The folk who choose our readings Sunday do not choose them by random. There is a goodly amount of thought that goes into this process.

When you look closely you can often spot the theme. For example today it is all about God revealing himself and we also discover that there is work to be done.

In the gospel the disciples are sent forth to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So we learn that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the work to be done is to baptise all nations. We also learn that He surely is with us always, to the very end of the age.

In the first lesson, Moses is asked to bring two fresh tablets of stone so that God can write again the 10 commandments. (In next week's enthralling homily we’ll be learning what happened to the first draft of the 10 commandments.) Moses has some work to do and we learn something of the nature of God.

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

But there are other links between the first lesson and the gospel reading.

First, the invitation to be with God is fairly limited and I guess that is what makes them so precious.

In the Old Testament lesson, it's just Moses and the Lord.

In the gospel, it's only the 11 and The Master. That’s it. No great crowds, no thousands of people waiting to go into the bistro where fish and loaves are on the menu.

And notice the location for both of these events. It's on a mountain.

In the first lesson, it's Mount Sinai. In the second lesson, it's umm… well we are not actually told the exact location. It's simply ‘the mountain’ where Jesus had told them to go.

In both stories, the meeting is set up well beforehand.

In both stories, God is encountered. And as I mentioned on both occasions there is work to be done. We are not supposed to just bask idly in our near God experience. So where is your mountain?

We are indeed fortunate to have the Grampians in our very backyard and I know many of you go exploring them and enjoying them as well as we should.

But your mountain, the place where you encounter God might actually be anywhere. It might be at Church, or it might be the back garden, or it might be … dot dot dot here insert your own ‘mountain’.

Now I have to confess that I am more drawn to the Moses story than I am to the Jesus story today.

For one thing, There is a wonderful back story as to why Moses has to go up with a second lot of tablets for God to write on. The first two tablets met a ferocious end… you can read all about it in Exodus 32.

Further, the imagery of these tablets can be unpacked and reflected upon in several ways.

Sometimes like Moses, we have to have more than one go, or we have to have several goes, or a lifetime before the finger of God writes his commandments upon our hearts, our minds and… this is the really hard bit… upon our lives. It's one thing to read the commandments, another to academically understand them and it's something quite different again to actually live them. No sooner do we understand and want to live them, than we find ourselves distracted to disobedience. Not necessarily because we go out of our way to be wicked, but because we tend to have a bias for naughty things. We find them tempting and alluring.

Moses took two blank tablets up with him onto the mountain and I wonder what we bring with us today to God. What is etched onto our souls that we cannot leave behind?

Often, For me, it is what I affectionately but frustratingly call, the ‘scribble of distractions’. Petty, irrelevant things that can disfigure and frustrate me. They have no place on the mountain.

But it might be worth asking… what do you bring and from what place do you bring it? Is it something from long ago and far away, or a recent dilemma or skirmish?

I suspect that it is only when we go up to our mountain, wherever and whenever that might be, with a completely clean slate and wait patiently for God to write what he wants to write, what we need to learn; It is only then that we can discover who God is and what he wants us to do.

So for your reflection, you might want to ask what God wants to write onto your soul. What are the imprints that he dearly needs to stamp upon us? A few guesses. Love of our neighbour. Commandments 6 - 10

Love of Him, Commandments 1 - 5 or the Readers Digest abbreviated condensed version

Perhaps it is just a simple cross.

Of bubbles and bombs.

In the Botanical Gardens of Adelaide, we chanced upon some white chairs neatly arranged and a table set just to one side. This was obviously the setting for a wedding.

It was a quieter area, out of the way a bit. Around the corner, there was a large marquee with people and beverages and music. Spritely adolescents sashayed with silver trays of delicious-looking morsels. The sound of conversation and laughter rose and fell. For a few precious moments, you could believe that everywhere and everything was as it should be. The world was a sweet and fragrant place to be.

But the news on the screen that morning had been pessimistic. Russia and Ukraine were still not at peace. People were fleeing everything they had known and everyone they loved, just for the chance to live. ’Reconciliation’ was still an elusive dream.

The two realities seemed to be at odds with each other even as I tried to hold them in loving tension. I was aware of both great love with a fantastic party while on the very same planet, death and destruction stomped all over my hopes and crushed them heartlessly into the rubble.

