• Take My Life Series of Sermons 1- Summer 2011
• Take My Life Series of Sermons 2 - Summer 2011
• 4th March
• 18th March
• 1st April
• 8th April
• 15th April
• 22nd April
• 6th May
• 13th May

Take My Life Series of Sermons - Summer 2011

Over the Summer the Minister, Revd Dr Ian Tutton, gave a series of sermons based on the hymn 'Take My Life and Let It Be'.  The text of them all has been put together so that they can be read and enjoyed.

 

Take my life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to thee;

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

 

Take my hands, and let them move,

At the impulse of thy love,

Take my feet, and let them be

Swift and beautiful for thee.

 

Take my voice, and let me sing

Always, only, for my King;

Take my lips, and let them be

Filled with messages from thee.

 

Take my silver and my gold,

Not a mite would I withhold;

Take my intellect, and use

Every power as thou shalt choose.

 

Take my will, and make it thine;

It shall be no longer mine;

Take my heart – it is thine own;

It shall be they royal throne.

 

Take my love; my \Lord, I pour

At thy feet its treasure-store;

Take myself, and I will be

Ever, only, all for thee.

 

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)

 

1 - ‘Take my life, and let it be consecrated Lord, to Thee...’

“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Luke 14, 33). “So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view...” (2 Corinthians 5, 16a).

It does us good, from time to time, to re-evaluate our priorities; to reconsider what it is that is most important to us. That doesn’t mean to say that we should always and forever be changing things around; it isn’t that from time to time we ought to change things, rather it is that from time to time we ought, at the very least to ask ourselves why nothing changes. What does it say about somebody that they have always supported the same football team, or voted for the same political party, or attended the same church? This is particularly so when the matter at hand involves a practical commitment to the cause – be it an individual or an institution. That to which we claim to be committed has to be confident in our commitment otherwise catastrophe beckons – the essential lesson that Luke draws from the examples he uses; building a tower, going to war. To live as a Christian is to live by faith: ‘The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me...’ (Galatians 2, 20). Faith, it seems to me consists of three distinct elements; belief, trust, commitment. ‘By grace we are saved through faith, and this not of ourselves, it is the gift of God...’ (Ephesians 2,8). We are required to believe that in and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we are brought into a right relationship with God, at God’s initiative. ‘The righteous shall live by faith...’ (Romans 1. 16). Without any proof as such, we have to trust that this is so. This belief and trust has to be demonstrated in our commitment to God in everything, every aspect of our lives. If we can find it within ourselves to respond to God’s grace in this way, then God promises that we will each receive the Holy Spirit that we might be equipped and enabled so to live. More than that, through the Holy Spirit God has brought into being the Church in and through which each of us can be joined with those of like mind and heart so that we can find the wherewithal to live this life of faith of which we speak; living it out among, within and beyond one another. In effect, this is an act of consecration, a moment when we each of us pledge ourselves to God. It is all or it is nothing at all; as surely as God has given of Himself in Jesus so we are to give ourselves to God; in Jesus’ name, for Jesus’ sake. To be His disciples in today’s world, to be learners and followers of Jesus. And so, the need for us, all of us to be reminded of the need for absolute and total commitment to the cause of Christ. And if we are able to make such a commitment we will find ourselves having regard for everybody else in a radically different way from what otherwise might have been the case – ‘from now on regarding no-one from a worldly point of view’ – but rather treating everybody as somebody, not just anybody. We will find ourselves displaying the fruits of the Spirit; variously described as, ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control...’ (Galatians 5, 22). ‘Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy...’ (Philippians 4, 8). ‘Compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, love...’ (Colossians 3, 12). These are our rules for the road, the means by which we are to navigate our way through life; keeping on track; not going off the rails. This is a 24/7 way of living. Any specific contribution we might make in life, be it in the Church, or in wider society, it will count for nothing if it is not done with such an attitude – we can have all the ability we like, ‘but have not love...’ All around us is ample evidence to the effect that the world is in desperate need of discovering such a way of living; be it on our own doorstep, or in communities far away. People are hurting; physically, emotionally, spiritually. This world is an impoverished place, yet the irony is that right at its heart is a way of living that contains within it riches beyond its wildest imagining – a way of living according to the lifestyle of one who though he was rich, chose to become poor, that through his poverty we, all of us, might become rich. A worldly point of view has very definite ideas concerning what it means to be rich, and what it means to be poor. Our commitment to Christ demands that we do not see as the world sees. God’s wish is that each of us be prepared to receive from Him, by the Holy Spirit, gifts specific to the task to which we are called to be committed – such gifts are nothing at all if we attempt to exercise them without demonstrating the fruit of that same Holy Spirit. We have to learn to display in our lives that which ought to come ‘naturally’ in order that we can properly exercise that which is to be made manifest ‘supernaturally’. We are called to a life of faith; a life lived according to the power of the Spirit – a life based upon belief and trust, a life evidenced in commitment to Christ; among, within and beyond the Church. It is this to which we are called according to God’s grace, just how grateful we are will show itself in our response...’Take my life, and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee.’ 

