Bishop’s Message

Psalm 127 concludes in verse 5 by saying, “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of (children)”. It is clear that Psalm 127:3-5 encourages us to regard children as a gift and blessing from God. But we should not ignore the way the Psalm begins: “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain” (Psalm 127:1, NIV).

We humans tend to form cliques, and we click with those who are like us and who like us. We avoid those who are different from ourselves—who talk differently, see differently, hear differently, move differently or even think differently—and especially those who believe differently. In our minds, perhaps they are like "foreigners".

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

"I have some jokes about unemployed people. None of them work." That joke works because the word "work" works in different ways. "Work" on earth, and in the Bible, also works in different ways.

One of my favourite Christmas carols is "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (words by Phillips Brooks, ca. 1868). My guess is that the composer was inspired by the Bible promise in Micah 5:2 (NKJV):

But (if I) have not love, I am nothing ... Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:2-8

As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Galatians 4:13-14 (NIV)

The Psalmist's love for God's written Word was shared by Methodism's founder, John Wesley, who wrote, "Let me be homo unius libri" (Aquinas' Latin phrase for "a person of one book"). Wesley was referring to the Bible, the written Word of God.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ~ Micah 6:8 (NIV)

An anecdote is often told about Charles Francis Adams Sr who was the United States ambassador to Great Britain during the Lincoln administration. He kept a daily journal and taught his children to do the same.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV

Every May, Methodists celebrate John Wesley’s Aldersgate Street experience of which he wrote: “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that [h]e had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”