This week Adrian looks at Genesis 41: 46- 57 and examines how Joseph lived with delay and how delay can offer an opportunity to discover joy rather irritation in our life journeys.
…”Maybe none of us feel we’ve had enough time.”
This haunting last line from the Film ‘Never Let Me Go’ poses and important question that not many of us like to face that our time on this planet is finite.
The film, ‘Never Let Me Go’, the story of an alternate reality that starts in the 1950’s a medical breakthrough leads to life expectancy increasing to 100 years old. We are then introduced to the three key characters of the story who turn out to be human clones who have been created to be organ donors to aid life expectancy. We therefore discover with the characters their purpose in life and the fact that after three donations they will probably ‘complete’.
There are many questions that are raised within the film however this labelling of death as ‘completion’ coupled with the last line of the film has been the one that has particularly stuck in my mind.
The problem is that death never feels like completion as we never feel like we have finished all that we wanted to do there is always that sense of loss…rather than completion death can more feel like a thief in the night that comes to rob us.
BUT IS THAT HOW IT IS MEANT TO BE?
What if…
…we could live this life not fearful of the time we might have but enjoying the time we do have
…we could see death not as an end to deny but a promise of something better
Maybe then we could have a greater sense of ‘completion’ even more than that, we would know hope even joy!
At the heart of the Christian faith this is what is promised that through trusting in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection death no longer gets the final say. That when we die we get to be with God forever on a new earth where he restores everything to how it was meant to be…we get something better.
This then enables us to live with a sense of hope and joy as to what is to come rather than fear and dread but also a freedom and purpose to enjoy the time we have now rather than fear of will we have enough.
For me to know this hope that brings me joy gives that allows me to know completion.
How about you?
…all this week in Room 102 Wes Wyatt suite, Edgbaston Cricket Ground click here to findout more stay connected through the prayer week blog
…please note Edgbaston Road is closed. Access to the Mac is via the carpark entrance at the Birmingham Nature Centre, on the Pershore Road, or the Cannon Hill Park car park on the Russell Road.
…10:30am Series: The Family Tree – Mercy
…6.30pm Series: The Family Tree – Word & Spirit
…the BBC are running a four-part drama ‘The Nativity’, “revealing the human story beneath the classic biblical tale, from the courtship of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth to the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem stable”. The programs are BBC One on at 7pm and start this coming Monday…would be worth a watch!
The Mac currently have an installation by Riza Shaheen. As part of this installation there are a number of photos that are displayed like that above that have left me feeling uncomfortable.
Initially this was due to there content and the sense of distortion that they depicted…if I am honest there was part of me that wanted to have the images removed.
However this initial feeling of discomfort was nothing compared to what I felt on discovering the overall title of Shaheen’s work ‘Prodigal Son – traces of a disciple astray’.
The Prodigal Son is a story told by Jesus about two sons. The main son in the story seems to be the younger son who wishes his Dad dead and asks for his inheritance now, goes off and lives the high life but then loses everything and so returns to his Father, who welcomes Him back. The story then ends by focusing on the older son who has always been with His Father and the fact he does not believe his brother should be welcomed back. Jesus leaves the story with the emphasis on the older son.
Back to my response…as I saw the title I was undone, exposed, convicted as I realised the images revealed me as the ‘older son’ in the story!
Prodigal at it’s very core means ‘reckless extravagance’ which is what sums up how the younger Son in the story is, however it also points to who God is, as depicted by the Father in the story. God is a prodigal God one who is reckless in extravagance which is revealed at Christmas in the gift of His Son Jesus!
The birth of Jesus was announced with extravagance by Angels that His birth means joy for the whole earth as Jesus welcomes everyone to offer peace, wholness to our brokenness.
…Christmas reminds me that Jesus never states remove them he always declares welcome, I am testimony to that fact…
…I am left thankful to Shaheen for his images and changed once again by the amazing news of Jesus birth that causes me to declare welcome!
…we have an exciting job opportunity that has arisen with our addiction recovery work through the ‘The Bridge’ as a part time administrator and finance worker. This role is an exceptionally key role that we need to see fulfilled.
The role is for three days a week and would offer administrative support to the running of the addiction recovery service.
Please click on the links below to view the job description and specifications:
Admin & Finance worker – Nov 2010
Person Specification- Admin Finance Worker – Nov 2010
To find out more or to obtain an application form please contact the Bridge on 0121 663 0103 or at bridgehouse@thebridge.uk.net
The closing date for applications is Monday 20th December 2010.
…Thursday 25th November 8pm in the Moseley suite at Edgbaston Cricket Ground click here to find out more
…I can honestly say that prayer meetings are a highlight of my diary. It has been amazing over the years to see time and time again God answer the prayers that we have prayed, guide us and teach us about faith, his character and prayer as we have gathered.
On the 25th November amidst all that we could pray about I have been struck by the hope we have in Jesus and the need within all we seek to do and pray, to give space to honour, celebrate and worship Him! Therefore as we gather to pray, I want to give the vast majority of the time over to worshipping, celebrating and honouring our King and giving space to hear from Him. Our worship leaders have said they would love to serve us as a team in doing this.
I therefore want to ask you to come along next Thursday as we gather to the one who has given us hope, Jesus.
With love and peace,
Adrian
Much could be said in connection to the Student demonstrations this week however it will probably be remembered for the events that are depicted in the photo above. In the subsequent reporting I heard one individual succinctly remark regarding the actions of people during the day that “people are angry”…which got me thinking.
Anger is something that all of us know. However we handle it, it can have dramatic effects.
We tend to feel angry when we see that our own or someone else’s rights are being ignored or trampled on…we are left with a sense of it not being right, of injustice, that “it’s not fair!”.
This can happen through being misunderstood, the misuse of authority, the way we are treated at work, a medical diagnosis, redundancy or the announcement of cuts…
…if we are honest, all of us get angry. The question is how do we handle it when we do?
The Bible is pretty helpful in respect to how we should do this. It states, “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry”. In other words, it is ok to be angry. Some of us need to read this again: IT IS OK TO FEEL ANGRY… but in our anger we need to be careful that we don’t do harm to ourselves or others.
So what should we do?
Here are five practical steps:
1. Acknowledge: Starting point is to acknowledge that we feel angry, not to deny it.
2. Understand: Important that we don’t just react but that we stop and seek to understand why we feel angry.
3. Express: We need to give ourselves space to express our anger without harming ourselves or others. This can sometimes mean taking ourselves out of a situation. Can often mean spending time writing down and vocalising…sometimes this can be helped by speaking with someone independent and I find it helpful talking to God.
4. Forgive: This is the decision to choose to not hold against a person the wrong they have done. This is often an ongoing decision. It is vital in ensuring we are able to be constructive within our anger. It is also essential to being able to let go of hurt. We don’t want to be eaten up by bitterness…but this is a whole other subject!
5. Take action: Finally having taken the previous steps to ensure we don’t just react, it is still important that we take action. This action should not cause us or others harm. Rather, it should lead to postive, creative change and solutions.
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