麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with The Rt Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon.

Good morning.

It is hard to believe but almost a quarter of the year past. How fast it has flown by.

Many people began the year by making New Years resolutions, which for the most have been long forgotten in the busyness of life.

Christians get another bite of the cherry with regard to resolutions, as they follow the devotional practices of the season of Lent. During Lent, Christians strive to put down or take up a new activity to help them deepen their focus on Jesus Christ. This year, I have been using pieces of art for my devotional reflections.

Art is a powerful medium for communication and self-expression, it has the ability to challenge and change us, and to help us to notice new things about life. The print I am using for reflection is a piece sketched by Nelson Mandela, after his release from imprisonment on Robben Island. It is a view of the island church from his cell. It is a roughly draw sketch of a building, so closed and unwelcoming the doorway is etched as a guard post. However, the exterior walls of the building, the stones are alive with colour, warm brown and terracotta tones, redolent of earth and sunshine. Those walls bursting with colou,r perhaps reminding us that God鈥檚 creative energy cannot be contained within the walls of the worship buildings we create.

Lord of life, help us to remember that the heart of your call is to love and welcome all people.

Amen