This week has seen two installments of
new heads of churches – the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury. There was much pomp and ceremony. People travelled from far away to be part of
the occasion and soak up the atmosphere.
TV presenters seem to thrive on the spectacular, as do many people. There is a craving for the sensational,
outrageous or celebrity news in the media.
It seems that such headlines sell newspapers. But, apart from the historic setting of the occasions we have witnessed this week, in the Christian environment how often have we been guilty of the
same sort of enthusiasm? We seem to live
from one big event to the next – almost like some spiritual ‘fix’. How often have we travelled long distances to
hear a particular speaker or join a well-known worship singer or band? The
effort, time and expense we have put in has presumed that somehow this will conjure
up some super experience of God.
In some parts of the church,
particularly the evangelical/pentecostal/charismatic strain, the impression
often is that the louder you pray or the longer the sermon, the nearer you are
to the holy presence of God. Of course
we know that God is everywhere but our awareness of His presence somehow seems
to be heightened through the spectacular.
Emotions run high and we know that God was there. Like Peter at the mount of Transfiguration,
we want such experiences to continue and try to make some sort of physical
reminder that we can keep revisiting. For
many these days are over – the big meetings that go on indefinitely are fading
but it would be wrong to assume that God has turned His back on us. He is still here. It is time to see Him in the everyday world
around us, very evident at this time of year when spring is about to burst into
life. Although we have had some terrible weather in the UK this month, snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils still show their splendour. That is truly spectacular.
This week I have been planting seeds and
am hopeful that in a few months’ time we will be able to enjoy the
outcome. When you look at the size of
the seed and the crop that one tiny seed produces, what is more spectacular than
that? One of my favourite films is Bruce
Almighty, especially the part when Bruce is shouting at God ‘Give me a sign,
give me a sign’ and a lorry passes him that is full of road signs. He then says ‘Talk to me God, talk to me’ and
his mobile phone starts to ring. When we
ask God for signs and wonders and ask to hear His voice we really mean that we
want to see some miracle or something spectacular but never consider that God
might choose to communicate through the ordinary things of life.
The big meeting is mainly humanity’s
organizing skills put into action but the growth and produce that is derived
from one tiny seed is part of the marvelous creation of God. For me, at least for now, it is time to stop
depending so much on the spectacular to make me aware of God’s presence and
begin to see His glory all around me in the ordinary things of day-to-day
living. It’s time to stop … look …
listen …taste and see that the Lord is good, here and now with what is already
part of my life.
5 comments:
Beautifully said Mavis :)
Thanks Joanna.
Agree totally Mavis. Loving this blog.
Thanks Paul.
everything in it's place. i remember david pawson talking in the early 80s about what sort of church needs people have. I don't agree with everything he says but I felt he said a lot of sense. He said we need big meetings, he called it celebration, the feeling of being part of the big picture occasionally. we need a sense of belonging to something local, a congregation, more often. and we need to be able to feel part of something family sized, he called it cell, a lot. of course there's the individual level which he took for granted. i got rather overloaded with big and miss the small.
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