I thought of that custom now where people blow bubbles instead of throwing paper confetti. Bubbles in Adelaide and bombs in Ukraine. Give any sane person a choice between these two and they will always choose bubbles over bombs. Champagne over muddy drinking water, food over meagre rations. We must always choose relentless love instead of rebellion and revenge.

The oasis in the Botanical Gardens, where two people would say ‘Yes’ to bubbles and No’ to bombs. Where they chose to write selfless blank cheques with their life to each other, instead of choosing to write each other off.  There is hope, I thought. We must always choose bubbles, not bombs.

Of Two Masterchefs

And so they came to our place. Two Masterchefs who unobtrusively simply worked gently together in our kitchen to prepare a different sort of meal for us.

The plotting of this meal had begun long before with the purchase of exotic ingredients. Then there was much chopping and dicing and preparation. The aromas seduced our senses and all of a sudden we were hungry and very ready.

The meal of course was sensational. Every meal you don’t have to prepare for yourself has an extra ‘zing’ but in and of itself this one was fantastic. We even tried relentlessly with our chopsticks with varying degrees of success. (That’s me putting it politely and being generous about our ability.)

But the real delight was not just in the eating. The thing that I want to rave about is how well these Master chefs complemented each other during the preparation and cooking process. There was a gentle ebb and flow of questions and answers. A delightful burble of complimentary conversation. No one was the boss and no one was the underdog. Both used their knowledge and expertise to enhance each other, the process and ultimately the food which was relished and enjoyed.

So here’s the thing… How good would it be if this spirit of cooperation and teamwork were to spread into the workplace, into our community, our nation and the world? Where everyone's gifts were appreciated and enjoyed. Our planet might become a place where all are honoured and everyone’s gifts are used to enhance everyone else. A place where our food was plentiful and no one went hungry for praise and enhancement by the other.

In short …Why aren’t we doing this?

Pentecost - The God of the Surprise.

We worship a God who surprises us. Who, when we reflect as always surprised us and continues to do so. In the second reading from Acts the Holy Spirit comes like a wind and a flame and the disciples' lives are transformed. You would be surprised at their transformation.

And in the Gospel, we read that the disciples of Jesus were hiding. They were hiding in fear behind closed and locked doors. They were shutting out the rest of the world which was hostile, persecuting and terrifying. They felt better huddled together, in isolation and planning what to do next, and where to go.

And then, Surprise! Into their isolation, Jesus comes. Through closed doors, He walks. Their reaction must have been one of surprise, then joy as they realised who it was. Jesus tells them to get out of their isolation and fear, and go and announce the good news. You are the bearers of the Gospel, the announcers of salvation and forgiveness. You must go, you have a mission.

But they are scared and unsure, so Jesus promises them the Holy Spirit because the Spirit will enable them to do what they cannot do themselves. The same Holy Spirit who brooded over the waters when God made heaven and earth. The same Holy Spirit who spoke through the Old Testament prophets. The same Holy Spirit who overshadowed a young girl and made her the Mother of God. The same Spirit would descend upon the Apostles in tongues of fire, and transform cowards into heroes.

That was then: does this happen now? The surprise of the Spirit in a cynical age? Perhaps it might help if I refer you to one of my heroes called Mother Teresa.  She originally belonged to a community called the Sisters of Loretto, which is a cloistered teaching order. That is they didn’t go out into the community at all. She was sent to a community school in India. It was 1947, and India became independent.

As soon as that happened there was a civil war. For the first time in fifteen years, Mother Teresa had to leave the cloister just to find food to feed the nuns. That day, over five thousand had been killed, and fifteen thousand wounded. Mother Teresa came back to her cloister a changed woman. Out of fear, the sisters would not leave their convent again, but Mother Teresa said she felt the Holy Spirit calling her to do something about what she had seen. So she did something unheard of: she asked to leave the cloister to live among the people. Surprise!

She moved out and found that the sick and the dying were everyday events. The turning point came when she found a woman dying on the streets. Mother Teresa went in search of help but there was no one, no hospitals, and no place to care for this woman so she took her to her small rented room, and took care of her.

Soon someone gave her a house. She gathered more poor and dying people from the streets slowly at first, but then she was overwhelmed by the poor. But more volunteers came, and more houses, and surprise… now there are 3,000 Sisters of Charity all over the world.

