Readings:
Acts 7: 55-end;
Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16;
1 Peter 2: 2-10;
John 14: 1-14

Collect:
Risen Christ,
your words declare your love for the world
and the wonder of your risen life:
give us compassion and courage
to risk ourselves for those we serve,
to the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

Reflection

I don’t know about you, but I love stories and especially ones that make you think.  I came across this one this week and thought I’d share it with you.

There was once a young police cadet taking his assessment exam.  He was given the following scenario:  You are on duty in the high street.  A jewellery robbery is in progress.  A dog is loose and runs across the road causing an accident involving a car that had been driving erratically anyway.  You notice that the driver of the care is the chief constable.  In the meantime, a group of skateboarders are causing havoc on the pavement and there are close-to-violent reactions from the shoppers.    Just to add to the chaos, you become aware of a pensioner who seems to be in a state of confusion and is clearly vulnerable. State your priorities, bearing in mind the provisions of the Mental Health Acts.  The cadet paused, scratched his head, then wrote: ‘I would take off my uniform and mingle with the crowd!’

It got me thinking that there are probably times when those in positions of leadership may sometime just want to step away and mingle with the crowd, and this weekend I think of all the attention that will be focused on the King and wonder how many times he would like to just step away from it all and just be a member of the crowd watching and listening to what’s going on.  Yet on Saturday, as millions watch, he will pledge himself to serve this the peoples of this country and the Commonwealth for the rest of his life.  The weight of responsibility and commitment will no doubt weigh heavily on his shoulders.  However, he doesn’t bear that weight alone.  For the whole coronation is set in the context of the worship of God and the monarch being God’s servant among the peoples of the UK and Commonwealth.  His majesty will be reassured that he does not carry out this task in his own strength but in the strength that God gives to him. 

In his time as monarch there will be many times when he will be able to mingle with the crowds, he seems to enjoy the royal walkabouts, and the times when he gets to sit and talk with and listen to people from all walks of life.  This contact with ordinary people, some of whom have done extraordinary things and others who have been let down by the system, enables the king to understand the challenges and to highlight to those in power some of what people are facing, often behind the scenes.  The opportunity King Charles had as Prince of Wales to set up and use the Prince’s Trust in order to help people whom society had forgotten highlights some of the ‘soft’ power the King and his family have.  

As I reflect on this idea of mingling with the crowd, I reminded that this is what Jesus did.  He mingled, he listened, he taught and those that heard him were changed by their encounter with him for they had encountered God.  This is something which in today’s reading Jesus is trying to get across to his disciples for the umpteenth time.  The idea that Jesus and the Father are one.  So much so that God’s self-giving love is revealed through his words and his work.  Jesus is now preparing his disciples for the work that lies ahead by reassuring them that they too are connected with the Father through him.  That they will now be his representatives in the world.  They will be required to mingle, to listen, to teach and as they do so the people will encounter God in them.

Sometimes the roles we have, the status we have, provide us with opportunities but they can also be a hinderance to the message of the Gospel especially if it stops us mingling with the crowd.  For it is through mingling we form relationships, and it is through those relationships that we can represent God.  It is through the relationships that we can listen, share, and challenge, and above all to see God’s kingdom flourish.  

Sometimes, we may feel just so overwhelmed with all that we are faced with, just like the young police cadet in the story, and we want to walk away and mingle with the crowd.  For me, that’s a good thing.  For that young man didn’t stop being a police officer because he took his uniform off.  We don’t stop being disciples if we step away from roles, responsibilities or even out of our churches.  We remain disciples wherever we are, with whomever we meet and through our words and our actions we are representatives of God.  

Just as his majesty has a formal role representing God, so do each of us. God anoints each one of us in our baptism and will give us the strength that we each need to do the tasks that we have been called to do.  

As Jesus reassured his disciples, that through him, they are one with God, so we too are one with God.  May this knowledge give each of us strength and courage as we represent God in our communities and places of work.  

Mike Morris