This month I’m thinking about tea and cake!
I am sitting to write this newsletter in the best setting for writing – with a cup of tea and a big slice of cake! I am at our Macmillan Coffee Morning and as I write, the gentle buzz of conversation and laughter is filling the air. It is good to come together. And it is good to come together for a good cause.
If you were to watch the news or read a social media feed you’d be forgiven for thinking that all is doom and gloom in the world, but visit any church, any community centre, any library, and countless other places round the country, and you will find pockets of hope. These are places that see the darkness in the world, see the struggles people face, and respond with cake and joy. And quite frankly, our world could do with more cake and joy!
This feels a very Jesus-shaped thing to do, Jesus who came eating and drinking, Jesus whose key message was ‘good news!’ At the heart of the gospel is a message of hope; that the struggles of this life are not the end of the story, that we have a heavenly home and the promise of eternal life, but also that God wants us to have life in all its fullness in the here and now. This is unlikely to look the same as how the world views success and happiness, with possessions and money and prestige, but I think I’m seeing a pretty good vision of it at this coffee morning; a small child squealing with joy at being given a balloon, those facing health problems finding a listening ear, a small dog being cuddled, and people who might never meet each other in the outside world finding new friends who value their company.
It is an easy mistake to make, to think that ‘church’ is what happens on a Sunday. Because when we look at the life of Jesus, we don’t see much about his worshipping habits, maybe a little about attending temple and prayer; for the most part we see his interactions with people, his compassion and care, his eating with others and his friendship…all of life lived to the glory of God.
So, what about us? Are you eating cake for Jesus?!
There was a great quote on a programme a few years ago from a humanist, who said, ‘Christians think they have a monopoly on being good.’ Lots of people care, show compassion, journey through life with others…so what is different about those of us who follow Jesus?
Something I’ve been thinking about recently is cost. There is a beautiful line in some of my favourite liturgy that says, ‘we will not offer to God sacrifices that cost us nothing.’ So perhaps, for Christians, eating cake for Christ looks like sitting down with the people who we wouldn’t naturally choose to associate with, the people who others very rarely choose to sit down with. Maybe our listening ear needs to be even more attentive and less judgemental. Maybe our charitable giving doesn’t come with strings attached and is done in secret. Maybe the good news we share offers Jesus’ radical forgiveness to those whom the world struggles to forgive.
What hope do we have to offer the world today?
Rev Emma
vicar.allhallows@gmail.com
07561 59616