July/August 2008
From The Vicarage
Living the Life, or 'get a life'?
Dear Friends,
'Get a life.' If someone says that to you, then they are probably not being complimentary! Rather, they might be suggesting that you need to find some way of living life more fully, for example, through achieving a healthier work-life balance, by going on holiday, or by taking up a new recreational interest.
Sometimes, of course, Christians also may find themselves needing to 'get a life', for example, when too many church meetings squeeze out time with family and friends, as well as wider community connections. Speaking for myself, I'm certainly looking forward to 'getting a life' on holiday!
Yet the heart of the Christian faith is not about how we 'get a life.' Rather, it is about how we 'Live the Life.' As you may be aware from last month's issue of Worcester Diocesan News, Living the Life is the theme of the Worcester Diocesan Assembly, which will be held in Swanwick from July 11th to July 13th.
Three members of the Priory - David and Rosemary Webster, and Christine Shepherd - will be among those attending the Assembly, which will be focused around six hallmarks of a healthy church: Worship God; Rid the world of poverty; Share the Gospel; Build inclusive communities; Help people to faith; Care for the earth.
Living the Life. And what a life Christians understand that to be! Nothing less than the life of God's Kingdom, now open to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Preface to his recent book Surprised by Hope (SPCK 2007), Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, points out that "most people- including many Christians - don't know what the ultimate Christian hope really is.
Most people - again, sadly, including many Christians - don't expect Christians to have much to say about hope in the present world. Most people don't imagine that these two could have anything to do with each other."
If the Church is to be 'mission-shaped' then, as Tom Wright points out, this mission needs to be shaped by the hope we hold, hope "rooted in Jesus's resurrection and that reaches out to anticipate God's new creation in all its fullness" (p 283). And that hope inspires and involves us in 'Living the Life' of Christ, in the here-and-now, as we share in building for the Kingdom.
Yours in Christ,
John Barr, Vicar
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