My husband and I were having a really good day yesterday until just before 6 o'clock. We'd been in Glasgow for the Scottish model railway show. Great show - brilliant layouts with amazing levels of detail. Pete Waterman was even there (yes, as in Stock, Aitken and...) doing book signing.
But, at 6pm about a mile from home, a driver pulled out in front of us from a side street without looking. We were on my husband's bike at the time.
My husband had realised the car was going pretty fast approaching the junction, so backed off the throttle. Meanwhile thinking to himself "please look, please look". She didn't. We hit her car square on and the next thing I was on the road in severe pain down my left hand side.
I had to get up. I couldn't see my husband, as I had been thrown in front of him - we think he'd become a launch ramp for me! At that moment all I could think was check my husband was okay (in relative terms) then tear a strip off the driver which pulled out in front of us.
My husband was on the road too; just next to the bike. He had pain in his shoulder, but other than that was pretty much okay, that was it! I was going to rage at the driver.
That was until I looked at her. She looked absolutely terrified; she was scared of what she'd done, especially as my husband wasn't getting up. At that moment, my heart melted a little. I couldn't have anything for the lady except pity. She'd screwed-up big style, but she had so much remorse on her face.
Strangely, all I want to do when I next see her is to let her know I've forgiven her. I did as soon as I looked at her face last night.
We both have broken our left collar bones. I'm fairly sure I've cracked 1 or 2 ribs. I did last year and the pain I'm having breathing now is exactly the same as then. Oh well, these things happen. It could have been so much worse!
The motorbike's almost certainly a write-off, but it's replaceable - we're not. Mostly, though, I pray the lady with whom we collided doesn't feel too cut up.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Thursday, 19 February 2009
To recycle or not
I had a meeting with my supervisor on Tuesday, despite him still being signed off. We discussed a couple of things and I got my "homework".My placement church are hosting the local guide district Thinking day service on Sunday morning and I'm to do the intersession prayer for that. As I used to be a guide, I have a fairly decent idea what should be in that. Sorted.
I'm also to do the sermon on 8th March. This has been arranged for a while. Now I'm wondering whether to write another sermon - to ensure Sunday's wasn't a fluke - or to recycle? Sunday's did go down really well, but it will be a totally different experience at my placement church. Also, my supervisor doesn't yet know I preached on Sunday - he knew I was helping with the worship group, but didn't specifically ask what I did during the service. Okay, perhaps I should have told him, but I wanted to leave my options open...
I've had a look at the lectionary and I'm sure I could come up with something. I may have a bash at writing another sermon. If I think it sucks or isn't coming together very well, I can use Sunday's as a fall back!
The photo was me being arty with a lectern. If you look very, very closely, you can see my reflection.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
More sermon praise
My home church records the service for those who can't attend. One of the young church leaders told me last night she wanted to hear the service, as everyone who had talked to her about it really enjoyed it - she was only in until the end of the children's talk. She also said she'd heard my sermon was excellent and really wanted to hear it. Oh no, what have I done?!
One of my minister's was telling me he was impressed how well I discussed the text, put it into the context of the time and then brought it's impact totally up-to-date. He also commented I also got the point across really well.
I am glad people enjoyed it and got something from it, but I really am not very good at accepting praise very gracefully. I'll have to get better at that. That said, I don't do any of this for my glory, but to bring glory to God. I hope others realise that.
One of my minister's was telling me he was impressed how well I discussed the text, put it into the context of the time and then brought it's impact totally up-to-date. He also commented I also got the point across really well.
I am glad people enjoyed it and got something from it, but I really am not very good at accepting praise very gracefully. I'll have to get better at that. That said, I don't do any of this for my glory, but to bring glory to God. I hope others realise that.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Losing my innocence
Well, my preaching one anyway. I was going to use another word, but my husband pointed out some ISP filters may not let it through.
I didn't feel too nervous - well maybe just a little. More that people wouldn't get or appreciate what I was saying. Also, there were 2 ministers listening to my first go - linked charge, so the worship team covered both services - no pressure then!
I get away with it though. Everyone who spoke to me seemed to really enjoy it and thought (and I quote here) it was excellent. I've also just received an e-mail from the session clerk of my home church and his wife. They thought it was excellent and many people who had spoken to them thought the same.
My mother-in-law and her friend even came to hear me preach and really enjoyed the service and they don't do church. Must have been okay then.
Silly comment of the day was from one of my ministers - "Are you sure that was your first sermon?". Lets think blast, yes there was this one time at band camp... Yes, it was my first time. "Oh, it didn't sound like a first sermon - it was excellent and I really got a lot out of it." Thank goodness for that, at least I hadn't made a theological faux pas.
