Yesterday evening at the Contemporary Service in St Johns we reflected on the theme “God is good”. We were encouraged to think about where and what we recognise as good.
- In the story of the rich young ruler asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, he calls Jesus “Good Teacher”
- Jesus replies that all that is good comes from God, but are all things we think are good, Godly?
- What temporary things do we need to let go of to inherit eternal things?
As part of our creative response we spent some time reflecting on where we see good things. We used a drawing of a tree to provide a framework to hold everyone’s thoughts.
While reading the passage to prepare I looked out of the window and saw birds flying in and out of a tree. I was reminded of the high crosses from around a thousand years ago. They are solid and enduring stone. Like the law the rich young ruler had followed his entire life, and the cultural acceptance he had inherited. I then remembered the swirling vines and wild animals which also live in the crosses.
If you imagine the Church as a tree, what about everything which flourishes in its branches?
What signs of growth in the tree do you see? Root, leaf, twig, fruit?
What signs of goodness growing in the shelter of the tree? Voles, insects, birds
What signs of goodness growing rougue!?!
What about the invisible root structure, underground connections in distant space and time?