In her biography, Mother Teresa speaks of surprise. At her age, time and place, would she, could she do something different, be someone different? She was like the Apostles hiding behind the closed doors of her cloister. She said Christ surprised her. He came through the locked doors and breathed His Spirit on her. He called her to a second vocation.

The Spirit is full of surprises. We have to admit that secularism and affluence have muted the presence of God in our part of the world, but all is not lost. History has shown us that even in our worst moments, Jesus’ ever-present Spirit can break through and raise up saints who turn things around. They call us back to the Gospel and give us hope.

A Francis of Assisi pops up out of the moral mess of the twelfth century. Maximilian Kolbe steps forward from the Nazi madness to die a martyr. Rosa Parks says no to racial prejudice and refuses to move to the back of the bus. Nelson Mandela rejects apartheid and goes to prison for twenty years.

Ascension and Pentecost tell us that God is still present, still speaks, still sends out disciples to make a difference, and still calls. Not just St. Francis’ and the Kolbe’s and the Park’s and Mandela’s, but you and me. What Jesus said at Ascension still remains valid and indispensable: You be My witness. We are the Church, and what we do the Church does. And what we fail to do, the Church fails to do.

Be God's surprise… for the Church, for others and for yourself.

Of Gossip and Eavesdropping 21/5

As a child, I have a very vivid memory of toddling down the hallway to go to the toilet in the middle of the night. My parents were in the lounge room and they didn’t hear me but I could hear them talking. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be hearing this conversation because they were talking about..little old me. I was surprised by two things. First, they were talking about me and secondly, I was thrilled by the content of their discussion. They were saying all sorts of gooey things about me, but also expressing their worries. It felt a bit wicked, sneaky and delicious and I kind of knew that I shouldn’t have been listening and yet I really wanted to stay and hear more.

Later on, I would learn that overhearing a conversation like this was called eavesdropping and much later on I would have exactly the same sort of conversations about our children.

Today is the Sunday between the Ascension and Pentecost. Jesus has ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit has not yet come with its flames and wind.  In this subliminal time, our Lectionary feeds us a text all about Eavesdropping and we get to overhear a conversation between Jesus and his Father. We are reminded that although Jesus has gone away physically and is now at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, the power of God the Father Almighty is also right here with us.

John 17 gives us the chance to “overhear” an intimate conversation between Jesus and his Father.

When you think about it, it’s rather stunning to realise that we are privy to a conversation between two members of the divine Trinity.   That alone is a signal that the things Jesus is praying about are already true: namely, that thanks to Jesus’ ministry, we have gained access to the God of the universe.   Jesus asks the Father to be mindful of us, to protect us, and the mere fact that we get to hear Jesus ask for this is proof that this is going to come to pass.  Indeed, it’s true already!

That’s why we get to hear all this.

Sometimes eavesdropping is a bad thing of course.   To consciously search out information that is not rightfully ours and then to use that information to our advantage… Well, you get the general idea.

But sometimes when you overhear a conversation, you hear people you love saying really wonderful things about you.  And when that happens, you feel great. Be careful of the information that you accidentally hear and how you use it. Ask yourself... ‘Do I really need to do anything with this information’? ‘Really??’ In today's gospel I think that all we have to do is simply rejoice and be delighted.

Gossip can work the same way. It’s one thing to tell the world about the birth of a new child with the consent of the ecstatic Mum and Dad. It’s quite another to let the world know that Mr Bloggs’ car was parked outside Mrs Smith’s house all last night and we all know what that means… or do we??

This solemn reminder needs to resound loudly and frequently to clergy and laity alike; Particularly in this stage of electronic history when we can send information to multiples of people literally right around the world in a few seconds. And once it’s sent… it’s out there, printable, there forever. And it can then be sent to an uncountable number of people and forums.

Might I encourage you in general and myself in particular to guard the information we hear with what I will call S.P.C. Severe Protective Custody? Also, it's not an entirely wicked thing to accidentally on purpose let it slip that what-their-name is just wonderful in the way that they… here insert their particular skill or something encouraging.

But back to the sheepish little boy in the passageway. My parents are both now on the other side of the grave. This does not stop them from loving me any less. In fact, sometimes I suspect that they love me more in a different potent way because they are in the nearer presence of God.

Perhaps their conversation with each other and with God has never really stopped.

But then what is true of me is also true for you.

