Sunday July 5th

I'm writing this on July 1st - so that's half the year gone! Wow - that was quick...

Readings for this coming Sunday are:

Ezekiel 2:1-5
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13

Ezekiel's call as a prophet and Jesus as the 'prophet without honour' seem to fit together & I can see them fitting into the baptism (yes, another one!) service... but Paul's stuff about a person being taken up to the seventh heaven & then his own stuff about his thorn in the flesh feels a bit too technical for the congregation that are going to be there.

So we're left with prophets... I'm drawn to the idea (which I used years ago) of 'why is a prophet like a table lamp' - you can only really see what it is when it's doing it's stuff; it illuminates others; it only works when it's plugged into the mains.
The point is getting away from prophets as gloomy folk, or those with an axe to grind and encouraging us to see prophets as those who walk closely with God and empowered by the Spirit.

Problem is I can see this feeling like an abstract discussion too. So who are prophets today? Possibly all of us - if we can tune in to what God is saying. How do we do that?
I can see this linking to the idea of those who come for baptism moving closer to God by walking with Christ (the baptismal candidates are a child and both his parents - they would say that having their son has made them more aware of the Holy in their lives and wanting to step closer to God).

As ever - more thought required...

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