Thought for the Week - 14/11/2021

Dear Friends,

This last week I have attended the Order for Baptist Ministry’s yearly Convocation which took place online over two days. I’ve been associated with the Order for several years and last year, at another online Convocation, I took my vows and commitments which are to live a life of prayer and discipleship, to covenant to maintain community in Christ with the Order, and to live a life according to the rule of life that the Order offers. Part of this is the saying of a Daily Office which includes these words under the title, Reflecting on our Roots. ‘Living God, enable us this day to be pilgrims and companions: committed to the way of the Christ, faithful to the call of Christ, discerning the mind of Christ, offering the welcome of Christ, growing in the likeness of Christ, engaging in the mission of Christ, in the world that belongs to Christ.’ The Convocation this year focused on being attentive to God, in the rhythms of grace in our vulnerability, to the world and planet, and to the Spirit in Convocation. We shared stories and insights as the Spirit led, and it was a time of joy and laughter, but also of deep personal experiences shared together with a few tears shed. There was so much food for thought over the two days that it will take a while for me to digest it all and reflect on it. One of the things that I have been reflecting on was from a phrase from a contributor as we were talking about ministerial formation, ‘Is this person weak enough to be a priest?’ We very often see weakness as a negative, something to be avoided, if at all possible, but in fact it is in our weaknesses that God is at his most powerful in our lives. The apostle Paul, writing to the believers at Corinth about his ‘thorn in the flesh’, says that three times he pleaded with God for it to be removed but that the Lord answered him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). There is of course so much that could lead us to despair in the world today which might exacerbate our feelings of weakness and vulnerability, international and national issues, issues to do with poverty, the climate, hunger, and cost of living crisis, not forgetting issues that are affecting us personally, to name but a few. We acknowledge that the opposite of hope is despair, but we would also want to say that hope is bigger than despair, because God’s way is that of the crucified Christ, a seemingly hopeless situation that God transformed by raising Jesus from the dead. The prophet Isaiah gives us these encouraging words to consider, ‘but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint’ (Isaiah 40:31). 

Grace and peace,

Neil