Thought for the Week from Anglican Mothers Union Australia
Sunday 18 April 2021
Walking with Christ
The gospel according to St Mark is a fast-moving account of Jesus’s ministry. He had no sooner finished one miracle and ‘immediately’ he was accosted by a person in need and then ‘immediately’ he gathered up friends and they were ‘on the way’. There’s no leisurely stroll in Mark’s account. We can identify with this; but then we must also remember the times of solitude, prayer and relaxing. Jesus asleep on a cushion in a boat, at sea, during a storm. Jesus dining out with ‘sinners’. Jesus the story-teller par excellence. Jesus pampered with expensive ointment to everyone’s discomfort. Walking with Christ – it’s a roller-coaster ride. Deep breath.
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6: 8
Mothers' Union in Nigeria is very active in creating opportunities for women and young girls to reach their full potential, working closely alongside the Women’s Guild in each diocese. Let us pray especially for those in extreme poverty who have no chance of a leisurely stroll or solitude with Christ.
Sunday 25 April 2021
Diversity
Whether your family, congregation or circle of friends is small or large, it will give testimony to the diversity of the human race. The clever ones, rebellious ones, manufacturer, farmer. The Christian Creeds and the Bible’s opening chapter, Genesis, are theological statements proclaiming the diversity of God’s creation. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth”. ‘And God said, ‘Let there be…And God saw that it was good”. Gen 1: 6-9. The diversity of God’s creation is overwhelming and utterly wonderful. From the most primitive tribes to the most brilliant scientific discovery, the diversity of heaven and earth has impressed human senses: a leaf, a star, a whale, a molecule, a newborn echidna able to shift a mountain in a lifetime.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12: 18-20
Members of Mothers’ Union worldwide are testimony to the diversity of Christian witness – from every tribe and language. Members ministering to families accept so many configurations of relationships: grandparents and/or older children in parental roles, fathers as parents, people confronting traditional practices which may be harmful. May God the Creator bless Mothers’ Union as it embraces the wide and wonderful diversity of human experience.
Walking with Christ
The gospel according to St Mark is a fast-moving account of Jesus’s ministry. He had no sooner finished one miracle and ‘immediately’ he was accosted by a person in need and then ‘immediately’ he gathered up friends and they were ‘on the way’. There’s no leisurely stroll in Mark’s account. We can identify with this; but then we must also remember the times of solitude, prayer and relaxing. Jesus asleep on a cushion in a boat, at sea, during a storm. Jesus dining out with ‘sinners’. Jesus the story-teller par excellence. Jesus pampered with expensive ointment to everyone’s discomfort. Walking with Christ – it’s a roller-coaster ride. Deep breath.
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6: 8
Mothers' Union in Nigeria is very active in creating opportunities for women and young girls to reach their full potential, working closely alongside the Women’s Guild in each diocese. Let us pray especially for those in extreme poverty who have no chance of a leisurely stroll or solitude with Christ.
Sunday 25 April 2021
Diversity
Whether your family, congregation or circle of friends is small or large, it will give testimony to the diversity of the human race. The clever ones, rebellious ones, manufacturer, farmer. The Christian Creeds and the Bible’s opening chapter, Genesis, are theological statements proclaiming the diversity of God’s creation. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth”. ‘And God said, ‘Let there be…And God saw that it was good”. Gen 1: 6-9. The diversity of God’s creation is overwhelming and utterly wonderful. From the most primitive tribes to the most brilliant scientific discovery, the diversity of heaven and earth has impressed human senses: a leaf, a star, a whale, a molecule, a newborn echidna able to shift a mountain in a lifetime.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12: 18-20
Members of Mothers’ Union worldwide are testimony to the diversity of Christian witness – from every tribe and language. Members ministering to families accept so many configurations of relationships: grandparents and/or older children in parental roles, fathers as parents, people confronting traditional practices which may be harmful. May God the Creator bless Mothers’ Union as it embraces the wide and wonderful diversity of human experience.