From the Rectory, 23 June 2024 The Rector is on retreat
From The Rectory - Journey This week we are off to Iona and after all that I have heard from last year’s Pilgrims, I am very much looking forward to spending a week on the island. We are going by train and it will take us 2 days to get there. Business or pleasure, long or short; for most of our journeys we simply travel to arrive: the destination is the purpose and focus of our itinerary; the journey little more than a necessary burden; time and money we’d rather spend elsewhere. The Bible, like other classic literature, is a story of journeys. Abraham left his home town and became a nomad. His descendants, the Israelites, finally entered the Promised Land after a 40 year journey out of slavery. St Paul made several journeys around the Eastern Mediterranean region before heading to Rome. Jesus journeyed from Galilee to Jerusalem - and the cross. Each of these journeys had a destination, but on each occasion the Bible narrative focusses on the journey. Abraham is never told his physical destination; the Exodus is the opportunity for the twelve tribes to bond; to become a nation, to learn to trust God. Jesus uses the journey to Jerusalem as an opportunity to teach his disciples and spread the good news. Clearly journeys are more than just the string connecting two points, they become an integral part of the whole. Iona is about 550 miles from Stonham. Our journey will include at least 4 trains, 2 ferries, a bus and a car; spread over some 48 hours. The return journey will take even longer. By the time we arrive home once more, we will have spent almost as many days travelling as on the island. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the journey has taken more planning than the time on the island. Over the years I have learned that the longer the journey, the less control we have, the more dependent we become on others; no matter how carefully we plan. Travelling will take us through unfamiliar places and give opportunities to meet unfamiliar people; opportunities to learn and share; to bless and be blessed. Time to pack our bags. Rev’d Philip 16 Jun 24
FROM THE RECTORY - BOXES, BOXES The Rectory is filling with boxes: boxes to move to our new home, boxes for charity, boxes for the tip. Some boxes still show their original contents, others bear testimony to many moves, some are fresh from the manufacturer. Soon, or so it seems, our whole life will be boxed, labeled and standing ready to move on. Don’t stand still too long or you could find yourself packed as well. Anyone who has ever moved house will know that, when the move is over, there will be a few boxes that remain sealed for years. Some possessions are never missed; others are too painful to open, yet too precious to let go; others just wait for someone to get that useful tool: a round-tuit. It’s not only our possessions we box; we like putting people there too. Say ‘Pharisee’ and we immediately know (or think we know) we are looking at someone with a rigid, inflexible attitude to the letter of the law, come back and be healed tomorrow - today is the Sabbath (eg Mark Ch 2 & Chapter 3). Contemporary debates around, for example, migration; the place of religious faith in public life; health and welfare are often full of boxes. How much easier life is when we can put people in boxes. How much easier to stick a label on them and then, like the box at the back of the cupboard, pack them away and ignore them. But if they are to serve a useful purpose, these packing boxes will need to be unpacked once more. What is inside must come out, find its rightful place and be used once more. Items left sealed away in a box are wasted; even more so are people. As we prepare to move I wonder: is there someone I have boxed away today, and what might I do to set them free once more? Rev Philip 9 Jun 24