At South Milford today we experienced one of those services when God simply takes over today.... no there was no hysteria, no falling on the floor, no sudden evidence of miracles or anything like that. BUT God was powerfully present and very much in control. The focus, as it was for many others was Christ the King, the hymns and the liturgy had been chosen by me, and we were to follow the lectionary readings. No shocks then!
In the notices at the beginning of the service it was brought to our attention that Debbie's Dishes an outreach project elsewhere in the District who are in desperate need of a new dishwasher. This had no big impact, and although I explained to the congregation what the project was about I left it at that.
We prayed and sang, King of Kings majesty, and also The King is among us...
Then we heard the Scriptures...
I had been intending to preach on the reaction of the thief on the cross, how he recognised Jesus, and Jesus response, I had been intending to ask about our responses to Jesus, and how we see glimpses of his coming amongst us.
BUT the wrong reading was read, except that the wrong reading was very right... We heard the gospel from Luke 24 instead of Luke 23, and it focused on Jesus appearing to his disciples in a closed room after the resurrection .
The sermon changed, and it must have been Spirit inspired, because it wasn't what I'd prepared at all, and it made sense! I spoke about the reality of the resurrection bringing us hope, noting that God's kingdom is not some distant airy fairy possibility but something real and tangible, and something that we need to enter into now. Christ as King of kings and Lord of Lords is a reality, and he longs to move amongst us in power NOW! But his power is not a domineering power, but the power of peace, and love and service, and a power that God pours out on his people by the Holy Spirit.
We shared communion, using the second part of the Easter liturgy...
And then before we left one of the members suggested that we should give half of the collection to Debbie's Dishes, the rest of the congregation agreed, and so that is what will happen. Maybe that does not seem remarkable, but this is a small congregation who are embarking on a brave and expensive remodelling project, a project that will turn their traditional Chapel into an Arts Centre that the whole village can use, a project originally inspired by wanting to retain the premises so that a local dance school can continue to meet. The could have ignored the need elsewhere, but chose instead to be generous, mirroring in their actions the servant nature of Christ, who left the heavenly realms for earth's grit and grime.
These folk so often give generously of themselves and their time, and I pray that God will bless them, that they can continue to be a blessing....
One more thing to add. My husband Tim has recently been discovering the gift of drawing worship, he sketches as he listens and his pictures become a form of prayer. This morning he drew what turned out to be an ordinary person, dressed in purple ( a royal colour), yet basic clothing, and surrounded by the glory of God. In her hands she held a bowl and towel.... glory and service, royalty and ordinariness, Christ reflected in his people....