 

2.  ‘Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise’

“...Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself...” (Matthew 6, 34a). “...I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus...” (Philippians 3, 14).

Of all the gifts that are ours to receive from God, time tends to be the most ‘taken for granted’. Rather than appreciate time as a ‘gift’ our tendency is to understand it as merely the means by which we can both regulate and regularise what we do. But we are to receive time as a gift from God as much as any other gift. We have a responsibility for the use of time as much as we have a responsibility for any other gift we have received. Whilst objectively speaking time passes with monotonous regularity; subjectively it isn’t like that at all. Every day is the same length, but no two days take the same time to pass. Today is the same length for all of us, but it will appear shorter or longer to each of us depending on our circumstances. We are inherently wasteful of everything; it may well be that we are most wasteful when it comes to time. Most poignantly of all, whilst much of what we describe in terms of time and its passing is regular and certain, for us it is essentially uncertain. A lifetime is unpredictable, arbitrary, even capricious – the Psalmist muses concerning three score years and ten, perhaps even four score years; scientists tell us that the majority of the presently emerging generation might expect to live beyond a hundred, yet still there are many for whom a lifetime is measured in days, weeks, months rather than years. It may be that the gospel is encouraging us to concentrate not so much on our lifetime, but rather to ensure that as best we can, we are having the time of our lives. And this is to be had in the present, the present moment. Too often we compromise the present by reliving the past, or else we mortgage the present in the hope of a more productive future. Either way, we risk letting the present pass us by. ‘Now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation’ (2 Cor. 6, 1-2). The present moment is the most immediate and it is the most vital; it is in the present moment that we are to experience the reality of God’s love made plain in Jesus, a God, dwelling in eternity, outside of time, for whom every moment is the present moment, God wants us to experience the love of God in the present moment; now, this instant. A proper appreciation of the love of God will necessarily mean that we are experiencing it every present moment; there is never a moment when we are beyond the reach of the love of God. And if this is ours to receive, then the responsibility we have is to ensure that this same love is shared by us with others in the present moment; immediately and without delay. There should never be a moment that passes without us sharing the love of God which we ourselves are receiving in that present moment. Realising the significance of the present moment is fundamental to any relationship we might have with God; and so, if we are not already in a relationship with God, now is the time, this moment is the present moment; in the moment, by saying yes to God, deciding to become a follower of Jesus, being prepared to receive the Holy Spirit, in that moment the whole of one’s life, one’s lifetime, is transformed such that from this moment on, you will always and forever be having ‘the time of your life’. And what regarding our relationship with God, so ought to be true regarding our relationships with one another; always relating to each other in the present moment; it doesn’t matter about past disappointments or future concerns; it is all to do with how we are with one another in the present moment. Tomorrow never comes, today never ends, but time passes. Moments do become days. However much we might implore one another to live in the present and for the present, we are only human. There will be times in our lives when we are not having the time of our life. The evening draws on, the days shorten, the shadows lengthen. Yesterday seems far more important than tomorrow. We tell ourselves to take each day as it comes; it comes and goes, barely noticed. We sense our days are numbered, and sooner or later, our number will be up. But until that day, the responsibility remains – ‘I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him, against that day’ - the obligation that is ours, in response to the ever present love of God, is to ensure that whatever might be our experience in life, still we are to live every moment of every day in praise to God, praise most properly expressed in our service, devotion and love for others. We give thanks to God for the gift of time, for our lifetime, that which by the grace of God can be the time of our life. For every moment of every day; for moments and days as they topple over each other, one after the other; most particularly for the ever present moment, the ever present reality that is God, the ever present love that is ours to receive, and ours to share, always and forever praising God, giving thanks to God in all things until that day comes when time for us shall be no more, but rather the eternal glory for which, for now we press on towards, the goal, the prize...called heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

3.  ‘Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of They love.’

