Sunday, 17 May 2020

Thought for the Day - Sunday 17 May


Thought for the Day – Sunday 17th May

Our lectionary reading for today takes us to the gospel of John where we read at Chapter 14 verses 15-21 these words:



‘“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”’




It could be said that the only commandment John attributes to Jesus is that of loving one another. According to John it is that simple and that profound, so much so that John states this command again and again and again in his gospel – we are to love one another. We already have the promise of Jesus who has shown us how to love and when we obey his commandment to us and live a life of love where we are reaching out to one another in love then there is also the promise of God sending the Holy Spirit to be with us forever helping us in living out our chosen life of love. Loving Jesus and loving each other in such a way enables us to be in relationship with God and all aspects of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.



Let me ask you something - when you were a child did you ever have an invisible friend?



I like to read the books of Bill Watterson, who had a daily comic strip in many of the American newspapers at one time. His comic strip featured the characters of ‘Calvin and Hobbes’, named I believe after John Calvin the French Reformation theologian and Thomas Hobbes the English political philosopher. I like to read them not just because they are funny and you can see the minds of your own young children reflected in the antics of Calvin and Hobbes but also because at their heart they certainly do reflect a lot of theology and philosophy at times as well as lots of fun!



Anyway, Calvin is a little boy who has a very vivid imagination and causes his parents and his teacher much angst by his often irrational and crazy antics – indeed his parents often wonder how he can be as he is because he is nothing like them in nature at all! Calvin has a stuffed tiger called Hobbes - well he is always portrayed as a stuffed tiger to everyone else in the cartoons but not when with Calvin then Hobbes is portrayed as a very real albeit lovable cartoon tiger, so in the imagination of Calvin he is indeed very real and he cannot understand why his parents don’t see him as such. The cartoon strips always feature them together having many adventures, sharing deep moral, ethical and philosophical conversations, at times, with Calvin trying to make sense of the world and with Hobbes always trying to be the voice of reason for Calvin – but not always succeeding.



You see, Hobbes is truly Calvin’s ‘invisible friend’, a friend who is there for him at all times – the one he always turns to, the one he relies on for everything from advice, to sharing worries, to sharing times of great fun and joy, to seeking answers for his questions. Hobbes is just a constant companion to Calvin – dependable, reliable, faithful, loving, caring, guiding, a true ‘sounding board’ when required – Hobbes is a truly genuine friend to him in his world.



Although we may not have had a childhood ‘invisible friend’ as Hobbes is to Calvin, our passage today reassures us that as adults we do have an ‘invisible friend’ every bit as dependable, reliable, faithful, loving, caring, guiding and a true ‘sounding board’ for us when we need a friend and that ‘invisible friend’ of ours is the Holy Spirit as promised to us when we love Jesus and keep his commandment to love others. 



At all times, even in these strange times in which we are living at present, knowing we have the Holy Spirit within us – always - should bring us an inner peace for its presence assures us that regardless of what we encounter in life our ‘invisible friend’ is always there for us and we are being constantly held in that friend’s loving care.   



Friend for Life – A Reflection from Spill the Beans



Here I am - your friend for life.

Jesus sent me just as he said he would.

You know Jesus - always as good as his word.

And every word he said about me is the truth.



Truth!

That’s my middle name.

We are going to get to know each other better, you and I, and we’ll discover a lot of truths along the way. That’s my job - to keep flagging up all the important things Jesus taught you, to help you see how it all works in practice, so stick with me and you’ll have no need to worry about forgetting.



I’m on your side - your Advocate - defending you; cheering you on; lighting you up from inside!

Friend for life, that’s me.



So call on me, lean on me, work with me, rest in me.



You might find me a bit of a mystery at times, but only because I don’t draw attention to myself.

I like to infiltrate, motivate, energise, with no need to be recognised.

I’ll be like a bubbling spring of never ending freshness; a source that never runs dry.



This is what Jesus was preparing you for - not absence and abandonment, but presence and companionship. 



Prayer



Loving Lord,

May we trust ever in your abiding assurance to be with us, and let this guide our journey through this life, towards the promised future. May we trust in your Word and the knowledge that we are never orphaned, never abandoned, but held close to your bosom as beloved. May we strive, each day, to follow your commandments, to live as you have told us, to be better, to do better and do our utmost to better this world. May we be willing to reach out to others in love, with courage and with boldness, confident that our path has been laid and is ever guided towards you.

Lord, we give you thanks for your love and for our life through you. May we have the courage to show the power of love, as you have, to all whom we meet, to all your creation.

Gracious Lord, we have our being in the midst of your unending care, and we rejoice in the knowledge that knowing you means knowing love, today and every day. Amen


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