Dividing Walls

It would be almost impossible for any person living in Britain not to be aware that this week saw the final of the Great British Bake-Off and know who won the title of Champion Baker.  There are those in the media who tried to claim that she won because of her ethnicity and religion to try and make a point that we are an open and accepting country.  Actually if those responsible for such accusations had actually seen the wonderful creations that she baked they would have realised that she won because she was a very capable and creative baker who although she began the competition struggling, she worked and worked until she overcame her doubts and succeeded in creating some amazing culinary delights.  She is a young mother of three young children, has beautiful eyes, a charming smile, a great sense of humour, some wonderful facial expressions and has come out with some great self-deprecating one-liners.  She has endeared herself to the heart of the nation.  Well done Nadiya.  She just happens to wear a scarf to express who she is.  People who cover themselves with tattoos do so in order to express themselves as does a gentleman who wouldn't be seen without a bow tie, feeling it gives himself a certain air of charm.  They all express themselves by their appearance.

Pope Francis has also been in the news again this week.  Last week we saw that during his visit to the USA, he met up with people of many faiths and religious ideologies other than Roman Catholicism.  This week the news is that in November he plans to meet up with some leaders of the Evangelical and Lutheran church in Rome and apologise for the way the Roman Church has treated Protestants, bearing in mind that it was Martin Luther, after whom the Lutheran church was founded, who was the reformer who opposed Roman authority and as a result the Protestant movement was formed.  


I was brought up in the ways of The Salvation Army and I was also reminded this week by a friend that the co-founder of that organisation once said, 'I don't believe in any religion apart from doing the will of God.'  It is a sad fact that over the centuries, Christians have forgotten the truths that Jesus taught about God's  all-encompassing love being for everyone.  Instead we have emphasized the divisions and differences, making them more important than our walk with God.

Another friend this week has said that after 8 years 'outside' of organised church he will be returning as part of the leadership team of a church in order to help out his friend.  He wondered what the reaction would be of those who had also left organised religion behind.  Is he a religious turncoat?  Has he changed his opinion about church structure? Is he in or out?


It saddens me when people think that you have to be either 'In' or 'Out'.  Why?  Which part of the Bible tells us that?  On the contrary.  Jesus speaks of God's love being unconditional and for all.  It was as much for the Roman centurion as it was for Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin.  He preached from a boat as well as in the synagogue.  He accepted those on the fringes of society as well as those who were faithfully observant of their Jewish faith.  After the resurrection, he walked through walls to join his disciples as they met in secret.  No walls or locked doors can keep him out.  He also met with them by the lake as they went fishing.  He taught us that God is Spirit and we must worship him in spirit.  God really is everywhere.  The Psalmist so many centuries even before Jesus appeared said that there was nowhere we can go and not be in his presence.  There are no walls, whether physical, imaginary or religious that can keep him out.  Yet we continue to build walls of division, separation and exclusion.   Whatever walls we may build and divisions we think up, they don't mean anything to God because he is Spirit, everywhere.  When are we really going to understand this truth?    

God's love is unconditional.  There are no conditions that we must observe in order for us to be in his presence.  In or out?  Does it matter?  God breaks through barriers, frontiers and divisions. Let's stop building walls of division and trying to box God into our own ways of doing things.  He refuses to be forced into our boxes.  Just let God be God wherever we are and however we choose to seek him.  Does it matter if we wear a scarf or bow tie or have tattoos?  Does it matter if we meet with a certain group of people on a specific day in a specific place?  As long as we seek God, he will meet with us.  Outside appearances and man-made rules don't affect his love for all of us.  He only looks on our hearts, what we feel in our spirits.  I just seek his presence and to know and do his will.  Everything else is not that important and of no real consequence.    

Inspiring

Lisa Potts receiving the George Medal.

In the news this week there was an item on Lisa Potts (now Webb).  In case the name doesn't immediately ring a bell, she was the nursery teacher who in 1996 bent over the children she was caring for at the nursery school when a man with paranoid schizophrenia began attacking them with a machete.  She sustained some horrific injuries to her head, back and arms, one arm being almost severed.  She subsequently lived for some time with the consequences and trauma of this event.  She was only 21 years old at the time but her bravery and courage was rewarded with a medal from the Queen - the George Medal for outstanding bravery.

http://www.upworthy.com/the-popes-lunch-plans-tomorrow-
are-exactly-why-we-love-the-dude-so-much?c=ufb1

Also in the news this week has been the visit of Pope Francis to the US.  Even if you don't agree with some of the things he has to say. you can't help but like him as he keeps surprising us with some of the things he says and does.  This week as he addressed the American Congress, he did not shy away from talking about climate change and the need to abolish the death penalty, saying that all human life is sacred.  Afterwards, instead of eating with the politicians as had been planned, he went to a homeless centre and helped to serve meals to the homeless people who gathered there.  He also stopped the motorcade in order to listen to the request of a small girl.  His humility and the way he identifies with the ordinary worker is symbolically demonstrated in the motorcade of all the big flashy cars while he travels in a little Fiat along with his assistant.

This week I have also been washing out all the bird feeders and buying in the various types of bird food ready for the time of looking after and feeding our wild birds. I do enjoy watching the birds as they come and feed in our garden.  They give me a great deal of pleasure.  On Twitter and Facebook I follow Simon King.  He is probably better known as one of the presenters that used to be on Spring/Autumn Watch.  He lives in Somerset on a plot of land covering quite a few acres.  He has over the past few years converted this wild piece of land into what is known as Wild Meadows where he seeks to encourage various types of wildlife, large and small.  He's also set up cameras that you can watch the wildlife for yourself, including badgers, foxes, otters, small rodents, pheasants, kingfishers, and many other types of birds.  You can link up with his website here and here.

 Three completely different types of people but all inspiring in their own way and within their own situations and circumstances.  But inspiring people should be more than just interesting stories that catch your eye.  Learning about them should really inspire us to want to reach out and do more, to copy them in a way even if a bit more simply.  After one of the Pope's speeches someone wrote on Twitter 'Not many speeches make me want to be a better person.  Thank you Pope.'  That's inspiring.  The bravery of Lisa Potts makes us feel how important it is to care for and protect those more vulnerable.  Simon King inspires me to be aware of the environment and the natural world and do something to help, even though on a much smaller scale than him.  I don't embrace all the wildlife but I do like to feed the wild birds in the winter and plant things that help bees and butterflies in the summer.  Who inspires you?  It may not be someone famous or in the media headlines.  It might be a family member or a neighbour or someone you've been told about or seen on social media.  Let's be inspired by someone today and when thinking of them don't just say 'Ah! That's nice' but determine to reach out to make the world a little better just where we are and in so doing maybe inspire others to do the same..