“...But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands...” (Jeremiah 18, 4a). “...When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there...” (Matthew 19, 15).

Life, time, creativity...the gifts of God. The God who is described as having created all that there is, who is said to have created us in the Divine image and according to the Divine likeness, this God has gifted each and every one of to be creative. It might be quite literally so – being able to make things with our hands – and that is why the creative arts festival we hosted in the church some weeks ago was so appropriate for the Church when we were able to give the opportunity for people’s creativity to be displayed for the benefit of all, and ultimately, whether acknowledged as such or not, to the glory of God. That is why we are right to be proud of the banners we have hanging in the church, eloquent testimony to the creative genius that is present within the membership of this congregation there for all to see, ultimately to the glory of God. That is why it is good that in October we will celebrate the Centenary of the opening of this building as a place for public worship, during which we will give proper attention to the creative talents that were put to good use in its design and construction, ultimately for the glory of God. That is why it is significant that within the liturgy used by other Christian traditions, at Communion they will refer to the bread and the wine as ‘...the work of human hands’; in effect as surely as the bread and the wine is being consecrated, so too the work of those who made it. But creation, and creativity cannot exist in a vacuum, it requires a moral imperative. At every stage of the creation story we are told that what was made was seen to be good, even very good. Without an appropriate ethical framework, the work of our hands can as easily become destructive as it might otherwise be creative. Indeed, not just an ethical but a theological framework is necessary...’moving at the impulse of Thy love...’ Our calling, as ‘gifted’ people is to ensure that as best as we can we ensure that there is evidence within wider society of that which is of God, that which is good, that which coheres with God’s will and purpose for each, every and all things as described from the very beginning. But it’s not just about being creative per se; our hands are an active representation of our personality. What we do with our hands is as telling as what we say with our voices. Our hands provide the means according to which we can do what we say, rather than simply saying what we might do:

‘Jesus' hands were kind hands, doing good to all, healing pain and sickness,
blessing children small, washing tired feet, and saving those who fall;
Jesus' hands were kind hands, doing good to all.

Take my hands, Lord Jesus, let them work for you; make them strong and gentle, kind in all I do. Let me watch you, Jesus, till I'm gentle too,
till my hands are kind hands, quick to work for you.’

If we are serious about being followers of Jesus, seeking to emulate Him in all we say and do, then that will have practical consequences. A hand can very easily become a clenched fist, and that clenched fist can very easily become indicative of our attitude. Jesus’ hands were always open. If we are to have our hands move, ‘at the impulse of Thy love’, we will never clench our fist. It is all about love; down to earth love, demonstrable love. It is about kindness and gentleness; honesty and truth...shake on it...we use our hands to welcome, we use our hands to dismiss, and the gesture is the same...a shake of the hand...physical contact acknowledging that words alone are never enough. And Jesus’ love, of which He spoke so often and so eloquently is never more eloquently expressed than when the nails are driven through His wide open hands, ’...see from His head, His HANDS, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingling down...’ To be prepared to touch with one’s hand is a powerful gesture indeed; Princess Diana entering an AIDS orphanage, so-called, and actually picking up a child and holding her, touching her, caressing her; saying to her in a way that words fail us that she was loved, she mattered, she was precious. But hands and their use have become symbolic of deeper ‘truths’; almost ritualistic in themselves – the curse of left-handedness. The left hand – ‘sinister’ as opposed to the right hand – ‘dexter’; hence if you can use both hands equally effectively you are, ‘ambidextrous’ – two right hands. Jesus Himself divided the sheep from the goats by putting the sheep on His right hand – destined for eternal glory, whilst the goats were put on His left hand – destined for eternal punishment; but there is an irony here that shouldn’t be overlooked; it was only a short time previous to this, Jesus had received the request of the mother of James and John that they might be granted the privilege of sitting, one on His right hand the other on His left hand in God’s kingdom. In short, it’s not what hand you use, it how you use your hands that matter; we are exhorted to use them for God’s glory; expressing creatively God’s love, emulating the love of Christ in doing what we say we will do; practically demonstrating God’s essential goodness by doing good to all.

