“There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”
Hosea 2:15
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
I remember reading a Pew Research study that asked a deceptively simple question: “What is the church for?”
89% of those surveyed said: “To look after me and my family’s needs.” Only 11% said: “To proclaim Christ to a lost world.”
Now, of course, those two things are not mutually exclusive. Pastoral care, practical compassion and ministering justice to those in need are all essential expressions of the church’s mission.
But that 11% had grasped something distinctive about the calling of the church: we are here to proclaim Christ — and him crucified — to a world that has not yet heard.
There has been much talk in our national conversation recently about “every postcode.” And I believe that, in the purposes of God, our task is to make sure that the gospel is not simply something we believe, but something that is preached and lived out in the postcode that has been entrusted to us: SO21.
This is our valley. These are our villages. These are the people God has placed around us.
And I think it was Jonathan Swift who said, “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.”
That is particularly true when we begin to think about the coming of the Kingdom of God. We are called to see what is not yet visible — to catch a glimpse of what God might do before we can see the staircase, the pathway or even the next step clearly.
And so, this weekend, I am speaking from the prophet Hosea — and, more than that, will share something of the first sense I have of how I believe the Kingdom of God might grow yet further in our valley.
Please come.
It is very much a first step rather than a staircase.
There are no grand plans to unveil, no finished blueprint, and certainly no claim that I can see the whole picture. But, like Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, sometimes faith means having the courage to take the first step before you can see where the staircase leads.
And perhaps that is where we begin: with a little faith, a glimpse of a vision, and a willingness to believe that God can turn even our Valley of Achor into a door of hope.
And please do join us for lunch afterwards at Martyr Worthy Manor. It will be an opportunity to be with one another, and perhaps begin to explore together what this might mean for our valley.
with every blessing
David
Christopher Booth
The funeral of former Easton resident Christopher Booth will take place at 2pm on Wednesday 16th September at St Mary’s Church, Easton.
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