16 July 2025

We have a choice. Stand aloof from other people’s sufferings. Or reach out to share – a listening ear, a gentle touch, a timely visit, an encouraging word, a faithful presence. Little things … but they have a power completely beyond their size.

When I was a student at New College, a contemporary engaged me in several  conversations on the steps to the library, in the courtyard beneath the statue of John Knox, on the corridor outside the common room. Several months later, he came up and thanked me for sharing his problem.

I was puzzled because I didn’t even know his problem. He didn’t tell me and I didn’t ask.  But through our conversations, he was able to share his anxiety, face the uncertainty, put his confusion into perspective without the need to tell me the specific detail of his situation.

For me, it was a revelation. It illuminated a truth. The best ministry must surely be the one which remains hidden even from ourselves because it’s nothing less than the ministry of God working through us! This is the wisdom I long for – to be where God wants me to be and to be there at the right time.

When it happens, it makes me realise how futile my busyness can be when I have not been busy for God. For a little thing, a little time, a little love in the right place and at God’s time can be miraculous!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  15 April 2025 Ever since a definable liturgy began to emerge in the nascent Church, it has been traditional to read the Passion narrative from one of the four gospels on Palm Sunday or Good Friday. It was the beginning of the dramatic arts which emerged with the Mystery Plays in the Middle Ages. Throughout my ministry, I incorporated the Passion narratives in three ways. Firstly, at the   Good Friday service, we read the Passion often from St. John’s Gospel with different voices taking the roles of narrator, Christ and Pontius Pilate. On Palm Sunday, I always told the children the story of Christ’s Passion beginning with the donkey ride into Jerusalem and ending with Christ’s moving burial in the garden belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. This was accompanied by artefacts of the Passion or pictures illustrating the events. This all came back to me on Sunday when we went to St. John’s Kirk in Perth to hear the St. Matthew Passion composed by JS Bach for Palm Sunday or G...
Read more
  27 March 2025 When we arrived at Coventry Cathedral, we noticed a very powerful welcome statement tied to the gates of the cathedral. It read: WELCOME TO COVENTRY CATHEDRAL We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, questioning, well-healed or down at heal. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woken up, or just out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury or haven’t been to church since Christmas ten years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegans, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, are down in the dumps or don’t like organised religion (we’re not th...
Read more
  14 May 2025 It is inevitable that when someone becomes famous, people are interested to know his identity, where he grew up, what family he has etc. So it was with Robert Prevost when he became Pope Leo XIV last week. People made pilgrimage to Chicago. Steve Budzik was already there. He had bought the house where the Pope had grown up with his brothers, his French father and Italian mother. The Polish entrepreneur buys run down properties and does them up for profit. He bought the Pope’s old house for $60,000. ‘Do you think I could make a million now?’ he asked. Not far away is the church which the Pope attended in his childhood. It held its last mass in 2012 and now lies derelict. The tiled floor is sprinkled with broken glass from the windows. Sunlight shines through a large hole in the roof. The East wall is covered in graffiti. People have been smoking crack in the confessionals. ‘Usually when a cardinal becomes Pope. their home congregation goes nuts,’ said a neighbo...
Read more