Peters Thoughts  for July

Bind us Together

Last Sunday we all sang the Hymn “Bind Us Together” with great gusto and everyone was aware that we needed each other so much at the moment. Christian communities have survived because they worked together to support each other through any crisis. When we pray together about our problems, our prayers become stronger, we become like a bundle of twigs which are almost impossible to break, whereas a single twig is more easily broken.

I am a member of the Iran Diocesan society and in the their little magazine there are many stories about Christians in that country that face terrible persecution yet they carry on worshipping in each others houses and running huge risks. There are wonderful stories about how they support and care for each other even though they are under tremendous pressures themselves. I remember worshipping with the Iranian Christian community in St Pauls in Tehran and they found such joy in our faith. They could never give up the joy that they find in following Jesus Christ, so they support and care for each other even though it costs so much.

Our faith calls a new way of thinking that demands that we face the things that we fear with love. Love is empowering, it steels the spine and settles the heart; it enables us to do the things that we find difficult to do and say the things that are difficult to say. I believe that love is an action. It doesn’t wait for a feeling; it does what needs to be done even when that is terribly difficult. Love is best defined by what it achieves, not by what it feels like, because loving and caring for someone else can be ever so painful sometimes.

I pray that our community at Christ Church Coutances never looses its sense of joy and fun, because laughter is one of the greatest gifts from God. I still remember the funny stories of my life more than anything else and there have been evenings when I have laughed so much it has hurt. Don’t let the events that surround us take our joy away because evil wins when we stop rejoicing in each other.

Blessings

                       Peter