Which Liquorice Allsorts are you?

There was a strong wind whistling through the garden and a dishevelled cat lay peacefully sleeping having burst through the door minutes earlier excited to be back.  I wonder is that how we feel, excited to be in God’s presence today whatever we’ve had to battle with these last few days. We have had to contend with all sorts. But we are all sorts of people.

Gathering

Our story from Nehemiah 8:1-12 says that all the people were together in a square outside the water gate in the temple walls. We have looked earlier at Nehemiah bringing the people from Exile back to the promised land. I wonder if like our cat they were sleepy but excited to be back waiting to hear the scriptures read from the scrolls which they had requested Ezra to read. The reading would then be explained or translated so that everyone could understand it.

How to be quiet

I invite us to imagine making a journey in order to hear a sacred reading which lasted from dawn till noon. Now it can take ages to get everybody ready to go to church but I wonder how we would feel if we were going to listen from dawn till noon! Arriving in a packed out area, being uncomfortable and straining our necks to see Ezra the priest perched high on a wooden platform along with 13 Levites who were there to help with the explanation. It may be hard to concentrate as some people are moving about, trying to settle the children or finding a drink. Being quiet would have been almost impossible for that length of time. Noisy or quiet, we are all sorts of people.

Is this a Sunday Service?

Does it sound familiar I wonder to us at a Sunday service? Today our attention today maybe drawn by the phone ringing in the background or the emails that pop up as watch the screen. We may be able to see people walking by and hear their conversation. So many things draw our attention away from God. So what do we use to stay focused. Maybe today we have lit a candle or we can see a picture that reminds us of God. Some of us like to hold a pebble or a small cross to focus our minds. We maybe people who doodle whilst we listen and so we have our crayons and paper on which to form images that remind us of God. Why not find a focal point next time you pray and see if it’s easier to talk to God like that. In a church in Yorkshire one lady always brought her knitting with her. Repetitive exercises can be an aid to calming our minds in order to pray. Knitting or (k)not, whatever we use, we are all sorts of people.

Happy New Year!

So the people had gathered and on this occasion it was the 1st day of the Jewish new year. It was the 7th month and was a festival of trumpets and tabernacles.  Oh can you imagine the fun they would have had if only they had sat and made trumpets to blow! 

These people however had suffered from hostile neighbours and crop failure during the time of returning from exile and now. I wonder if they compared the new temple with Solomon’s temple which had been destroyed and been disappointed.

So the last thing they would have wanted to do was celebrate.

They met together though despite being weary and disillusioned. 

Now yes we all lead different lifestyles, like a variety of music and each have different gifts and abilities. God however sees us all the same, no favourites. Now if we had turned up to hear those scrolls read by Ezra and taken a bag of liquorice allsorts with us to share, would we have chosen our favourite one based on texture or flavour? Bet we wouldn’t make our choice based on how many people liked the square ones or the tubes. Are we are all sorts of people?

• 

• 

I wonder how we choose people to take certain roles in church life though?

Let’s not limit people’s abilities by what they appear to excel in.

We are all multi-talented

You see just because we’re musical or enjoy cleaning it doesn’t mean that’s the only gift we can use for God. During lock down we may have dug out of our cupboards an old hobby, craft or found time to plant seeds or do a jigsaw. All of those things can be loaned to others to occupy their time for a while. 

The people in Nehemiah’s day worked together as families to rebuild.

We as the family of God can help rebuild our communities by sharing the resources, our time, our gifts and God’s love in practical ways as well as in prayer. Let’s celebrate the fact that we are all sorts of people!

The people who listened to Ezra had so many stories to tell other people when they went home. They had so much love to share. Having heard the reading from the scrolls Nehemiah told them to celebrate, go and eat and share with those who need it. 

Wherever we are, today we can celebrate Gods faithfulness through the bad and the good times.  

Let’s sing, roll up a paper trumpet and praise God as we listen, reflect or dance round the room, or just watch quietly, the song Jubilate Everybody …