Red Arrows (14-05-20)
A Reading
At midnight, they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out’. But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves’. But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. (Matthew 25: 6-10)
A Thought
It was warm and sunny on the 75th anniversary of VE day. At 10.00 a text message from a friend alerted us to the overhead passage of the Red Arrows at 10.20. Judith phoned a friend in Old to pass on the exciting news, and returned temporarily to her preparations within the house. Mark took his bowl of cereal and sat out in the garden.
As 10.20 approached, a loud roar grew from the sky. ‘They’re coming!’ Mark shouted from the garden viewpoint. Without further delay, two adjacent flights of 4 aircraft appeared above the treetops and hurtled towards Market Harborough. In seconds, they were gone. Occupants from the house rushed out, but too late to see the Red Arrows. Only the fading roar from the sky remained.
The friend in Old had become distracted, and went outside simply to collect her milk, but just at that moment the Red Arrows flew directly overhead.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, Christians may have confidence that they are on a journey to heaven. Jesus has promised just that. During that journey, the Holy Spirit guides them in all things. He guides them in ways that are good for them. Sometimes we listen to that guidance and act accordingly, sometimes we do not.
When we do not listen to that guidance, we miss out on something that we would enjoy. When we do not listen to that guidance, we carry a nagging guilt on our conscience. When we do not listen to that guidance, we feel uneasy until at last we succumb to our conscience and comply with the guidance.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, our indiscretions are forgiven and forgotten by God, and we will join the feast that eventually welcomes us to heaven. But there are other feasts to be sampled along the way. Let the Holy Spirit guide us towards each one of them. Let’s be attentive and prepared, and not leave it to chance.
A Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit within us.
We thank you that you love us and want only good things for us.
We pray that our faith may be strong,
that we may always be listening,
and that we may always be ready to respond in all that the Holy Spirit asks of us.
To the glory of your name,
Amen