Thoughts for the Day

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As Christians we live in two worlds, that of space and time, and that of eternal things. But if we're not careful our physical world can take over. The writer of Hebrews comments that some of those he's writing to are not worshipping together. Since covid-19 many organisation have noticed a drop in their numbers and it's been the same for churches. It's easy to make excuses, but would we make these same excuses to an employer and fail to turn up at work?

A little story told to me recently might help. It's about Thomas the tank engine - one of Rev Awdry's stories that many children love: Thomas was rather fed up! The Controller had told him to go to a mine and collect some coal, a job he thought was beneath him. He longed to be free to roam the world and do what he wanted, without being ordered around and stuck to some rails. Finally off he went rather grumpily to the mine, where he found that one of the rails had become damaged. Unable to stop his wheels slowly slid off the track. "I'm free! I'm free!" he cried happily, only to discover that without the rails he wasn't free at all!

True freedom comes for Christians not when we step away from church, but when we worship together, and when we give and receive praise, love, and thanks, among other things - to God and to each other. In this we take the relationship of the Holy Trinity as our example.

Heavenly Father,
help us to realise our responsibilities
to You and to those in the church
where we worship,
and to understand that being a Christian
calls us into community
to both give and to receive,
in worship and witness.
Amen.