Saturday 15 July 2017

Psalm: Psalm 38:10-22

Background

They say the secret to comedy is timing - and I would suggestthat it is also the secret to evangelism (or speaking of God).Sometimes the moment is right and people are ready to hear what Godhas to offer them, only for us to miss the moment and regret it.And at other times Christians do more harm trying to force themoment (or even their own agenda) rather than being attentive tothe nudge of the Spirit if God.

Jesus' brothers weren't pushing Jesus out of malice to go toJudea. They were keen that the good Jesus was doing was shared."Don't hide your light under a bushel, get yourself to Judea," theywould have urged. However, Jesus knew that the moment wasn't right.He wasn't going to be pushed to 'perform'. Jesus knew that what wasgoing to happen to him would have to be in God's time, not otherpeople's.

It's hard for us to imagine how Jesus might have felt at thistime. In many ways, he was riding the wave of popularity, but themurmurs that had hovered over the hill of Galilee came all the moreinto focus when he travels in secret to Judea.

Chapter 3 ofEcclesiastes reminds us that there is a time for everything andeverything has its season. The Church in the west has certainly hadits season of autumn, some might say winter. Our time might alwaysbe here but assessing when the Spirit needs us to act is essentialif growth is not to be stifled by the frosts of tradition orpopular culture.

To Ponder

• How do you feel knowing that as a disciple you are called toevangelism - but not knowing if the time is right?

• How do you prepare for the right time?

• How can you show the good things of the Church to the world -that this might serve to the glory of God?