Saturday 14 April 2012

Background

God's plan takes time. God leads the Israelites the long wayround - guiding them carefully on a route that they can cope with -a journey that will end in strengthened rather than weakened faith.But what about God guiding us on our journey today?

At our inter faith (Seder), the local rabbi told a story of a formerrabbi, long ago, who had heard whispers of the idea that women maybe looking to train and to become rabbis. Incensed by this, he haddeclared that the day a woman became a Rabbi he would put an orange- something totally out of place - on the Seder plate. Now, withwomen rabbis now readily accepted in the Liberal Jewish tradition,the local rabbi smiled and placed an orange on the Sederplate.

As God guides, attitudes and behaviours change and love grows asGod's kingdom unfolds that little bit more.

We too can (proudly) put an orange on our communion table.

The teenage girl in our congregation knows that she is valued andloved.

Can we say the same for the gay teenage boy looking for a safeplace to tell us who he is?

Can the woman sat in the wheelchair see the words of the hymns onthe projectorscreen - or have we sat her where others standing to seethe screen will obscure her view?

Can the poorest members of our congregations afford to attend ourfund raising events and socials along with the richest?

Is there a crèche to make parents - our missing generation - andtheir little ones welcome in our churches?

The list could go on, and it is tempting ...

But just as God led the Israelites carefully to meet their goal, sotoo God leads all of God's own children now. And that is what givesrise to our hope!

To Ponder

Picture your church now. Who could that orangerepresent in your community (or outside of it)? And when will yoube able to put it on the communion table in joy that God's kingdomis growing in your midst?