  

4.  ‘Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee’

“...As it is written, ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News’...” (Romans 10, 15b – Isaiah 52, 7). “...’Go and make disciples of all nations’...” (Matthew 28, 19a).

Life, time, creativity – mobility – God’s gifts. Before even thinking about the more profound implications of this assertion it is worth reminding ourselves what it means, basically. We can move; we are able to move from here to there, from one place to another; to journey, to travel. The vast majority of us have it within us to do this naturally, to some degree, an ability we neglect at our peril. Beyond which there are untold numbers of mechanical aids to get us to where we wish to go – bicycle, car, ship, aeroplane, space shuttle, Starship Enterprise – all of which encouraging us to ‘boldly go where no man has gone before...’ All of this suggests that we are not meant to be sedentary, to stand still, to remain in one place, to be rooted to the spot; to be in any way fixed – we may well talk about ‘putting down roots’, but as the Old Testament Sage observed, ‘there is always a time to uproot’. Within 20 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection, His followers were faced with having to make a decision, the outcome of which would change the cause of history. Christianity, as we know it, could have remained within Judaism, a sect perhaps being referred to as, ‘Messianic Judaism’; open to all, but only on the acknowledgement that necessary for becoming a ‘follower of Jesus’ was the acceptance of the rules, rituals and regulations of  Judaism. Given that Jesus’ earliest followers were all Jews this view was widely held amongst them. In spite of which, at what has come to be known as the Council of Jerusalem, the proceedings of which are recorded for us in Acts 15, it was agreed that Gentiles could become Christians without first having to become, effectively, Jews. Saul of Tarsus, otherwise known as Paul, was the one who argued the case, and it fell to him to produce a theological justification for the adoption of this position – and this is the essence of his letters written to the Galatians, and to the Romans, as well as, more indirectly in the other letters that bear his name in the New Testament canon. But Paul was no armchair theologian, content to have his teachings sent out in his name. He was a preacher, a minister, a missionary. Paul went to where the people were, sought them out and shared with them, where they were the Good News concerning the coming of Jesus the Christ. From then until now, the Christian church has been, essentially, a missionary movement; a message that has within it an inherent mobility; able to go wherever, whenever, to whoever, by whatever means. Distance being no barrier, timescale being no problem, no one beyond its reach, everyone able to receive it on their own terms. We too are called to share in this missionary imperative, to go and to tell; to go ‘into all the world’, to go ‘next-door’. John tells us that Jesus invited Andrew to follow him, and that the first thing Andrew did, ‘was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” ‘. Luke’s account of the Gospel draws towards into conclusion by describing events on the road to Emmaus; two of Jesus’ followers walking and talking together, being joined by the risen Christ, who walked with them and talked with them. To use the vernacular of today, ‘if we can’t walk the walk, we shouldn’t talk the talk’ – ‘take my feet and let them swift and beautiful for Thee’. The Church is coming under increasing scrutiny as society around us changes. That which was otherwise assumed is now questioned; everything is relative; what it means to be ‘Christian’ requires a defence in some ways rather more sophisticated than heretofore, but in other ways rather more straightforward. ‘Talking the talk’ is not enough of itself anymore. But when it comes to ‘walking’ again it isn’t so easy. If we are serious about sharing our faith, a seemingly effortless stroll through life will not be sufficient to convince anyone, but neither will a breathless charge achieve anything other than to render us unfit for service; and not for nothing do we read of ‘the loneliness of the long distance runner. There will of course come a time when we will find our mobility becoming increasingly restricted. Age, infirmity, handicap, disability and illness will all overtake us in some measure or another; we will find ourselves being taken by others in a direction we would not choose for ourselves. God’s promise to each and every one of us is that we will never be alone in this world, wherever we are as we journey through life, God journey’s with us. There will be times when we will find ourselves in remote places, dangerous situations, frightening circumstances; it will seem as if we are on our own; God’s promise to us is that we are never alone in this life. It isn’t for nothing that living the Christian life is described as ‘following Jesus’. He goes before us in all things. He was in the beginning; before anything was, He is. He is there at the end; when all things cease, He will be. ‘O let me see Thy footprints, and in them plant mine own; My hope to follow duly is in Thy strength alone. O guide me, call me, draw me, uphold me to the end; And then in Heaven receive me, my Saviour and my Friend.’

