麻豆约拍

A reflection and prayer to start the day with the Rt Revd Mary Stallard, Assistant Bishop in Bangor.

Good morning.

Sometimes children have a talent for asking questions that can make us think in new ways: 鈥淲here鈥檚 Jesus in your church? - I can鈥檛 see him anywhere鈥� a little girl asked her grandmother recently while they were helping tidy up after a community event. The child spotted a picture of a baby surrounded by green, cut out, paper handprints and asked, 鈥渋s that Jesus?鈥� 鈥淣o鈥� came the answer 鈥渢hat鈥檚 Moses in the bulrushes, made by children from Junior Church鈥�. The grandmother looked for a picture of Jesus; the stained-glass windows were all dark, because it was evening. She wondered about showing her a wooden carved pieta - depicting Mary cradling the crucified Christ but decided that might raise awkward questions. So, in the end she pointed to the small red candle that鈥檚 lit by the tabernacle where the Holy Communion鈥檚 kept, and she talked about a candle as a sign of Jesus, whom Christians call 鈥渢he light of the world鈥�.

The child鈥檚 question made me wonder about what it means to make our faith visible. Of course, it鈥檚 a key task of all Christians to model and represent the values and message of Christ. There鈥檚 a famous prayer that speaks of being Christ鈥檚 hands and feet today, calling believers to live out our faith each day. Maybe there鈥檚 a challenge here for all of us, whatever our beliefs about God, the world and one another. How clearly are our core values evident to others in our daily living, in the homes we make, in our relationships and in all our choices?

Gracious God, thank you for insights and perspectives of children. Help us to hear their questions and to learn new things. Gift us with imagination and integrity, so we might help and encourage others to discover hope and joy. Amen.