January 2010

My Dear Friends,

Every Blessing to you all, and Peace and Happiness for the New Year. I do hope your Christmas was all you wanted it to be, and you were able to spend time with some loved ones.

New Year means for many new choices, new beginnings, and a letting go of the past, and we can do some of that.

Choices! I don’t know about you, but I am terrible at making my mind up. In a restaurant I panic when I see the waiter coming. They don’t like it when you say “Can I have a bit of everything?” And I genuinely don’t mind what colour things are. Nearly every colour is beautiful in the right place. So if you want to paint the lounge light blue, that is fine with me; if you want to paint it lemon or lilac, then great.

But there are some choices that I do want to make, and they are big ones. I want to live my life to the full. I want to choose the right path. I want to choose the right words to say. I want to choose to be complete, and I want to choose to be with God.

So how do we make sure we live life to the full? Well, firstly I think we need to shed the things that get in the way of our relationships with God and with one another. Sometimes we fill our lives with business or hard work or the pursuit of wealth or gain or status. We know from our present economic climate that such pursuits tend not to lead to lasting happiness! Perhaps we need to let go of other people’s expectations, and society’s demands, and just find time to be still, and take stock.

How do we choose the right path? Are they all the same, do all roads lead to Rome, or to God? Well, I am not sure that they do. Even some of the roads paved with the best of intentions could lead us to the grim place! I believe we do need to discern the right path, and it is not for us to judge other peoples choices. I can only speak for myself, and I believe that Following Jesus is the right path for me. That is not the difficult choice. But the things that stop me being true to that path are often wrapped around choices that I need to make. It is not easy.

Choosing the right words to say is a constant battle between wanting to keep people happy, and wanting to say what is right or true. There is something of the prophetic in all good preaching, and if that is the case, then the words used must be based on openness to the will of God and the power of the Spirit. Sometimes the preacher has to say the things that the congregation does not want to hear, but he or she must be true to his or her path.

Completeness. Easiest to define by trying to think what is lacking in one’s life, but not in a material sense. ‘Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God’ says St. Augustine. Is there a sense of purpose and belonging? Is there a sense of being loved, valued and accepted? Is there a feeling of deep joy? If these things are missing, then we can work on them. They are freely offered.

But here comes the big one. Choosing to be with God. Well, interestingly, it is not our choice!

John 15.16:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

We have already been chosen. Called to God to be loved by him. Called by him to bear fruit, and build his Kingdom here in Midhurst and beyond. The choice that we make is to do his will. Let us pray for wisdom and discernment in order to do that.

One of the ways that all of this comes together is when we open ourselves up to God, and that can certainly happen at any time, and in any place. However, to help us focus, sometimes we need a prompt. The new Healing Services starting at Woolbeding on the 2^nd Sunday of every other month could really help us. They will provide a beautiful opportunity to reflect on all that we need to let go of, and all that we need to receive.

Trust me; we can all receive the grace of God.

If you would like to talk about any of this, then please feel free to make an appointment.

With love and prayers,

Fr. Marcus