It’s great to be able to go out for walks again, after a period of ill health which meant I was housebound over Christmas. I usually put pictures of my daily walks on my Facebook page, and describe the experience in words too. I started to do it in lockdown. Lots of people liked it - not only friends in cities who couldn’t go out, but also people who used to do the same walks in the past but who can’t do so any more. The routes are often the same, but there are always differences in the weather, the skies and the seasons.

While I couldn’t go out I found myself looking at the pictures of some of the walks I posted earlier. In my mind I was taking those tracks again, feeling the breeze on my face and seeing the sea and the skies and the flowers.

Pictures of the past came alive in the present! It was a joy to seek them out.

It’s the same with stories we read from the Bible. Those today came alive once again. In the gospel story Jesus was sitting in a boat to teach the crowds, who were pressing on him to hear the word of God. Then he sent Peter out to put the nets into deep water, and both boats returned with vast numbers of fish! After that Jesus called Peter to follow him. We’re familiar with the pictures and description, we’ve probably read this many times before.

The story is the same but there are differences in us, in the generation we live in, our life experiences and maturity, as well as in the seasons of time since it was written. Now we’re seeing it afresh on a new day, and so we enjoy it again, and maybe see things in the story which we didn’t notice before.

I suggest too that God is speaking to us afresh through those words, showing us new things to ponder upon, as this is one of the ways in which we encounter God.

Similarly with the story we heard from Isaiah, who describes his wonderful vision of the Lord with seraphs in attendance - the imagery is fabulous!

One of the seraphs touches his lips to cleanse him. Then God says ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ Isaiah replies ‘Here am I. Send me.’ It touches me again every time I read this story. Does it touch you too?

And once again the words come alive that we heard in Corinthians. Like Paul, the good news has been passed on to us. We’ve received it and said yes to Jesus. We stand in our faith. We too have been called and we serve, by the grace of God, doing our best to help to build up the body of Christ - Paul’s constant message - which means encouraging one another.

God speaks to us today as we read the scriptures prayerfully. That’s why the books of the Bible were repeatedly copied and passed down from generation to generation, over thousands of years. It’s why they were put together by the early Church. It’s why the Bible is considered to be holy.

There is so much in it! It’s like a photo album of God’s interaction with human beings since the beginning of time! Pictures of the past which become alive in the present. It’s a joy when we seek them out.

Some people find it helpful to join a Bible study group. We’ve got books in our Library of Inspiration if we want to delve more. We can also simply read from the Bible at home and pray.

We’re like the crowds who were pressing on Jesus. We too want to hear the word of God for ourselves. We can do so. His voice speaks again and again through the words of the sacred scriptures.

And as Andrew reminded us last week, ‘we can encourage people to meet with God in their prayers and in their daily lives … For those of us who are elderly, age does not guarantee wisdom it is only when we allow God to be the centre of our lives and then allow him to guide and change us to be his disciples in this complex world.’

Amen.

Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister