Praying Together 16th February 2025

Meditation for the Third Sunday before Lent

Collect

Almighty God,
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
Give your people grace
so to love what you command
and to desire what you promise;
that, among the many changes of the world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:4 – 11

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

1 Corinthians 15:12 – 20a

Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it – if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors.

Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ – sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection. If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ wasn’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up.

And He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead, and He is Lord

Quite often, I am asked why I became ordained as a Christian Minister. That’s actually not the relevant question. Once I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, just like everybody else in His church, I was then equipped for a specific task. Not more or less important than any other, just part of the Body, as described in Chapter 12 of Pauls letter to the Church in Corinth. Instead, the significant question is why I accepted Him as my Saviour, Redeemer, Friend and Lord in the first place.

It’s the last role I would have ever expected. During my childhood and teens, I had little if any contact with religion of any description. Marjorie was the first person of faith I ever met, and I stated going to church a couple of times with her for – I have to admit – reasons which were probably not particularly holy.

After we married, a personal tragedy brought us closer to the local church, where we were met with love and support from the vicar and congregation – but on subsequently moving home, we attended a more formal church with complicated, ritualised language where nobody seemed to want to notice we were there, and as our lives became more secure I personally didn’t get any real inspiration from my attendance. I stopped going altogether when we moved home again– so much so that I would drop our son James (Nick) at the local Sunday School and sit in the car reading the paper until it was time to pick him up.

Then another storm hit us – and almost in desperation, I decided to go to a church service. I have to admit that I sort of wanted to find nothing helpful there and to be ignored and treated as an outsider, allowing me to dismiss religion as not the solution what I was looking for. Instead, I was welcomed and made to feel safe in an unpressured way. I still didn’t really believe it, but it was a comfort, and eventually I ended up helping with a young person’s group.
I led them on a couple of activities, and after a few months invited them to join me in a big Young People’s event in Manchester Free Trade Hall, alongside a hundred or so other groups. Most of the event was interesting, but no more than that. It was right at the end, when the final Hymn/ Song ‘He is Lord’ was introduced, I happened to notice a young man singing with his arms raised to heaven and sunlight (literally) radiating from his face. That was the first moment when I clearly experienced God’s voice. ‘Stop messing about, Michael. Either believe in Me, or don’t believe in Me. Make your mind up.’

I chose Love. The rest just followed.

So what have I learned?

The importance of making everyone welcome – even scruffs in ripped jeans. It’s the first five minutes in a new environment that will set and fix the tone
You’ll never know how much the sincerity of your worship can affect others – even if you don’t know them and they don’t know you
It can take time for people to be ready to hear the Gospel message, so be patient with people – don’t bombard them with theology until they’re ready
Most importantly, there comes a point where we have to make a decision about Jesus. Is He the Christ, true and real, or is he not? There is no middle ground. In Revelation3:15, God makes it absolutely clear. A lukewarm faith is almost worse than no faith at all – it just makes Him want to puke
And if you accept Him as Lord, allow Him to lead you as you walk into the future without looking back, and do what He has equipped you to do as His body on earth