Thought for the Day
June 5th
There was expectation in the ground as the incoming batsman, famous for flamboyant shot-making, strode confidently to the crease. Wickets had fallen with depressing regularity so far that morning; the home side looked to be heading for certain defeat. Yet any hope of fireworks soon disappeared as the newcomer made it clear he was in for the long haul, rather than a “death-or-glory” slog. He dug in and defended his wicket doggedly, grinding out runs not just for the rest of the session, but all day. Show-boating could wait; this was a day for grit and determination, for sheer survival. And his patient and disciplined innings paid off, laying the foundation for an unexpected, but hugely welcome victory.
We see the same dogged patience and disciplined determination in the two momentous anniversaries either side of this date. June 4th 1940 saw the end of Operation Dynamo, the last of 338,226 troops snatched from the jaws of death on Dunkirk’s beaches, to fight another day. That other day came on June 6th 1944. Operation Overlord poured men onto the Normandy beaches, determined to defeat evil and tyranny. And, thank God, patience and discipline paid off.
Sometimes God’s Kingdom feels distant, almost an impossibility. We embrace faith briefly, but are not prepared for the long haul. For that we need perseverance, working at our faith day after day, sticking with it through good and bad. Committing ourselves to Christ is one thing; faithfully following him is quite another. Many will step up to the crease, full of promise, but not all will be there at the close of play. How about you?
David Bell
June 3rd
“Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down”. So goes the song, but in Joshua chapter 3 that part of the story is yet to come (with all its modern difficulties around themes of conquest). First the Israelites must cross the river Jordan – and it’s in flood. With so many […]
June 1st
The day after? When a significant event happens, or a special occasion, or an unexpected moment changes life, there is always a day after. What happened the day after the Holy Spirit came? The impression in the bible story is that the followers of Jesus then spent every day out on the streets telling people […]
May 29th
Being a politician must be a thankless task – for all sorts of reasons. Added to which the stresses and strains of trying to navigate a route through this pandemic for politicians in the government must be huge. One of the things that makes it worse in my view is words – the way politicians […]
May 27th
For those of you who know me well, you know that I love to sing. I love to sing with the Tyndale singers, in Musical Theatre and I am a member of the Clifton College school choir. Singing in a choir creates the feeling of teamwork, companionship, achievement and general “wellbeing”. Something much bigger than […]
May 25th
Today’s lectionary reading, Luke 7.36–50, has acquired a subtitle in many Bible translations about a “sinful woman”. Perhaps you know it as “Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman” or “A Sinful Woman Forgiven”. These editors are wrong. It is not so much about sin or forgiveness or even about the woman. It revolves around our […]
May 22nd
I’d like to share an experience I had twenty years ago. I was on a silent retreat at Buckfast Abbey. I didn’t find it easy. I discovered silent meant silent, not just for periods during the day, but all day and every day. For a week I struggled with the lack of conversation, though there […]
May 21st
It is not too soon to start thinking about life after lockdown. We can all ask ourselves what aspects of our lockdown lives have turned out to be beneficial, and whether we would like to keep them. For myself, I doubt that my everyday life will be very much different. But I am hoping that […]
May 20th
Last night our youngest son delivered a week’s shopping, placing it on a shelf in the porch of our house and withdrawing two metres away – all good social distancing – and we had a conversation. Clearly we must not do anything to put our health, or more importantly that of others, at risk, but […]
May 18th
God is the source of everything, isn’t he? So He is the source of the Internet and He knows all about it. He inspired clever people to discover, invent and develop it – and what a boon it is in times like these. If, like me, you can remember when long distance telephone calls had […]