Rivertown United Reformed Church

Deeside Pastorate – Minister’s letter – June 2010

“Tell me what you see”

The words are the title of a Lennon-McCartney track on the Beatles’ best selling “Help” album. Now Jesus didn’t quite say that – but something very similar. John the Baptist, in prison and soon to be executed as a birthday present for King Herod’s seductive daughter’s mother, still wasn’t completely sure about who Jesus was. John sent his friends to check Jesus out. Jesus replied, “tell John what you have seen me do”.

The crowds that followed Jesus were not interested in the nights he spent in prayer; and unless they were from his home town in Nazareth, they were not interested in his upbringing, his education, his family – nor, thank goodness, where he lived, what he ate, where he shopped or spent his holidays. All they were interested in was – could he heal? Did he really care for people? Did he provide a good “after sales service”?

Now I’m not saying that presentation is everything – far from it. What I am saying is that people today want to know just one thing about faith, God, Jesus etc – does it really work? The Christian would respond with a resounding “YES!” of course – but then what? Belief by itself is a very vulnerable thing – one person’s word against another. It has to be tested. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3 that everyone’s work will be tested by fire!

Right now many of our trees are still in blossom, and the sun is bringing colour to our gardens. Plants and trees spend all their energy, drawing goodness up their stems and branches, simply to produce their blooms and blossoms. Beautiful, but very vulnerable. To weather, birds, stones, footballs, all sorts of rough and thoughtless handling. We, as we see the beauty, maybe rarely think of all the effort the plant, the tree has expended in its magnificent production. Just as when we see a play, we don’t think of the endless rehearsals and line learning: or the painstaking work of the artist over a work of art. And all these things are offered to us ordinary people, without any certainty of acceptance, let alone popularity or acclaim.

Jesus said “let your light shone before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5v16). We have just celebrated Pentecost – when God became truly “known and shown” in the lives of Jesus special friends. It was their message – and the selfless but fantastic way they delivered it, to a crowd that could just as well have lynched them – that brought the Christian Church into being. And although what people that day saw was the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it was the Church’s way of life – her ongoing display of the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - that showed the genuineness and sincerity of her claims about Jesus, crucified and risen.

It is 100 years since the great World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in June 1910, which drew together Christians from many churches to think about world mission. Yes – most attending were white, western and male, but it began the process of moving beyond colonialism to welcome the birth of independent, self-governing churches around the world.

People today are not interested in our denomination, our education, our profession, even our family situation. They just want to know if Christianity works – they want to see it at work before they even begin to think about discussing it with us. What they see – what we offer – is the love of God in Jesus Christ. We may feel weak, vulnerable, imperfect, but if we are offering ourselves to others, non-judgementally, sincerely, yet enthusiastically, then the Holy Spirit in us will ensure that the result is a magnificent production!

Your minister and friend…………………………….Colin