Last week, a couple told me this story about their day. I loved it so much that, with their permission, I shaped it into a parable to share with you.
What is the kingdom of God like? With what shall I compare it? Perhaps … the kingdom is like an email about church finances. Buried in the text a woman discovers a pearl: ‘We trust in a God of infinite goodness and creativity, who can always find another way. It might not be the way we wanted or planned, but if God has anything to do with it, there will be new life, new friends, and plenty of justice and joy.’ Again and again she reads these sentences aloud, to herself and to her husband.
For her husband is preparing for a driving assessment. In the lead up, his wife and friends take him out many times a day to practice. Right, left, left again, and round the old familiar route. On the morning of the assessment, his church prays for him, and his wife again reads him the pearl. And when the time comes, the assessor concludes it is no longer safe for him to drive, and he must relinquish his license.
The man parks his car in the shade and strokes it gently, then gives the keys to his wife. And perhaps the kingdom is like a wife who takes the keys, and who later the same day drives them both to Memory Lane Café. They feel awkward, but a friendly couple wanders over to chat and puts them at their ease. Music is playing, and suddenly the man looks at his wife with a twinkle. ‘Shall we dance?’ he asks. Then he takes her hand, and they find a space; together, they begin to dance.
Reflect: When have you had to give up something significant due to loss of capacity? What new life, new friends, new joys emerged?
Shalom,
Alison
Emailed to Sanctuary 9 August 2023 © Alison Sampson, 2023. Photo by Maksym Kaharlytskyi on Unsplash (edited).
Alison and the whale 