Great Doddington - Dealing with junk

Last week, we decided that we should take turns to prepare something, a Bible passage, something we'd read that has touched us or helped us see something in a new way, anything the Spirit leads us to use. Jody had made the suggestion so she also took on the first week.

She shared a section from an historical novel she's been reading ('Revelation' by CJ Sansom). Amongst other things the book describes religious fanaticism in Tudor England. Henry VIII has dissolved the monasteries, the church is in turmoil, and the moderate lawyer who features in the book realises that the truth is not well-served by rigid and often horrific rule-following. Life and truth cannot be achieved by keeping laws or traditions or regulations.

Jody also read a passage from another book, 'Inside the junk drawer'. She drew our attention to Galatians 4:8-9 and we talked about the need we all have to let go our heart's junk.

Chris thought that our life is like a journey in a boat. First the boat needs to be pushed out into water deep enough to come free of the bottom, then we can get in and begin to row out to where there is a good breeze. Finally the sail catches the wind and after that there is no need for further effort. We need to steer but the wind does the work of moving the boat until we finally arrive at our destination. So in our lives we have to make the choice to push off and row out, just like deciding to let go of our 'junk'. But once we've done that we are free to float, moved by the Spirit in the way we should go. And he'll make sure we reach our destination even if we don't know the way.

Rachael saw a maze and realised that we're not separated from him even when sometimes it feels as if we are. We see hedges all around and we don't know the way to the centre, but from his point of view he can simply reach over the hedges to where we are. They are not obstacles for him.

She also spoke about the sound of a trumpet. Our voices are proclaiming voices, praising him. All our individual voices together make one sound like the trumpet. It is the sound of raising him up, lifting him to his rightful place!

And then Jody read 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 which speaks of the yeast and how we need to get rid of it (all our junk), and how Christ himself is the Lamb and our celebration requires sincerity and truth.