For your reflection you might like to think about and be comforted by those who you love who have temporarily disappeared but are still loving you, still talking about you, still enjoying you. Perhaps the experience of death does not quash love but rather sends it rocketing into another dimension that is unassailable and triumphant.

So what are Jesus and His Father talking about today, right now? What if we could eavesdrop on the conversation they are having at this very moment? What might they be talking about and what would happen if we could eavesdrop on their chatting and then gossip relentlessly about it? Is this what it means when we say …Therefore with angels and archangels…?

It all happens at the kitchen sink.

One of the most significant places in the whole home is the kitchen sink. There, with hot water and detergent, several vital things are happening simultaneously

First, the dishes are washed. You can’t just let them pile up and fester into gunky science experiments. There’s a whole O.H.& S Arch folder of reasons explaining why the dishes must be cleaned. Hygiene, detergent and microbes are part of this vital document.

Secondly, like mowing the lawn and trimming the hedge, you can actually see where you’ve been and what you have accomplished. There is a great smirking sense of satisfaction when you can put away shiny dishes knowing that you have been responsible for making something shiny.

Finally, and this is the really good bit, people talk to each other over the kitchen sink. It works especially well when one does the washing and the other stands next to them to do the drying and putting away. There is teamwork, there is cooperation, and there is conversation. A menial but important common task is accomplished together and the relationship is stretched, enhanced and enriched. I once knew a Bishop who understood this very well. He would always volunteer, almost insisting on helping with the dishes. I always used to think ‘Good Golly Gosh’ what a humble Bishop. How lovely and gracious. It wasn’t until years later that he fessed up and revealed his ulterior motives. By the time we got through the salad servers, the dinner plates and the whiskey glasses, he knew me better than I knew myself. He was a very good Bishop indeed.

So, while the kitchen sink might not seem particularly glamorous and sexy, it is where splendid intangible things occur. Do not shy away from this place.

Of a long-distance relationship.

Most of us are living in some kind of long-distance relationship. All our friends and family don’t just happen to live conveniently down the road in our community. Today's gospel has to do with living in a sort of long-distance relationship.

In order to put the reading into a helpful contextI want to go back to the Last Supper where Jesus has been telling the disciples about his coming departure. This raises for them the disturbing prospect of separation from the Master who they have grown to love so much.  In years to come the head of the table knows that the disciples will feel like “orphans.” Sure, Easter will be a joyous reunion, but the resurrection appearances will not continue indefinitely. As the years pass, people will be called to believe in a Messiah they have never seen or heard. Jesus’ words and actions will be conveyed to them through the tradition of the church in a world that may seem indifferent at best and hostile at worst.

In today's passage, Jesus anticipates the Easter moment when he says, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you” and “Because I live, you also will live” Our Easter message is that life rather than death has the final word, and this is crucial for our faith. In John’s gospel, faith is a relationship with a living being. For there to be authentic faith in Jesus, people must be able to relate to the living Jesus–a Jesus who is not absent but really present. Otherwise, faith is reduced to the memory of Jesus who died long ago.

But here is the conundrum: Why would anyone work so hard at a long-distance relationship with a Jesus who they cannot see? The honest answer is that no one would believe it–apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. For it is the Spirit who makes the presence of the living Jesus and his Father known.

Coming to faith and forming a relationship (long distance or otherwise) is like falling in love. You can’t fall deeply in love with an abstract idea. Love comes through an encounter with another living person. The same is true of faith. If faith is a relationship with the living Christ and the living God who sent him, then faith can only come through an encounter with them. And the Spirit is the one who makes this meeting possible.

So the Holy Spirit who Jesus promises to send is part of the answer to keeping the long-distance relationship aflame. But, can I put it to you, that in the day-to-day business of living a long-distance relationship, there is something else that is helpful? And what I am about to say may sound a little weird but bear with me on this.

We learn to live this long-distance relationship not just by the lovely intimate moments when The Master seems close to us, where everything is perfectly balanced, where everything is stable and reliable, but we also learn to love in the times when we are off balance, the times when we make blunders and are honest about our need for correction. If the twelve disciples are an example of anything, it is the universal art of making mistakes while journeying alongside God.

