the tutting drivers behind her.

It was like a modern retelling of the Good Samaritan. The kind of love God would want us to show was there. That is compassion offered without embarrassment. Just as the boy brought his picnic forward unashamedly.

We also see God in the Ordinary when Hope is offered without strings such as when we give someone a good listening too. I may have told this story before but one time when on police chaplaincy duty with a traffic officer, we were called to an incident in Cricklade. This was a few days before Christmas. A large articulated lorry was parked on double yellow lines on a narrow street. To make matters worse the lorry had a refrigerated unit that was making quite a racket outside the home of an elderly woman who had phoned the police. We went into the home, decorated with a meagre Christmas tree and a handful of cards and the woman poured out her story.

The officer came away dismayed that he’d not been able to solve the problem of finding the driver and getting the lorry moved. But I pointed out to him that he had given this lonely lady his time. He’d listened to her. That’s really what she needed. For her things didn’t seem so bad after all.

Sometimes we bring Hope, the Hope of God just by being with someone. Just by walking alongside them and not saying anything.

In his book The Grace Awakening (Word, 1990), Charles Swindoll relates the following story:

During his days as President of America, Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions were traveling across the country on horseback. They came to a river which had burst its banks and washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents. The very real possibility of death threatened each rider, which caused a traveller who was not part of their group to step aside and watch.

After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river. The President agreed without hesitation. The man climbed on, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the other side.

As the stranger slid off the back of the saddle onto dry ground, one in the group asked him, "Tell me, why did you select the President to carry you across?"

The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the President who had helped him. "All I know," he said, "is that on some of your faces was written the answer 'No,' and on some of them was the answer 'Yes.' His was a 'Yes' face."

What answer is written on your face? What answer do others see in you? We can see God in The Ordinary when Hope Is Offered Without Strings. We can also help others see God in The Ordinary when Hope Is Offered Without Strings in our lives.

Finally, we see God in the Ordinary when Love is offered without limits.

Mother Teresa heard of a family whose nine members were starving to death. She hurriedly obtained some rice and went to the family, giving them enough rice to prepare a meal. But the woman divided the rice into two piles, placed one in a bag and started to leave. Mother Teresa asked where she was going. The woman said she was going to visit another family who she knew was starving also.

That is Love without limits. That is God working right there in the act of selfless generosity by that starving woman. A bit like the boy giving up his picnic for others.

The story is told about a young person, whose heart was torn and wounded by seeing all the suffering in the world. This young person went to God in prayer and complained bitterly to God: "Even I could make a better world than this one."

And God answered, "That's what you are supposed to be doing."

John Wesley is attributed as saying: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, in all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." When we do, as God intended, we are making a better world.

When the Love of God and our Love for God lives in our hearts it naturally flows from our actions and others will see God in The Ordinary in us. When we see random acts of Compassion Without Embarrassment, Hope Without Strings and Love Without Limits we are seeing God at work. It reminds us that God IS in the ordinary acts and activities of life.

And people will see the same in us too.