Sunday, January 25, 2015

Sunday, January 25, 2015

[The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity]

Psalm 98

As the Week of Prayer for Christian unity draws to a close and we observe the Feast Day of the Conversion of St. Paul, our focus is on the words of the Psalmist, "Sing to the Lord a new song”.

The concept of singing a new song is offered by the writer of Psalm 98 as a means by which the People of God may offer a joy – filled response to the reality that the Lord,”…has done wonderful things….’.

How do we experience the new and wonderful things that God is doing? Do we pause to welcome the concept that the new things that are being experienced in our life, are, in fact a welcome addition to our normal pattern and routine?

It is difficult to imagine a world without change. We would not be able to experience life in all its diversity and fullness without having had the experience of change over time. The use of God given talents and abilities offered by so many people in the fields of science and technology have created a support system which offers many people the opportunity to live their lives with a level of comfort and ease which were not able to even be imagined by previous generations.

If we acknowledge the truth of that reality as a part of our life experience, then we need to come to grips with the reality of how our awareness of God’s presence in our lives is an ever changing facet of our life experience. I suggest that God does not change, but rather, our awareness of God’s presence in our lives is that which has a fluidity and dynamic nature reflective of the ever – changing circumstances in our own lives.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity calls us to look at others who share the Christian Faith, in a new way, as those who share with us a lifelong pilgrimage of faith. St. Paul’s Conversion was a radically life changing experience. Both those examples speak to the way in which the power of God’s Spirit is a transforming presence in God’s world.

I invite you to look at the world around you with an openness of heart and soul and to see the marvelous things that God is doing. As you identify them as a reality in your own life, join the Psalmist, and let a new song of joy bubble up from within your soul.

• Reverend Canon Christopher Pratt

Rector, The Church of St. John the Evangelist

Ecumenical Officer, The Diocese of Huron