One of my most challenging experiences was to visit refugee camps. I met people who had nothing, completely dependent on the goodwill of others. Their human spirit revealed itself in the ways they managed their daily lives. Yet some grew despondent, seeing daily life as a fruitless distraction from their responsibility in securing their family’s future safety.

Christianity is not a performance industry. God has no interest in our performance, which is something we manufacture for some purpose we perceive is beneficial to us. Performance measures how well I do something. This is not the measure God applies. Our friendship with God is only possible because of what Jesus has won for us on Calvary.

Life is a marathon not a sprint. I’ve a friend who, as a child, wondered why adults always walked. In contrast she joyfully ran everywhere and promised herself she’d continue running once an adult. Sadly the ageing process had its way, and childhood pledges made way for adult realities.

The earliest Christian writings emphasise human behaviour. Ignatius of Antioch writes, ‘It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians’. worthy of the Lord, our daily challenge.

Here in St Cuthbert’s Oratory, a home of prayer, our three watchwords are hospitality, hope and healing – three gospel gifts we receive. God’s hospitality welcomes us to our salvation banquet. What’s more, He promised to feed us with bread for both stomach and spirit.

In reading the few surviving Christian texts from the second century, I’m struck by the importance of two small words: faith and love. St Ignatius of Antioch related them to the Eucharist and they were associated with the disciple’s way of life.

We have taken a week exploring Spiritual Formation, or how to grow up into maturity in Christ. It is the goal of every follower of Jesus to become more like him and to pray the words of St. Richard of Chichester daily, ‘My Lord Jesus Christ, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day’. 

If ever life overwhelms me I stop to consider those Christians who have gone before me. It was the great Christian survivor of the Ravensbruck concentration camp, who said, ‘Today I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work he will give us to do.’

Ive found it’s all too easy to lose sight of God in life’s many twists and turns. I remember going shopping with mum as a child. I’d get distracted by everything around me and lose sight of her. Then my heart beat faster, lost and alone amidst a sea of legs and arms.

Growing up I was of the opinion that God was something of a spoil sport. I assumed that God was a cosmic police chief issuing a long list of restrictions that impacted my personal freedom. Only as I got to know God did I discover that in fact I enjoyed the greatest of freedom.