Next Saturday is the Kenilworth Show, back after an absence. I plan to be there along with other volunteers from the Farming Community Network. www.fcn.org.uk
The Show season has begun in earnest. One of the first ones of the season is the Devon County Show in mid-May followed in June by the Royal Cornwall Show and the South of England Show.
For nearly thirty-five years
I ‘worked the Shows’ alongside attending countless other local Fetes and Fayres.
The RCS, the Devon County, the South of England and then latterly, the
Staffordshire County Show were a regular feature in my ministry. Over the years
I developed a considerable bank of knowledge and built up an array of ‘equipment.’
This
included a two-berth caravan decked out in Church Army livery which enabled to
stay over on-site, on occasions following a Saturday Fete, I would then preach
on the Sunday morning.
Much of the equipment I garnered
was a wide array of Garden Games alongside a badge -making machine as well as
several gazebos.
The one thing I did learn was
to be as prepared as I could be for every eventually, to adapt or to adjust if
the needs arose, to find something that could deal with a problem. I might have
something that can solve that problem was my common phrase.
I also got to carrying a wide range of tent pegs, ropes, bungee’s cords and a whole box of tricks plus several mallets. You would be surprised at how many times a neighbour setting up had forgotten their mallet.
When they work well and the
weather is kind there is nothing quite like a County Show or even a Village
Fete if presented well.
Today at St Oswald’s we
continued looking at ‘Transformation’ and today’s story was from Luke 8: 22-39,
the demon possessed man in the country of the Gerasene’s.
Now one of the things I am
apt to do when watching a film, the TV or even in theatre is to notice what is
happening at the edge, those actors chatting at the table or walking by, all
that scene setting I find fascinating.
I also like to do this with the Scripture, and they are full of intriguing details.
Take for example from this
story in Luke 4 and verse 35 after Jesus had given permission for the demons to
leave and enter the pigs.
‘…Then people came out to see
what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom
the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right
mind. And they were afraid.’
Earlier we read that the man
was naked, ‘Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasene’s, which
is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a
man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no
clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.’
(As an aside note that on the
way across the lake Jesus had calmed a physical storm and now was about to calm
the storm raging in this man’s life.)
Question then, where did the
clothes come from that this now restored man was wearing?
For me there is a purposefulness
in all of this. It is not hard to imagine that this man was known in that area.
On this occasion at the Spirit’s prompting Jesus sets off to release this man
from being held captive, ostracised by his community and living among the dead.
And he takes some clothes with him – he is prepared.
Time to ponder.
How alert are we to the prompting
of the Spirit to enter a situation so that God might bring healing, wholeness
and restoration. Or are we so busy getting
on and doing our stuff, answering those emails, holding that meeting, going to
see that person that the Spirit doesn’t really have much opportunity to guide
and prompt us. Just how ready are we at
the start of the day to offer our day and invite God into our stuff and even be
willing to change course, to spend a little extra time with someone, or to have
that important conversation. Then as we journey through the day how good are we
at remembering that we are ‘living temples’ the very presence of God wherever we
are?
Prison Officers, the Police and Security Officer are very often well ‘tooled up’ and ready to deal with a whole range of situations that they may face.
How ‘tooled up’ are we as God’s
people.
1 Peter 3.5
But dedicate your lives to
Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence [in God] when anyone
asks you to explain it. However, make your defence with gentleness and respect.
And practically as well,
think through what situation you might be entering and consider how you might
be prepared. That might be an extra pen you could pass to someone, or even a
sheet of paper, or it might be a packet of tissues or a pair of gloves, perhaps
some plasters. These little things can sometimes lead to big conversations!
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