Indelible writing
A teacher at our school had the task of interviewing students suspected of doing wrong things. He had a special way of getting at the truth. Sometimes, if he felt the student was giving false information, he would say, “just a moment, while I write that down.” Invariably the student would say “No sir, please don’t write that down.” And the truth would gradually come out.
At Golgotha, Pilate wrote a notice and put it on the cross –“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘the King of the Jews’, but rather, ‘this man said, I am the King of the Jews.” Pilate answered and said, “What I have written, I have written.” He refused to change it. For him it was indelible.
Recorded in the scriptures, translated into many languages, that notice stands in judgment upon all who had put an innocent man to death. Three days later the empty tomb and the presence of the Lord witnessed to the world that Jesus was indeed Lord and King, not only of the Jews, but of all.
At Easter we see written large everywhere the indelible truth, the Good News of Easter. With all the Church, we can rejoice, praise Him, and sing, THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELULIA!
Reflection:
Inscribed upon the cross we see
In shining letters, ‘God is love’. TIS 347:2
Bill Pugh
Take a seat
Our local council offers a hard rubbish collection upon request, so from time-to-time random piles of discards appear on nature strips awaiting removal.
Recently I noticed such a collection outside of the home of Bob, our late Church Council Chair, who died many years ago.His daughter and her family still live in the home.
Central to the pile was a battered old sofa of the mid-century, heavily-patterned-with-roses style.Clearly worn out, it nevertheless evoked instant memories of home groups, subcommittees and hospitality.When he retired, Bob took to baking and was a dab hand at it too.
How many hours had I sat on that sofa, what stories it could tell!Wistful with memories, I stopped to inspect.“Take a seat,” I could almost hear Bob say, proffering his biscuits and tea, but I didn’t consider purloining the old sofa as it was clearly well past its prime.
What wasn’t past usefulness was the wisdom of my old friend and mentor; and I now fill the role he once did. Chancing upon that clear-out gave me a chance to remember, reflect and appreciate.
Reflection
It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.Daniel 2:21
Ian Menzies
Community at work
Every year, our church organises Christmas hampers for families of people in prison. Many of them come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Nearly all have young children.
Our church has run the Christmas hampers for more than 20 years. It is a great way for families in our congregations to shop together and make a difference. The kids in particular have fun choosing their favourite snacks for the hampers. It’s also a valuable lesson for them to remember there are children in the community who are not as lucky as they are.
We always have a Christmas hamper service in early December where all the hampers are gathered together in the back of the church. After the service, the younger members of the congregation help carry the hampers over to the truck.
Some of the hampers are quite heavy, so the elderly members watch on and provide words of encouragement. The hospitality team brings out tea and coffee for the volunteers, as well as icypoles and hot cross buns for the kids.
There is a real community spirit, which is made all the more rewarding by the knowledge that we have contributed, in a small way, to making Christmas a little brighter for those doing it tough during the festive season.
Reflection:
Let us not be quick to judge those who are in prison for whatever reason. Instead, let us open our hearts with love and generosity to all of God’s children.
Brian Lee
Image: Poppet with a camera/Flickr
A Wispy Cloud
It was early spring. We were having a cuppa on the front porch, a privilege of retirement. It was a lovely sunny morning. The garden was buzzing with signs of new life. Daffodils, jonquils, freesias and daphne on display. The lorikeets and honeyeaters were in turn feasting on the flowering coastal banksia, grevilleas and correas. A wonderful display of nature.
Surely no artist could do justice to this scene. Then above us in the cloudless blue sailed a tiny wispy cloud. The signature of an artist. Surely reminding us of the signs of God in all things. A Wispy Cloud, the brush stroke of the Divine Artist.
In his Canticle of the Sun, Francis of Assisi put into the most beautiful poetry his praise to God as Creator for all life. His words, translated from the original Italian by William Draper, form the hymn of praise we sing in Church. In one verse, as a lover of the outdoors and all nature, he writes of the sky and his observations of wind and cloud thus:
Swift-rushing winds that are so strong,
And clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise him, alleluia!
And we learned that morning on the porch, that even in a tiny wispy cloud, his hand was there, in all were seeing, hearing, and sensing in this little cameo of spring.
Reflection: Read TIS 100.Perhaps focus on one verse and spend time in meditation on such a wonder, and what it means for you, and praise Him.
Bill Pugh
Image: Row4food via Flickr
A parsonage child in Avoca
My father, Rev Roy Addinsall, came to Avoca in April 1934 from East Kew accompanied by his wife Lillace and me, their only child.
Back then, Methodist ministers moved from circuit to circuit like clockwork. When they moved, their final service and farewell took place on the first Sunday of April. The minister had to be preaching in his new Circuit on the third Sunday in April.
There was very little to move because in Methodist Parsonages ‘everything was found’ from linen, cutlery, bedding, furniture etc. All we had to pack were books clothing and the bits and pieces that had been accumulated in preceding years including Mother’s Singer sewing machine.
One of these items was my tricycle, which I had missed in the time between leaving East Kew and arriving at Avoca. On the day of our arrival at Avoca, when the local people were at the Parsonage to welcome the new family, I managed to ride my tricycle off the northern veranda, not being accustomed to having an elevated veranda in East Kew!
Moving in April was hard on Parsonage children who had to make their way in schools in which classes were well established. The saving grace was that these little towns (Avoca, Rainbow and Daylesford in my case) were always welcoming and interested in the new minister’s family.
Reflection: let us give thanks for the generosity and hard work of all who have been involved in ministry and their families who support them in their endeavours.
Joan Addinsall
Image: Mattinbgn/Wikimedia commons