This is the last regular letter I will write for a parish magazine after 25 years of doing it almost every month. At times it has been a chore trying to think of something to write about, especially when you have no ideas. At other times it has been a challenge to try to write something which, I hope, would help to spread the good news of God's love for us. So, what do I write about in this last letter?
St John, the writer of the fourth Gospel, lived to a ripe old age at Ephesus. As one of the original disciples of Jesus he was often asked to preach, and it is said that the older he got, the shorter his sermons became, until towards the end of his life his sermons consisted of just 5 words; which were “Little children, love one another”.
Life as a priest is never easy, and as time has gone on more and more has been asked of the parochial clergy. It has been said that to be a vicar you need: the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the memory of an elephant, the tact of a diplomat and the hide of rhinoceros. It has also been said of some parishes that if Our Lord Jesus Christ, St Peter, St Paul and the Archangel Gabriel were all rolled into one as their vicar, they would not be satisfied.
One thing is certain; those who are ordained are still as human as everyone else. But they have been called by God to carry out a specific task within the life of the Church. All Christians need to be people of faith and determination to speak and live for God in a world which seems so often to have forgotten him; and, by living for God, reveal Christ through their lives.
To be the Church means that we have to work together in mutual love. Human nature makes it very unlikely that you will like every priest you have. Also, your priest will not like every member of the congregation he has been called to serve; but Christians are called to rise above such personal likes and dislikes and live a life of mutual love together for the good of the Church and the Gospel. St Peter and St Paul did not get on with each other all the time (see Galatians 2.11 ff), St Paul and St Barnabas split up over whether Mark should accompany them on their missionary journey (Acts 15.37 ff).
You are not bound to LIKE your priest, but you are certainly bound to LOVE him. It is only in that mutual, self sacrificing, Christian love that the Church can truly be what God calls it to be, the living Body of Christ in the world today. To be the Body of Christ means that every member of the Church must work together in love to reveal the love of God to others. The love we are to have for each other is the love shown to us by Jesus. The love which led him to give everything, including his life, for us. He was ready to die for us. Are we ready to die for each other? Not just physically, but in all sorts of ways; ready to 'die' to ourselves, to our ways of doing things so that from our mutual dying to each other out of love, God can rebuild His Church through the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
So my closing words are: “Little children, love one another; for love is of God”.
Stuart
St John, the writer of the fourth Gospel, lived to a ripe old age at Ephesus. As one of the original disciples of Jesus he was often asked to preach, and it is said that the older he got, the shorter his sermons became, until towards the end of his life his sermons consisted of just 5 words; which were “Little children, love one another”.
Life as a priest is never easy, and as time has gone on more and more has been asked of the parochial clergy. It has been said that to be a vicar you need: the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the memory of an elephant, the tact of a diplomat and the hide of rhinoceros. It has also been said of some parishes that if Our Lord Jesus Christ, St Peter, St Paul and the Archangel Gabriel were all rolled into one as their vicar, they would not be satisfied.
One thing is certain; those who are ordained are still as human as everyone else. But they have been called by God to carry out a specific task within the life of the Church. All Christians need to be people of faith and determination to speak and live for God in a world which seems so often to have forgotten him; and, by living for God, reveal Christ through their lives.
To be the Church means that we have to work together in mutual love. Human nature makes it very unlikely that you will like every priest you have. Also, your priest will not like every member of the congregation he has been called to serve; but Christians are called to rise above such personal likes and dislikes and live a life of mutual love together for the good of the Church and the Gospel. St Peter and St Paul did not get on with each other all the time (see Galatians 2.11 ff), St Paul and St Barnabas split up over whether Mark should accompany them on their missionary journey (Acts 15.37 ff).
You are not bound to LIKE your priest, but you are certainly bound to LOVE him. It is only in that mutual, self sacrificing, Christian love that the Church can truly be what God calls it to be, the living Body of Christ in the world today. To be the Body of Christ means that every member of the Church must work together in love to reveal the love of God to others. The love we are to have for each other is the love shown to us by Jesus. The love which led him to give everything, including his life, for us. He was ready to die for us. Are we ready to die for each other? Not just physically, but in all sorts of ways; ready to 'die' to ourselves, to our ways of doing things so that from our mutual dying to each other out of love, God can rebuild His Church through the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
So my closing words are: “Little children, love one another; for love is of God”.
Stuart
