Things That Make You go 'Hmmm...'

I'm often hit by sudden meandering thoughts inspired by everyday happenings.  A couple of days ago was no exception - however it was one of my stranger ones and therefore deemed worthy of a blog post!

At work, I was given a whole lamb's heart for analysis, I held it in my hands and turned it around to see which bits I could use.  Now I'd held and cut up various bits of animals during biology classes in my schooldays many, many moons ago, but holding this lamb's heart was different somehow.

It was then that I noticed there was a tear in this specimen - I'm told that this is something that abattoir butchers do to all hearts after slaughter - to make sure the animal is really dead maybe?  I don't know whether this is true or not, but its certainly plausible.

I looked at this tear and suddenly the words of the prophet Zechariah flooded into my mind:

"They will look upon the one whom they pierced."

And then I thought upon the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross:

"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

Today in Church, we celebrated the Eucharist - and it somehow seemed more real and present to me than it has done for a long time.

Praise the God of the everyday things, Who uses the everyday things to teach us valuable lessons.

I Refuse to Grow Up!!

I refuse to grow up, I refuse to get hardened, I refuse to be closed up, I refuse to resist change. I refuse to be captured by tradition; I refuse to settle for second-hand laughter, I refuse to stop expecting wonders and marvels every morning.

I refuse to become dull and colourless; careful and bland, I refuse to become a quiet little mouse, afraid to try anything new. Why? Because I follow Jesus; who always found the most colourful and dramatic way to do things; who found a coin in the mouth of a fish to teach a lesson, who overturned the moneygrubbers’ tables.

I refuse to grow up and settle down and never be open to new truth any more. I refuse to think that I know all there is to know. I refuse to think that this old dog can’t learn any new tricks. I refuse to grow up into deafness, dumbness and blindness.

Most of all, I refuse to grow up and become cynical. I refuse to grow up and become callous. I refuse to grow up to be suspicious of everyone’s motives and wary of everyone’s feelings. I refuse to grow up and be fearful, negative and suspicious.

Why? Because I follow Jesus who puts a child in front of me and says, "Be like this. Have this kind of faith. Have this kind of trust. Just let yourself love and be loved”. I follow Jesus whose great commandment was "Love one another", not "Be suspicious of one another."”

Dearest father, set me free anew every day so that I can learn how to be your child now and always. Amen.

(many thanks to US Baptist Pastor Joseph Smith for the words in this condensed meditation)  

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Mark 10:15