A vicar was trying to persuade a millionaire to support the Church Building Fund. He took him inside the church to show him the cracks in the walls. Just then a piece of masonry dislodged itself and struck the man a glancing blow.
“Good grief,” he said, rubbing his head, “I see what you mean. Here’s a cheque for £100.”
“Go on Lord,” shouted the vicar, “hit him again!”
(Thank you, Murray Watts for that little quip! 1987) It is a funny story, and it reflects what happened to me in church whilst saying Morning Prayer. I was disturbed by some falling masonry: only a small piece, but it made an almighty crash, which disturbed the silence.
I often wonder if little events such as this, happen to give us a gentle reminder that something is not quite right, and perhaps we should investigate a bit deeper as to why it has happened. I think it has a certain amount of truth for all things in life: when we see something doesn’t sound right or behaves in a way that is out of the ordinary. If we look at the earthly ministry of Jesus, we can see that, not little things but big things, all the miracles, sayings and power that Jesus demonstrated, were showing people that things weren’t quite right, and that things had to change if they were to be true followers of God and Jesus Christ. But just like in Old Testament times, people ignored or fought against what God was saying to them.
I hope that we can heed the signs of the times, and return to following God’s ways in order to avoid going down the path of destruction. We all need to follow the way of love, truth and forgiveness so that our world can be a better place to live in.
With love and prayers Revd Graham
