This is my last but one Rector’s letter for Compass. By the time the July edition comes out Ron and I will be in the throes of packing up and preparing to move to Hoton, just over the border in Leicestershire. We are looking forward to living in our new home, but the actual process of moving is somewhat daunting!
One
of the challenges is downsizing from a spacious four bedroomed rectory to a two
bedroomed bungalow. We need to be
ruthless about what to take with us and what to part with. In common with many
people, we have acquired a lot of “stuff” over the years. I am conscious that there are many people in
the world who have little in the way of material possessions. The ever widening
gap between rich and poor should concern us all. For those of us who have enough and more than
enough for our needs, the Christian response is to give what we can to help
those less fortunate. That becomes
easier if we can learn to be content with what we have, and not to set too much
store by our possessions.
Jesus
was materially poor. He left home and
possessions and travelled around Galilee with his band of disciples. Jesus enjoyed the hospitality of homes like
that of his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and there were those who gave
financial support, including a group of women named in Luke’s Gospel. Throughout the Christian era there have been
people who have left their homes and relinquished their possessions to respond
to the call to take Christ’s mission to distant lands, or to enter the
religious life, where they live in community, without personal wealth or
belongings. Other Christians who do not
make that kind of sacrifice are called to give sacrificially to further the
mission of the Church, and in support of charitable causes. This is more than tipping into a collection
plate or charity box a bit of loose change that we shall scarcely miss. The
paradox is that the more we give of our time, our gifts and ourselves, as well
as our financial giving, the more we receive – not in terms of money or
possessions, but in blessings from God.
Jesus
taught that we are not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up
treasures in heaven and he said, “Where your treasure is there your heart will
be also.” (Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34) The
greatest treasure is the joy of knowing Jesus. Serving him brings the added
treasure of meeting and getting to know many people. At the heart of the Christian faith is the relationship
we can have with God through Jesus, and being part of the family of the
Church. The more we grow in the
knowledge and love of God, and the more we allow his love to flood our hearts
and lives, the greater will be our love for one another and our compassion and
generosity towards those in need. Our
material possessions are for this life only, to be enjoyed while we have them,
but to be held lightly, knowing that we have a far greater treasure which will
endure to eternity.
With my love and prayers
Glynis
Hetherington