  

5.  ‘Take my voice, and let me sing always, only for my King’

‘You only sing when you’re winning’

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvellous things.” (Psalm 98,1). “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, forever and ever (Rev 5, 13)

The gift of self-expression; the ability to make known to others exactly what we are feeling inside ourselves. More primitively, vocalisation, making a noise is invariably the vehicle we use to release that which might otherwise build pressure within us – onomatopoeia. And it covers the whole range of human emotions; pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, relief and anxiety; anger and frustration, desire and intensity... Being a Christian is essentially emotional and as such necessarily expressive. What we believe within ourselves demands to be expressed beyond us; indeed so powerful is its effect upon us in every respect, we cannot but express what we believe, whatever circumstances confront us. And to use ‘singing’ as a medium for all of this is entirely appropriate given that music itself is a powerful parable for life, embracing as it does rhythm, melody and harmony, essential and necessary ingredients a fulfilled life, a Godly life. ‘You only sing when you’re winning’ is a ‘song’ you will hear being sung at football matches up and down the country. It is usually sung by supporters of the losing team as a way of taunting the supporters of the winning team. Yet there is a danger that this is how we see ‘singing’ in respect of our faith...’How does one sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’ The truth is, that just as our faith ought to be meaningful for us and to us whatever our circumstances, so also should our ability to give expression to what we believe. Whilst the method employed may vary according to the particular situation, the expressing of what we believe has to be able to transcend any and every particular circumstances. We have to be able to sing the Lord’s song in the strangest of lands...We are here to glorify God (and to enjoy Him forever)...we have been brought into a relationship with God, exemplified by the love shown to us and the world in and through the person and work of Jesus the Christ...we need to give expression to our love for God. But how do we demonstrate our love for God? In the way we love one another, love our neighbour, even the stranger and the alien in our midst...and what is it that we share with all of these regardless of whatever else causes us to be different from them - a capacity for singing, and an ability to sing. Haven’t we all been uplifted by the efforts of the likes of Gareth Malone? Hasn’t there been a peculiarly spiritual atmosphere pervading this place when we have hosted ‘come and sing’ events? And what is the real, underlying, almost subliminal message that is conveyed throughout the whole of the film, ‘The Sound of Music’? The theatre in Worcester was crowded for the visit of William Booth on January 22, 1882. Even the General himself 'had great difficulty in getting in'. The door was smashed by the crowd still trying to gain admission after the place was full. George 'Sailor' Fielder, the Commanding Officer, had been put up to sing. He had been a sea captain with a voice that had often been heard above the roar of the waves. (Forty years later he still had ' a voice like thunder and gloried in open-air fighting'.) He sang his testimony in the words, ' Bless His name, He set me free.' 'That was a fine song. What tune was that? ' inquired the Army's Founder later. 'Oh,' came the reply in a rather disapproving tone, General, that's a dreadful tune. Don't you know what it is? That's “Champagne Charlie is my name".' That's settled it,' William Booth decided as he turned to Bramwell. ‘Why should the devil have all the best tunes?' The adoption of such music was soon put to full use. On Saturday afternoon, May 13, 1882, the congregation at the opening of the Clapton Congress Hall joined heartily in the chorus of Gipsy Smith's solo, ' O the Blood of Jesus cleanses white as snow' to the music of 'I traced her little footsteps in the snow '. There were no qualms of conscience. Many people gathered there knew none of the hymn tunes or gospel melodies used in the churches; the music hall had been their melody school. An early pamphlet made the Army's position clear by saying that it' considers all music sacred when used with holy purpose'. For his Christmas message to War Cry readers of 1880 William Booth had already written: ' Secular music, do you say, belongs to the devil? Does it? Well, if it did I would plunder him for it, for he has no right to a single note of the whole seven...Every note, and every strain, and every harmony is divine, and belongs to us...So consecrate your voice and your instruments. Bring out your comets and harps and organs and flutes and violins and pianos and drums, and everything else that can make melody. Offer them to God, and use them to make all the hearts about you merry before the Lord.' So, we can all sing, we all need to sing, and God needs to hear us sing...’always only for our King’...we need to give expression to what we feel, to let our feelings out. We need to realise that the ability to give expression to what we believe, what we feel, is a gift from God, to be given back to God according to what we believe, and how we express our beliefs...making a joyful noise to the Lord’

  

6.  ‘Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee’

‘Watch my Lips’

“Then the Lord reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘Now, I have put my words in your mouth’...” (Jeremiah 1, 9b). “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy’, but I tell you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’...” (Matthew 5, 43-44).

