A word from the Rector
Well, this week has certainly been a turn-up for the books: record-breaking temperatures and yet another Prime Minister resigning. Keir Starmer’s resignation has had me reflecting on just how many Prime Ministers my eldest son, George, has lived through. In his short life, he’s already seen four. When I was his age, there had only been two: Margaret Thatcher and John Major. I won’t even attempt to list George’s, because these days, No. 10 seems less a home of stable government and more a revolving door. He’s also lived through two monarchs — but I digress.
Whilst the political world prepares to say goodbye, our Gospel reading this week (Matthew 10.40-42) speaks of welcome. It isn’t quite the welcome you might expect: not an open invitation to all and sundry, but a focused one — a welcome to God. Jesus is talking about how we receive him into our lives, and how we welcome those who tell the world about him.
We all live busy lives, and so often we forget to make space for Christ and put him at the centre. That’s exactly what we’re challenged on here: are we really making room, in the busyness of life, for God? Are we welcoming him into even the smallest parts of the day?
I was recently given a little book of children’s prayers printed in the 1840s. It’s a sweet pamphlet, even if some of the prayers are heartbreaking. It reminds me that we’re called to welcome Jesus into the quietest, most ordinary moments of the day, as much as into our causes for celebration.
Our reading this week is a challenge, and rightly so:
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Matthew 10.42
It challenges me to reflect on what it means to follow Jesus, and on how we, as a church, welcome people. How do we welcome families? How do we welcome older people? How do we welcome the passer-by who stops at the church on their way past? I want us to be a welcoming church, where people feel at home in worship, and that isn’t always straightforward, because different people need different things. At the moment, I’m thinking about families and young people in particular: what should our ministry look like? Where are the gaps? I have a couple of ideas taking shape, and I’ll share them in due course. If you have any of your own, I’d love to hear them.
Yours in Christ
Rev Josh Jackson
Rector