Sunday 16 January, 2022

Reflection:  "How Much is Enough?"

Psalm 36:5-10

Isaiah 62:1-5

John 2:1-11

​1 Cor. 12:1-11

As this is my first full Reflection for 2022, I feel that I’m still allowed to wish you “Happy New Year”.
 
I’m sure that most of us will be hoping that it will be a better year than 2021, but with the COVID19 Omicron variant running rampant in Lane Cove, in Sydney, in New South Wales, in Australia and across the globe, then I fear we may be in for a rather bumpy ride. At least in the first month or two, in any case.
 
We had planned to reopen the church for face-to-face worship on Sunday January 9th, following a short break over Christmas, but the risks to our vulnerable congregation far outweighed the benefits, so we remained locked down.
In fact, the way the number of cases are trending, we don’t see much chance of reopening in the month of January.

Online worship services are available each Sunday from many larger churches and our Online newsletter can point you in the right direction to be able to join in on those services.

Lynne & I have also deferred our first trip to the church at Forbes until late February, just to keep everyone safe.

​I am still available on my mobile phone, should anyone feel the need for a pastoral chat.
 
I pray that you and your loved ones have remained safe and well during the start to this year.
 
Our bible readings this week centre around God’s provisions to us and to the people around the time of Jesus.
Whilst we may not be too happy with the provision of a viral pandemic, our faith leads us to trust that God has everything under control and that there is a very good reason for the events of the past few years.
 
The Christian singing group, Third Day, paraphrases Psalm 62 nicely when they sing :
“Your love, oh Lord reaches to the heavens. Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains. Your justice flows like the ocean's tide.
I will lift my voice to worship You, my King. I will find my strength in the shadow of your wings.”
 
We can relate to those words when we put our trust in God’s providence, knowing that he keeps us safe and strong, no matter what the challenges are that are thrown our way.
 
The first miracle of Jesus, related by John when describing the wedding at Cana, in Galilee, results in the transformation of ordinary water into wine. And not just ordinary wine, but wine of the finest quality.
When God provides, he provides only the best!
 
Of course, we need only look up into the night sky (which is easier when we move away from the man-made light pollution in the big cities) to observe the billions of galaxies that comprise our cosmos.
God doesn’t only provide the best, but the most.
 
We call this provision of excessive abundance “grace” and God’s grace is never ending for us, his children.
It’s a free gift and all we have to do is to acknowledge God as our sovereign Lord and dedicate our lives to service his kingdom, here on earth, to receive it.
 
The best example of God’s generosity would have to be the forgiveness of our sins.
Jesus came to earth, in the form of a human, to take the punishment for all our sins and by dying on the cross, in God’s eyes we are no longer accountable for these transgressions.
What more could a Christian disciple want?
 
God’s generosity is something we should never take for granted and I encourage you to spend time, every day, conversing with God (we call it prayer) and thanking him for his unfailing provisions for us.
 
I pray that your 2022 will be a year where you achieve your full potential and, with God’s support, my belief is that you are able to do that.
 
Stay safe…………Pastor Rick