God’s gift of communication; the ability we have to talk to one another. Some people are born talkers, blest with, ‘the gift of the gab’ – they talk a lot and say nothing at all. And of course communication is not just about ‘talking’, it is about hearing, and listening too. There are those who can command the attention of their hearers regardless; their oratorical skills being such that they would be listened to whatever: the story of Elijah on the mountain has a lot to teach us concerning hearing and listening – earthquake, wind, fire...and a still, small voice. Our entire theological perspective is predicated on the assumption that every act of God is to be understood as God communicating; often directly – in the creation story, ‘God says...and it was so...’ Often indirectly - through prophets, erstwhile ‘reluctant’ heroes like Jeremiah, ‘Thus says the Lord...’ The lesson we draw from this, generally, and in particular is this; there is nothing that we do or say that does not communicate something about us to a wider audience. If we could only remember this, the way we conduct ourselves would be radically different from how it might otherwise be. There is never an ‘off-duty’ moment available to us as far as being a representative of the human race is concerned. And that generality becomes particular as far as our Christian faith is concerned. We live in an ideological market place, one in which there are many voices clamouring to be heard. And it isn’t just to do with which is right or wrong over against another; the pervading climate of self-induced cynicism has cast doubt on the ‘believability’ of anything that is said by anybody. Hence the need to ensure that anything we communicate, especially in respect of our faith is authentic, i.e. true to the teachings of the one on whom our faith is based. The trouble is, there is so much said ‘in the name of Jesus’, that Jesus himself would never have said. Furthermore, it is evident from what we have reported of what He did say that He had to take the time to correct the misrepresentation, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation of what might otherwise have been said on His behalf – ‘You have heard it said, but I say unto you...’ was an oft repeated mantra as far as Jesus was concerned. As Christians, we have to be so careful in ensuring the authenticity of our message and this can only be so if we are prepared to listen first...we should only speak ‘of what we have seen and heard’. Ironically, it is likely that the more authentic we might be in our communicating of what we believe is necessary to be heard, the les we will be listened to...’the voice crying in the wilderness’ is a role that we ought properly to take pride in...’they who have ears to hear will hear...’ – the trouble is, the wilderness is a lonely place and none of us likes to be alone for too long. Communications is a growth industry unlike any other; especially with regard to non-verbal means – face to face conversations rarely if ever take place. It may just be that one among the many reasons as to why our life together at every level is showing increasing signs of strain is that we no longer talk with one another – the motto of the BBC – ‘Nation shall speak peace unto Nation’, (January 1^st 1927). Because it isn’t just about what we say, more how we say it; acting in a radio play is so very difficult. Don’t use that tone of voice with me...we will or will not listen to what is being said depending on the way it is said. Jesus is said to have ‘wept over Jerusalem’...just how many tears have been shed for London and other major cities this week who knows, but that have certainly been an awful lot of comments flying around. The URC recently embarked on a campaign that used the strap line, ‘God is still speaking’, and we have to believe this to be so; directly and indirectly; but what God is saying has to be heard, listened to and acted upon. If we are committed to our calling, under God, to follow Jesus in today’s world then we have to realise that we have the awesome responsibility to tell it as it is, as far as Jesus is concerned, but more than that, to tell it the way Jesus would have told it, how Jesus would have it told, however difficult that might be. It is often remarked that some things are, ‘better left unsaid’, and I can appreciate where those who espouse such a view are coming from, but the more I think about it, the more I find myself questioning such a view; I find myself more inclined to thinking that what needs to be said needs to be said; and that in the end, there is nothing that is ‘better unsaid’, because sooner or later it will have to be said. ‘Speak the truth in love’ has to be the principle that guides anything and everything we say as Christians; nothing more can be asked of us...but nothing less either.