So, I thought I'd post it. It's based on Psalm 30 and Mark 1:40-45.
When have you ever been told something and it was too good news to keep to your self?
A friend's just told you their getting married, but doesn’t want a fuss.
Your Mum's been given the all clear from the consultant, but doesn't want the world to know as it might tempt fate and the cancer will come back.
Your son's told you your going to be a grandparent, but it's the first trimester and they don't want too many people knowing in case; just in case.
Each time, the person telling you’re their good news has a really good reason for a limited number of people to know.
Try as you might, you just can’t keep it to yourself. No, you don't want to keep it to yourself - you want to tell the world.
Shout it from the roof tops.
Yet, we hear Jesus told the man he had cured to tell no-one.
This wasn't a flippant gonae no' tell anyone - I'll cure you quietly and move on, the whole world doesn’t need to know what I did for you (well, not yet anyway).
Its just between you and me, isn't it?
No this was a strong warning.
DO NOT TELL ANYONE.
The Greek word Mark uses is a very strong warning word and would have made it very clear to the man Jesus wanted no-one, not even the man's nearest and dearest to know.
Now, this man was a reject of society. With his skin disease, which may not necessarily have been leprosy, as some translations have it, he was deemed unclean by his society.
Anyone coming into contact with him would also have been unclean according to the Moses' law.
Because of this, this man would have known almost everyone would turn the other way when they encountered him. They won't have wanted to have anything at all to do with him.
And here he is, going to Jesus.
Asking for healing.
If Jesus wanted to.
Perhaps he'd heard Jesus didn't turn people away, even those the unclean.
But he was taking a huge risk he would be rejected.
Everyone else had, why wouldn't this Galilean?
But Jesus not only didn't turn the other way, he healed the man.
Because he wanted to.
He felt sorry for him.
He had compassion for him.
Although the passage doesn't reveal much about this encounter, perhaps Jesus was angry at the way society had treated this man:
Making him an outcast,
unloved
good for nothing.
Perhaps that's part of the reason Jesus didn't want the man telling anyone what he had done for him.
How would society have reacted - a carpenter from Galilee curing a leper?
Not being worried about making himself unclean, potentially excluding him too from society for helping one of the unclean.
Challenging the norms of society.
Although Jesus was doing this throughout his ministry, he often told his disciples not to tell others, as the time was not right. Maybe that was the case here?
But, who can blame the man for wanting to tell the world?
Presumably, as Jesus told him, he visited the local priest to be deemed to be clean. This was necessary in order to begin re-integration with society.
The priest may well have known the man well, may even have declared him unclean in the first place.
And he, no doubt, would have wanted to know how this healing happened.
Right, so that was probably the first person the man told about his healing, but realistically, would he have able to keep this healing to himself.
Place yourself in his sandals. A position of uncleanliness and rejection from society.
Then, suddenly cured, wouldn't you want to tell the world?
You are no longer a reject.
People want to talk to you.
You are loved again.
You can have a relationship with God.
According to the Jewish tradition, the man's skin disease meant he couldn't have had a relationship with God. Not a direct one.
He wouldn't have been able to enter the temple and get the High priest to make offerings to God on his behalf.
No entering the temple, no offerings, no relationship with God.
Yet, Mark tells us Jesus took pity on him and healed him.
There and then, although the man may not have know it, he had a direct relationship with God the son.
A relationship he may not have had for years and wouldn't have thought he would have again.
No doubt, as a result of this encounter, the man's entire life, both physically and spiritually was irretrievably transformed.
Just like the psalmist, he just wanted to sing God's praises of what Jesus, God's son, had done for him.
No longer was God hiding his face from him.
He had seen God through Jesus and wanted to proclaim that to everyone he met.
He had been healed!
So, what can we, as church, take from this?
Who in our society is unclean?
The teenage mother
The repeat offender.
The gang member.
All shunned by society and, too often, by the very people who should be reaching out to them.
Us, God's church.
Look at what they've done.
They don't deserve another chance.
They can't sit beside us.
We, as a society often throw their wrongdoing and past back at them.
We don't always treat the unclean gracefully, with compassion.
We're watch them, looking for them to make mistakes that we feel will justify our shunning of them.
Probably the same mistakes we sometimes make, but we're clean, we can make mistakes!
Sometimes, the very people our society deems unclean feel the need to approach God for healing.
This must be extremely difficult for them.
Imagine, plucking up the courage to come to church, to approach God, as something inside you is drawing you to it.