And it is in those times when we are called back when we realise that we are looking the wrong way at the wrong thing and actually we have been doing so for a long time; it is in those times when we have our errors pointed out to us that we come especially closest to him. It is in those moments when we say “Oops” or similar other words, that the long-distance relationship is not thinned and fractured as we might think, but it is actually strengthened because it is precisely in those moments that we know the joy of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Something else that is helpful with our long-distance relationship. That politically incorrect theme ‘obedience’ occurs at the start of today's gospel reading…

“If you love me, keep my commands.”

And it will occur at the end of the gospel reading.

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.”

If you like, today's gospel is a sandwich between two pieces of ‘obedience bread’ with a tasty morsel of reassurance in the middle.

Obedience and keeping the commandments are ‘the how and why’ others take notice of us. When they see that we are obedient when they hear us not only saying ‘Yes…welcome’, but also when they hear us saying ‘No, I choose not to do this, not to say this’. When they see us choosing to speak out for the marginalised, the disenfranchised and this is the confronting bit… when they see where we put our hard-earned cash, then they really take notice. Then, we give them something to think about, especially when they understand that we are doing so because we are enjoying a long-distance relationship with an unseen God.

Long-distance relationships are often lonely so as we walk confidently forward, I leave you with some of the Master's words of assurance and comfort.

‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.’

My questions of Anzac Day

So we gathered around the cenotaph against a spectacular backdrop of golden and russet autumn leaves and to the murmuring hum of the local community.

The wreaths were laid, the last post rang out and prayers were offered. In an unexpected and humbling gesture, I was asked if I would like to march with the folk. For a fleeting instant, I wondered if that would be appropriate. There was a family rumour that someone in my background had gone to Vietnam, but not much was spoken about this and I didn’t think it was my place to ask.

So would I march? Clearly, the local RSL gentlemen were comfortable or they would never be offered this sublime gesture. It was an undeserved privilege and I tried to keep in step with my gangly three left feet.

As we strode along the road I thought of those very young boys, who, not all that long ago, had also strode along the streets of their community.

So here are my questions about the day that is always poignant and sad and magnificent. I have never found answers to any of these questions but then perhaps I am not supposed to.

As these young men marched… were they excited, nervous, terrified, thrilled, proud or a combination of everything and other emotions that have no words?

We have learnt how to put a man on the Moon and a vehicle on Mars. We have mapped the human genome. We know how to do brain surgery and donate organs to one another. How come we have never learnt the secret of peace?  Has the wholesale slaughter of farm boys taught us nothing?

And on a crisp autumn day as I am walking along and the sun is shining and I am surrounded by a marvellous community and everything seems so right…then why am I crying?

Three cheers for our rubbish bin people.

Thursday is bin day. The truck(s) arrive very early in the morning so the bins have to go out before bedtime on Wednesday. It’s a cathartic feeling to hear the truck rumble and know that all my rubbish is being taken away never to be seen again. It doesn’t matter whether it is the recycle bin, the general rubbish bin or the green waste bin. The feeling is always one of resolution and being tidy.

There are some bits of our lives that are rubbish. The things that we have discarded, want to forget about, no longer have a use for, but somehow still linger. Usually, we are very good at putting them out of sight and more importantly, out of mind. Time is terrific at helping us with this process. Being busy and focusing on something else is also helpful.

But every so often we need a rubbish bin person. Someone that we can offload to which is why I reckon a soul mate is a cracker of an idea. Someone who knows you enjoys you and sees straight through you and knows exactly what to say. They know how to dislodge the garbage that you should have dumped a long time ago.

You might have a spouse, a partner, or just a decent human being who visits on a regular basis. And in the telling of your story and with the perspective of the outsider, something quite lovely happens. The burden is dissolved, options are opened up, fresh perspectives are unveiled and the world is just a little less tiresome and drab.

Whoever they are, remember to Thank them for the important work they do and if you find yourself ‘driving the truck’ and ‘emptying the bins’ then we are always in your debt.

The tale of three men.

A Reflection for the Coronation of King Charles

Question:

Who are you? …. Answer: You are living stones and you are priests.

In today's second lesson, Peter is encouraging the early Christians in their spiritual life. He does this by telling them to get rid of the not-so-nice stuff and then empowers them by telling them who they truly are.

First, let’s do the long list of yucky stuff they have to get rid of.

malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

All this seems pretty obvious and it is still true today. It’s infuriating when we realise how easily these things find us or maybe we find them. Whatever the case, we struggle with the same things that the Early Christians did. There is nothing new here, just the same continuous spiritual battle the Peters correspondents fought.

