Tomorrow is the first day of the Methodist year, all over the Connexion welcome services have been taking place as the great Methodist Minister moving season has settled down and new appointments have been taken up. For many the day will be a normal day and may go unmarked, for others the dive into the diary full of new year meetings could well cause them to pause to take in a deep breath, the sentiment " here we go again" ringing in their ears...
I have just returned to work from a lovely 2 week break which included a friends wedding and Greenbelt Festival, both of which have given me cause to pause and reflect on the possibilities of new beginnings. Of course every day, every moment is a new beginning, but some days and some moments grant us the gift of marking them, of laying down a mile-stone, a way marker on our journey of discipleship and making a public choice.
Tomorrow I want to make that choice, I want to publically declare alongside others that I choose to choose God, that I choose to enter into the pathway of prayer and denial of self, that I choose to step away from my ego, to let go of what holds me and to surrender to the possiblities that being open to God bring to me.
Last Monday at Greenbelt Festival I asked a question in the session being lead by Rachel Mann regarding our struggle to be an inclusive Church in a culture that demands balck and white answers and absolutes that exclude others. This year I want to learn how to begin again to truly live that out. The encouragement I received was to keep on keeping on, but that can be tough when those around you want to draw lines and errect boundaries...
I will draw to a close with a quote from Pere Henri from the film version of Chocolat:
I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life, here on Earth. His *kindness*, His *tolerance*... Listen, here's what I think. I think that we can't go around... measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think... we've got to measure goodness by what we *embrace*, what we create... and who we include.
...
we've got to measure goodness by what we *embrace*, what we create... and who we include.
...
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me... ( Luke 9:23)
My prayer for the New Year is that I will be able to do just that, that in denying myself I might find the strength, creativity, and inclusivity of Christ. My prayer for the church is that we together will model Christs love in more open and powerful ways, that we won't get ourselves tied in knots over unimportant details such as whether people wear hats and what colour the carpet is!
Consider the lillies Picture mine ( no longer available)