You may feel unworthy.
That the people in the pews will turn up their noses at you
They will turn their back on you.
Just as Jesus' society turned away from their unclean.
Just as every society turns away from their unclean.
But we're not like that, are we?
Because, just as Jesus healed and transformed lives so we, as his church, can offer our act of love to the world.
To heal and transform lives.
Not within these walls, but out there.
Helping the homeless,
Giving a safe place for young people to hang out with their friends
Loving those others reject.
But we do all of this not only because it is the right thing to do, but because we are followers of Jesus and he showed us the way.
He had pity on the man with the skin disease.
He healed him and showed his compassion for the man.
When those society rejects call for help, we do have compassion for them.
We offer our healing to them.
And why do we do this?
To show God's love.
God's love which will heal them.
God's love which healed us too, as we were all unclean in God's eyes until he gave up his son, Jesus, God incarnate, on the cross to cleanse us all.
Amen.
I didn't feel too nervous - well maybe just a little. More that people wouldn't get or appreciate what I was saying. Also, there were 2 ministers listening to my first go - linked charge, so the worship team covered both services - no pressure then!
I get away with it though. Everyone who spoke to me seemed to really enjoy it and thought (and I quote here) it was excellent. I've also just received an e-mail from the session clerk of my home church and his wife. They thought it was excellent and many people who had spoken to them thought the same.
My mother-in-law and her friend even came to hear me preach and really enjoyed the service and they don't do church. Must have been okay then.
Silly comment of the day was from one of my ministers - "Are you sure that was your first sermon?". Lets think blast, yes there was this one time at band camp... Yes, it was my first time. "Oh, it didn't sound like a first sermon - it was excellent and I really got a lot out of it." Thank goodness for that, at least I hadn't made a theological faux pas.
So, I thought I'd post it. It's based on Psalm 30 and Mark 1:40-45.
When have you ever been told something and it was too good news to keep to your self?
A friend's just told you their getting married, but doesn’t want a fuss.
Your Mum's been given the all clear from the consultant, but doesn't want the world to know as it might tempt fate and the cancer will come back.
Your son's told you your going to be a grandparent, but it's the first trimester and they don't want too many people knowing in case; just in case.
Each time, the person telling you’re their good news has a really good reason for a limited number of people to know.
Try as you might, you just can’t keep it to yourself. No, you don't want to keep it to yourself - you want to tell the world.
Shout it from the roof tops.
Yet, we hear Jesus told the man he had cured to tell no-one.
This wasn't a flippant gonae no' tell anyone - I'll cure you quietly and move on, the whole world doesn’t need to know what I did for you (well, not yet anyway).
Its just between you and me, isn't it?
No this was a strong warning.
DO NOT TELL ANYONE.
The Greek word Mark uses is a very strong warning word and would have made it very clear to the man Jesus wanted no-one, not even the man's nearest and dearest to know.
Now, this man was a reject of society. With his skin disease, which may not necessarily have been leprosy, as some translations have it, he was deemed unclean by his society.
Anyone coming into contact with him would also have been unclean according to the Moses' law.
Because of this, this man would have known almost everyone would turn the other way when they encountered him. They won't have wanted to have anything at all to do with him.
And here he is, going to Jesus.
Asking for healing.
If Jesus wanted to.
Perhaps he'd heard Jesus didn't turn people away, even those the unclean.
But he was taking a huge risk he would be rejected.
Everyone else had, why wouldn't this Galilean?
But Jesus not only didn't turn the other way, he healed the man.
Because he wanted to.
He felt sorry for him.
He had compassion for him.
Although the passage doesn't reveal much about this encounter, perhaps Jesus was angry at the way society had treated this man:
Making him an outcast,
unloved
good for nothing.
Perhaps that's part of the reason Jesus didn't want the man telling anyone what he had done for him.
How would society have reacted - a carpenter from Galilee curing a leper?
Not being worried about making himself unclean, potentially excluding him too from society for helping one of the unclean.
Challenging the norms of society.
Although Jesus was doing this throughout his ministry, he often told his disciples not to tell others, as the time was not right. Maybe that was the case here?
But, who can blame the man for wanting to tell the world?
Presumably, as Jesus told him, he visited the local priest to be deemed to be clean. This was necessary in order to begin re-integration with society.
The priest may well have known the man well, may even have declared him unclean in the first place.
And he, no doubt, would have wanted to know how this healing happened.
Right, so that was probably the first person the man told about his healing, but realistically, would he have able to keep this healing to himself.
Place yourself in his sandals. A position of uncleanliness and rejection from society.
