A good read
Every week in the Church Times there is an interview with a, generally, well known person. One question that is usually asked is who you would like to be locked in church with. The answers are very wide ranging but generally it is about finding out what made a person tick and why they acted in a particular manner. The answers have literally ranged from Mother Teresa to Hitler. The second stock question is what is your favourite part of the Bible. I wonder how you would answer this second question.
Maybe like many people you like the Psalms; after all you can generally find within the Psalms a passage that chimes with the mood you are feeling on any given day. In the Psalms you will find the Psalmist address most human emotions but the ups and downs of life are set against an enduring trust in God and his word.
For others it will be the Gospels and their stores of Jesus and the way people have reacted to an encounter with Jesus.
Or perhaps it is the Old Testament with the dramatic stories of the history of God’s dealings with his people, some of which if they were television dramas have to be broadcast after the 9.00 pm watershed.
Others light upon the prophets with their challenge to be different. The call to be renewed and to become the people God wants us to be.
Other people might turn their attention to the New Testament epistles. There are, of course, the obvious purple passages such as 1 Corinthians 13, a reading favoured at weddings and sometimes even funerals. But if one leaves aside the favoured well known parts there is a rugged reality to the writing in the letters. There is a rugged reality about humanity and the demands God makes of us as we seek to be his people.
As I think about what my favoured passages are in the Bible I quickly realised it is only through reading the Bible that I am able to select a favoured passage. You have to know it if you are to favour a passage. We need to be readers of God’s word.
I know that many people when they go away on holiday have their holiday reading. Part of their holiday preparation is to go to the library or the book shop and get hold of the books they have always wanted to read and take them away when they go on holiday. I want to offer you a challenge for the summer holiday season. Whether you are planning to be away or whether you will be remaining in Malvern this summer why not select a book from the Bible and make it your holiday reading. You will, I guarantee, be inspired by the words you read.
Confirmation
Last year at the Confirmation the lights went out but it didn’t stop several people standing up and affirming their Christian faith. This year there will be a Confirmation Service in Malvern Deanery on 16th November. If you are interested in considering Confirmation then please have a word with one of the clergy; they will be able to explain what is involved. There will be an initial meeting on Sunday 7th September at 4.00 pm in The Vicarage for those who are interested in considering Confirmation. Coming to the initial meeting doesn’t mean that you are committed to being Confirmed you are welcome to come and find out what is involved.
