Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - The Christian Mosaic

We have come from many places for a little while;
We have come with all our differences, seeking common ground;
We have come on journeys of our own, to a place where journeys meet.

The Iona Community

Sharing together this morning we discovered that this is true for our TFG community. Many of us have experience of other churches and Christian traditions and bring this with us to TFG.
Christian Unity, we discovered, is not about uniformity but about unity in diversity - each community worshiping and serving God as the people God has made them to be.

So as we work and pray for Christian unity the place to start is where we are - working and praying together with other Christians in the task of making the world a better place: working for peace, justice, environmental sustainablity, right relationships, mutual respect ...

Why not spend some time thinking back over your journey and thanking God for all that you bring with you to the TFG community and then thank God for all that others bring too ?

God, your Church is a mosaic of pieces, large and small,
Of many colours and shapes whose differences when blended
Make a thing of beauty not possible for one piece alone.
Help us to be trusting as you fit us together.
Grant us the grace not to find fault with our neighbours,
But hold on to them with genuine love,
Knowing that however ill-matched we may feel
We may become a perfect fit to you
Who sees the whole picture.

The first sign! John 2:1-11

Onions! -Judith has been using a lot of them in meals suitable for the cold weather – and they have lots of layers, like this story and like the rest of John's gospel, which to some extent, makes it different from the other 3 gospels. The outer layer sees Jesus enjoying a happy occasion, a wedding, at a real place, Cana in Galilee – living a fully human life, but is there deeper meanings in the story, described as the first sign; does it build up a picture of who Jesus is and what he does?

Who is the bridegroom? He just about gets a mention, but what about Jesus? He describes himself as the bridegroom in the other 3 gospels. The OT describes God as the bridegroom of Israel and wedding feast imagery is used to describe God's Kingdom. What does this suggest about Jesus? Is he the true bridegroom in whom we see God fully and does this sign indicate the the Kingdom of God is coming with Jesus?

Not enough wine at a wedding – a social disaster, but what does this say about the human condition and our lives without Jesus? 6 stone water jars, 1 less than the perfect number -does Jesus make perfect the older Jewish religion? And huge jars, filled to the brim - what does this say about God's love – generous and more than enough for all.

'You have kept the good wine until now' – the steward didn't get it, but what is the good wine? Jesus' gift of himself out of love – the passage refers to his death and resurrection . So water, so vital for human life is changed by Jesus into the best wine representing eternal life, which can begin now with him. We discussed other references to wine in this gospel, which though it hasn't an actual description of the Last Supper has many Eucharistic allusions if you look for them, and a lot about water too, and references to baptism.

The story challenges us to consider who Jesus is, and can he transform the water of our lives into wine? Are we open to his grace at work in our lives? And also, does Jesus need help today as the servants helped him at the wedding? - he asked for their help. Does he ask for ours in showing others his love?

Judith

Baptism of Christ - Identity & Obedience (Matt.3:13-17)

So the “faithful few fought bravely”; and although we only had a small number at our service, it was a very inspiring and warm time together. It’s just as well that it was “warm” because we had all had to walk in the snow and ice!

We focused today on Christ’s identification with us and our humanity, and his obedience to the Father’s will. Fr. David’s presence greatly enriched our worship with his insights and learning. He produced a power-point presentation; identity was portrayed by a patient bus queue; obedience was seen in a musician having to practice patiently in order to become proficient; a large cloud, touching the tops of trees, indicating God’s interaction with us, and even a picture of a loudspeaker which told us that we too have our call to carry out God’s will in the world.. We moved on to images of the crucifixion; what would happen to Jesus and his ultimate sacrifice for us. Throughout, we had a very lively and interesting discussion and it was a good opportunity for learning together.

This was all accompanied by the songs, All creatures of our God and King, Peace is flowing like a River, Seek ye first (which we managed to sign in the Round – very nice!), O Jesus I have promised, and closed with Shine, Jesus, Shine; all very appropriate especially as we are continuing to light all our Advent Candles up to Candlemas!

Thank you to all who took part and especially to Peter Ewen who had to step in at the last moment and of course to Fr. David.

Deacon Olivia

Some Thoughts for Reflection

What does it mean to you to be baptised (if you are) ?

What does baptism mean to you (if you are not) ?

Does it matter if we are baptised or not ?

What have been the key influences and factors which have formed our own sense of identity ?

You are invited to continue the discussion below ...

Peter K