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November 2000, Page 1.
Index of articles.
Vicar's Letters:
index,
Visiting,
Settling in,
One body,
What for?
Pilgrims,
Christmas.
In this issue:
(November 2000)
Vicar's Letter,
Welcome Marise,
Vision,
Question.
Strangers and pilgrims
"By faith, Abraham lived in tents ... for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:9-10)
Dear Church Members,
My mother-in-law has recently moved house, I have only just got the vicarage straightened out since moving myself, and one of my brothers has recently moved to a new part of the country with his job, only to be told they are making him redundant. It makes me think about the whole process of uprooting oneself and living on the move.
As a clergyman, I have had to get used to the idea of living in a house which is not my own, and to having a job which will last for a matter of a few years before it will be time to move on again, so that someone else with a fresh vision will be able to take the church on the next stage of its journey. But I must confess that I still find the idea of sitting light to dwellings and possessions very difficult.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews (quoted above) isn’t just saying that Abraham packed up in one country, moved to the land where God was calling him, and settled down again. (Surely it’s hard enough to make one long-distance move?) But the point is that once Abraham arrived in the promised land, he continued living in tents, because he recognized that God had not yet finished with him. He saw that settling down is more an attitude of mind than about bricks and mortar. He was saying to God: “I am still available for the next part of your perfect plan for me.”
And faith is that attitude for us today. If I say “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” (meaning I am too set in my ways to change), then I am telling God I have stopped living by faith and started trusting in my routine. I need to kick myself out of complacency and remind myself that God has a plan for me.
John Hartley