Thought for the week of 17th January 2021

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me’.     John 1 : 43

Bible reading : John 1 : 43 - 51

Thought for the week

During the pandemic previously unknown (to me at least!) entities have become life-savers. Facetime, Zoom, Instagram, Whattsapp. They have all helped keep contact and check in with people. Yet for all their merits there is still no substitute for that face to face contact, however fleeting.

Our Gospel reading reminds us that Jesus’ incarnation, His coming to earth and sharing in the joys and limitations of human life enable us to have a personal experience of the Lord. Through the work of the Holy Spirit the Lord longs for us to know Him, to meet with Him, to know His presence and His power. He is the Lord who walks with us, and meets us in surprising ways and places.

So Philip says to Nathaniel, ‘Come and see’. It is an invitation to every human being. To lay aside what we might have heard or misunderstood about Jesus. To come and meet with Him, come and see for ourselves, come and experience His love personally, to realise He does know our lives and who we truly are.

It is an invitation to pray, to open our hearts and our hands to Him, to allow Him to touch our lives with His healing and His peace. Precious moments that can make a lifetime of difference.

Rev Paul

Prayer for this week - A Prayer for Carers, Nurses and Doctors

Lord Jesus, who healed the sick and gave them new life,

be with doctors, nurses and carers, as they act as agents of your healing touch.

In these desperate times, keep them strong yet loving;

and when their work is done, be with them in their weariness and in their tears. Amen.

(from N & N Hospital Chaplaincy)