But then Peter goes on to use an image to explain who we are.

He describes the early Christians and therefore us, as building stones and here I can’t help but think of those building blocks from the pyramids.

He points out

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house”

Mmmm…. Living stones. We rest on the foundations of those who have gone before us. They continue to support, encourage and pray for us. A flimsy,  simple thing like death does not stop them from working for the Lord they love and it can never stop them from praying for us. Thank Goodness!

They are living stones. Albeit in a slightly different dimension, their work and fortitude and resilience and assistance are just as important now as when they walked this planet.

As living stones we sit side by side with our brothers and sisters who we can see and those countless others all around the world who are worshipping with us, right at this precious moment. There is never a moment in time when bread is not being broken and wine poured out. Together, we build up something far more lovely than we can ever comprehend or imagine and we never quite get to see the completed project; but we know that it is something infinitely worthwhile and an outrageous privilege to work on.

There will be others who come after us who will rely on what we accomplish here today. The stones that we are and the foundations that we are laying in 2023, will provide the framework of the Church in the years to come.

And always at the cornerstone; The most important rock is the master Himself. Without Our Lord, the whole thing falls over and comes tumbling down in a heap of rubble and swirling dust.

Then Peter reminds us of who we are called to be and what we are called to do.

We are called to be a holy priesthood, and we are to be offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God 

So what is sacrifice and what are the spiritual sacrifices that you and I offer up to God?

Sacrifice is when the other benefits from something we give up. When something we do, say or write points to the other and/or to God. A sacrifice must always point away from ourselves.

So here are some of the sacrifices that you offer.

Your Bodies. We are to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, which is acceptable to God. Your body is something special and a gift from God. Treat it wisely and responsibly.

Your Praise. We are to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.” Our verbal praise from a grace-filled heart is a spiritual offering to God. Every time you sing a hymn, say a prayer out loud and in silence.

Your good works and possessions. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” The believer’s good works and generous desire to share what God has given to them is a sacrifice offered to God.

People that you have led to Christ. Now it might be that you are not aware of anyone. Or that they were already stumbling along the path with you, but simply by your example and willingness and faithfulness and your courage, you do lead others onwards. People you lead to the Lord are a spiritual sacrifice for our Father.

Your sacrificial financial giving to the Lord’s work - Paul refers to monetary gifts that the church at Philippi sent him through Epaphroditus. These gifts are described as a “fragrant offering and a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”

Your prayers. No matter how flimsy or frail or feeble or ineffectual a prayer may feel… a prayer is a prayer and in God’s eyes it is never dated or less precious than any other prayer. And it matters not whether it is offered up by a tiny child, or a wizened old monk of many years. All prayer is a spiritual sacrifice offered to the loving Father.

So the sacrifices that you offer up are the things you do, the words you speak, and the worship you offer to God, throughout your daily lives. These sacrifices may be physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual. Just by being faithful, authentic, good old you. This is when you are most effective and give God the glory. All are called to be Christ’s priests: Silently offering the sacrifices presented to us.

Peter wraps up who we are and what we are called to do in the following words and they are the best words to finish with.

But you, … you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now… you, are the people of God;

Tread gently

It was one of those things that I had the privilege to relearn.

Someone far more adroit and perceptive than I pointed out that in the gospel stories we are only ever just given a quick snapshot of a person's life. We are not told what happens before or after the encounter with Our Lord.

Take for example the woman caught in adultery in John 8. The incident probably only took a few minutes. Long enough for the Master to doodle in the dust and for the older ones to drop their rocks and walk away.

This woman did have a hidden life before she was embarrassed. Did she have a husband, boyfriend or children? Was there goat stew in the oven when she was caught? We are not told. And what happens when the incident is over? Did she manage to get on with her life, a different life or simply leave town to start all over again in a different community? We simply don’t know and perhaps it is none of our business anyway.

So here’s the thing. We all have a backstory. We did not arrive in this place, in this form, out of a vacuum. Life and circumstance and accident and choices have all led up to making us who we are at this point in time. All we have before us is a snapshot. Sometimes fantastic, colourful, grey and drab, sometimes unfortunate, sometimes memorable.

And everyone we encounter also has a ‘back story’ Most of it we can never know so we should always tread gently.