Zetland Park Methodist Church Pastoral Letters
And where has yet another year disappeared to?
Have you noticed that you are drawing the curtains
that wee bit earlier? Have you noticed too, that it is not
as light in the mornings when you get up at your 'normal'
time? Whatever we seek to do with all the objects we have
acquired, there is NOTHING we can do about the advancement
of the seasons.
Our Scriptures begin with 'the Spirit brooding over the
chaos'. There is no indication in the material available to
us that there was in fact any noise at all, so can we
possibly think that 'silence' was the order of the day,
waiting for 'something' to happen? Maybe --- but that could
just be conjecture and open to re-interpretation. Elijah
'almost' it would seem, 'got it', with that 'still small
voice of calm', or is that in fact the Biblical writer's
method of indeed saying, 'there was silence' There had been
a cacophony of sound and motion: earthquake, wind and fire
and certainly there was a remote suggestion that 'silence'
was anywhere around, until ---- 'The sound of silence?'
From the tying up of the spent daffodils to the enjoyment of budding roses and fuchsias;
From the cutting of grass and the clearing of weeds to the first hint of falling leaves and gathered harvests;
From the autumnal tones, to the fresh whiteness of a crisp winter's morning.
And where has yet another year disappeared too?
We put the apparent 'rapid' passage of such time down to a
whole variety of reasons, and no doubt you are thinking of
your exact one, now. Yet, whatever we seek to espouse the
fact is that we are in phase three of 2005: autumn. For me
it can be a time when my camera can go into overdrive as it
seeks to capture that glorious God-given autumnal tints, so
pleasant to the eye, yet so elusive to capture either on
film, through digital or even on canvas. But then there are
those surprising moments when you come on a scene that
takes your breath away: when God's glory is so majestically
shown in tints and tinctures that almost defy description.
They don't assail the eyes, I feel that they 'caress' them
as a fragrant kiss from a beloved. Yet when you begin to
work out the reason for this apparent grandeur we are
actually seeing Creation in the form of a death throe, as
the spectacular growth of spring and summer recedes for yet
another year. In death there is a 'beauty' beyond human
telling, which in a way excites us and inspires us to
eulogize and create around it. Strange, is it not, how the
senses seek to react in admiring, when we should be, well,
is the correct word, 'mourning'?
But that I perceive is NOT the way of the Almighty.
Each season has its place in the order of things determined
by a mind and with a purpose far greater that we can begin
to imagine. We have been given our own yet limited ability
to perceive and assimilate, and marvel at the handiwork of
our Creator God. But too often we misuse those abilities
and get tangled up in the web-like confusion which we
create around us as our so-called security.
If we are honest about our life and its living, we will
always seek to have a life-style which seeks to reflect a
summer-time feeling when all is good and shining and
bright. The days are long and can be filled with fun and
laughter well into the night hours. All around feels good;
we soak in the warmth and appreciate the colours and smells
around ----- life on that basis is not far short of idyllic
and that is how we like it ---- perfect! But God in His
wisdom has given us 'growing days' like the springtime,
when we have to push hard to get to the surface and
struggle to obtain sufficient moisture to sustain and
maintain us. When we are prone to the vagrancies of things
and situations around us, and nothing, yet 'nothing', is
certain.
Or the autumnal time when we have to begin to 'let go' and
allow others, fresh and full of vim and vigour, to replace
us as we come to form a background rather than a prominent
front member. That too is hard, for we feel that we still
blaze with a glory that needs to be recognized, but others
see different and that too is hard --- very hard in some
cases. Then the coldness of winter: sharp and shapeless
sometimes. The land burying itself below a blanket -
forgotten and cold. Life can seem like that too, for far
too many --- lost, desperate, in need.
But across it all there are the rays of sunshine: sometimes
brilliant and illumine as in the zenith of summer; or that
milky whiteness in the depth of winter; the dancing rays
through autumnal tinted forests; the increasing glow
through those early months of anticipated spring. These
rays, like a deep, penetrating love seek us all out in a
variety of ways. For that 'love' is both the gift and the
concern of the Creator who knows our needs. Yes, even
yours!