Then, suddenly cured, wouldn't you want to tell the world?
You are no longer a reject.
People want to talk to you.
You are loved again.
You can have a relationship with God.
According to the Jewish tradition, the man's skin disease meant he couldn't have had a relationship with God. Not a direct one.
He wouldn't have been able to enter the temple and get the High priest to make offerings to God on his behalf.
No entering the temple, no offerings, no relationship with God.
Yet, Mark tells us Jesus took pity on him and healed him.
There and then, although the man may not have know it, he had a direct relationship with God the son.
A relationship he may not have had for years and wouldn't have thought he would have again.
No doubt, as a result of this encounter, the man's entire life, both physically and spiritually was irretrievably transformed.
Just like the psalmist, he just wanted to sing God's praises of what Jesus, God's son, had done for him.
No longer was God hiding his face from him.
He had seen God through Jesus and wanted to proclaim that to everyone he met.
He had been healed!
So, what can we, as church, take from this?
Who in our society is unclean?
The teenage mother
The repeat offender.
The gang member.
All shunned by society and, too often, by the very people who should be reaching out to them.
Us, God's church.
Look at what they've done.
They don't deserve another chance.
They can't sit beside us.
We, as a society often throw their wrongdoing and past back at them.
We don't always treat the unclean gracefully, with compassion.
We're watch them, looking for them to make mistakes that we feel will justify our shunning of them.
Probably the same mistakes we sometimes make, but we're clean, we can make mistakes!
Sometimes, the very people our society deems unclean feel the need to approach God for healing.
This must be extremely difficult for them.
Imagine, plucking up the courage to come to church, to approach God, as something inside you is drawing you to it.
You may feel unworthy.
That the people in the pews will turn up their noses at you
They will turn their back on you.
Just as Jesus' society turned away from their unclean.
Just as every society turns away from their unclean.
But we're not like that, are we?
Because, just as Jesus healed and transformed lives so we, as his church, can offer our act of love to the world.
To heal and transform lives.
Not within these walls, but out there.
Helping the homeless,
Giving a safe place for young people to hang out with their friends
Loving those others reject.
But we do all of this not only because it is the right thing to do, but because we are followers of Jesus and he showed us the way.
He had pity on the man with the skin disease.
He healed him and showed his compassion for the man.
When those society rejects call for help, we do have compassion for them.
We offer our healing to them.
And why do we do this?
To show God's love.
God's love which will heal them.
God's love which healed us too, as we were all unclean in God's eyes until he gave up his son, Jesus, God incarnate, on the cross to cleanse us all.
Amen.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Quick update
I've not had a lot to say for myself of late and I was away in York last weekend - I'll post about that over the weekend.
My supervisor is still off sick and I've finished the tasks we'd agreed I'd undertake at our last meeting, so I'm a bit in limbo. My presbytery rep's been helpful, but as she's not been trained to do the CFA, she can't take over from my supervisor. which is fair enough. I've contacted 121, but the person dealing with the CFA is on leave and no-one else seems able to help. I'm not too worried, as I've said before, everything happens for a reason.
Scarily, I'm preaching in my home church on Sunday. My minister's father is visiting, so he asked the worship team to do the service, so he can spend more time with his Dad. My husband landed me in it with the sermon! I'll get him back later, but revenge is a dish best served cold!!!
I've now written the sermon and the worship group are supposed to be having a run through tonight. I'm not wanting to let anyone hear my sermon until Sunday. It's been snowing most of the day, so that might give me the excuse I need not to head out tonight!
Fingers crossed it goes down okay. I'm a sermon virgin. My home church will be gentle, I'm sure!!!
My supervisor is still off sick and I've finished the tasks we'd agreed I'd undertake at our last meeting, so I'm a bit in limbo. My presbytery rep's been helpful, but as she's not been trained to do the CFA, she can't take over from my supervisor. which is fair enough. I've contacted 121, but the person dealing with the CFA is on leave and no-one else seems able to help. I'm not too worried, as I've said before, everything happens for a reason.
Scarily, I'm preaching in my home church on Sunday. My minister's father is visiting, so he asked the worship team to do the service, so he can spend more time with his Dad. My husband landed me in it with the sermon! I'll get him back later, but revenge is a dish best served cold!!!
I've now written the sermon and the worship group are supposed to be having a run through tonight. I'm not wanting to let anyone hear my sermon until Sunday. It's been snowing most of the day, so that might give me the excuse I need not to head out tonight!
Fingers crossed it goes down okay. I'm a sermon virgin. My home church will be gentle, I'm sure!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)