Dear Friends in the parish and beyond,
At the last Family Service, while holding one of the babies being baptised, I managed to drop my service sheet into the font, as I frequently seem to do! But I was amused and interested at what happened next: a boy of about 11 or 12, who was standing right next to the font, started smearing some of the water dripping off the service sheet all over his face. A sort of instinctive desire for holiness perhaps, a desire to be in real contact with God.
Why do people try to touch celebrities and why was there a huge queue of tourists to go into Westminster Abbey immediately after the Royal Wedding? I suppose it's in some way to get close to celebrity, so that somehow it rubs off on us.
With God, it's something of the same desire: we want to get close to Him, to have something of Him rub off on us. In one way, "touching" God is more difficult than touching a celebrity since we can't see Him. But in another way "touching" Him is much easier: we don't need to travel to another part of the world and we don't have to buy expensive tickets or queue overnight for a brief glimpse of Him. We can get in touch with Him wherever we are and get to know Him well over time! That's an amazing privilege which I supspect we take for granted all too often. And as we do get closer to Him, then He will affect us and change us, which is what that child seemed to be wanting at the Family Service a few days ago.
With best wishes to you as you try to "touch" Him too.
Chris
In : Vicar's Monthly Letters
