Rector's Ramblings - Jan 2020

Rector's Ramblings - Jan 2020

Rector's Ramblings - Jan 2020

# Word from the Clergy

Rector's Ramblings - Jan 2020

Rector’s Ramblings January 2020

It’s always difficult writing a magazine article for January when the deadline is so early and we are still very much in the throws of Advent Services and the inevitable round of Christmas Nativity services.  We have just had our first of these today (7th December) and thankfully that is a week later than it was last year, so at least there has been some semblance of Advent making its presence felt before the first rendition of Away in a Manger – my least favoured Carol!

It’s also difficult to think about the future at this point with a General Election just a few days away and having no idea what the future is going to hold for us as a nation as well as individuals.  But I guess that has been pretty much the case throughout human history – you never know for sure what is going to be around the corner and what we might have to cope with next.  

Bible history tells us that this has always been the case too.  There were many twists and turns in the history of the Israelites and then the Jewish people.  At some points in their history they were really up against it and they wondered what on earth they had done to deserve their plight.  At other times they were in much more buoyant mood as their fortunes seemed to have been restored and they felt that both they as individuals and as a nation were doing well.

Now at this point you might expect me to say that it was the times when they were most faithful to God that their experiences were more positive.  But that is not always the case.  What was most certainly the case was this; that God was with them through both the good times and the difficult ones.  It’s just that it’s easier to think that God is not concerned with us when things aren’t going so well, and also easy to forget his presence when things are.  But he was there.  

Some of the most beautiful writing in the Bible comes from the Psalms and many of the Psalms have been a source of strength and comfort for thousands of years.  One we probably know very well is Psalm 23, The Lord’s my Shepherd.  This Psalm talks of God being with us in the good times when he lays a table with good things before us, and it talks about God being with us in the bad, dark times – even when we travel through the valley of the shadow of death.  Through good or ill, God is there.  And that is the promise he gives us in Jesus too, that through good or ill, whatever the future may hold, God is there for us.  

I am sure we are all hoping for a better future, for ourselves, our country and for our planet  Perhaps it will be a great comfort for us to know that God cares for us.  So maybe in response to that, one of our new commitments in this New Year might be to spend just a little more time with him recognising that.

With every blessing.

Tim 

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