Welcome to the
North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
We recently
spent a holiday in Avignon, in the South of France. Among other things, one reason for going
there was to see some the Roman remains which were built in what was known by
the Romans as ‘Provincia’, from which the current name of the region ‘Provence’
is derived. So we had an afternoon in Nîmes, where the main buildings which remain from approximately
2000 years ago are the Tour Magne (Great Tower), the Maison Carrée (Square House), and the Amphitheatre. I thought about why these buildings survived,
when most of the others in the city did not.
Of course, in a sense they did survive, it’s just that they were
dismantled bit by bit, and the stones used for other buildings. One reason why these three survive is, of
course, their sheer size, the surviving Tower was the largest of about eighty
similar ones which formed part of the city walls. However, another reason is that they have
been used for a variety of purposes over the years, and were not just neglected when the Roman Empire
collapsed. The Maison Carrée, originally a temple to the Roman goddess Diana, has been a
museum and private dwelling, among other things. The amphitheatre is still used for a variety
of shows today.
We are all
familiar with the saying ‘Use it or lose it’.
When I was much younger I was not too bad a table tennis player, and in
fact managed one year to win the under 16 competition for the town where I
lived. However, I have not played
seriously for many years, and last time I tried I could barely even hit the
ball. When local amenities close, a pub,
a post office, or even a church, there are frequently mass local objections, with
many of those protesting seemingly unaware of the irony that one of the main
reasons for the closure is a lack of use, and that they themselves may well not
have used that particular service for many years. Jesus told a story about a man who went away
on a long journey and gave some money to three of his servants to take care of
while he was away. To the first he gave
five talents, the rough equivalent of £2.5million, to the second two, about
£1million, and to the third one, about £500,00.
When he returned, he asked the servants what they had done with the
money. The first two had used their
money, and gave back double what they had received, and were praised for that,
and given a promotion. The third however
simply went and hid his money in the ground, and gave it back to the man who
had entrusted it to him when he returned.
He was condemned, and even what he had was taken away from him. Use it or lose it.
But for
Christians, the things that last for us are not ultimately our own
achievements, whether monuments and buildings, however grand, sporting and
other successes, however impressive, or financial gain, however great. The things that last are the things of
God. Here are three reflections on ‘The
things that last’. The first is from a
meditation by Frank Topping:
But the
things that last
Cannot be
measured in bricks and mortar.
For how old is sacrifice?
What age is faith?
How long does courage live?
When does hope end?
Lord, may the warmth and laughter and
hope
That I have known
Be handed down in trust
To my children, and children to come.
May they live to know
That while all things fade and die
Love lives on.
The second is the closing lines of one of my favourite hymns,
by Timothy Rees:
Sin and
death and hell shall never
O’er us
final triumph gain.
God is love,
do love for ever
O’er the universe must reign.
And the third is the final verse of St Paul’s great chapter
on love, in his first letter to the Corinthians, words often used at weddings
and funerals:
Welcome to the
North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
We recently spent a holiday in Avignon, in the South of France. Among other things, one reason for going there was to see some the Roman remains which were built in what was known by the Romans as ‘Provincia’, from which the current name of the region ‘Provence’ is derived. So we had an afternoon in Nîmes, where the main buildings which remain from approximately 2000 years ago are the Tour Magne (Great Tower), the Maison Carrée (Square House), and the Amphitheatre. I thought about why these buildings survived, when most of the others in the city did not. Of course, in a sense they did survive, it’s just that they were dismantled bit by bit, and the stones used for other buildings. One reason why these three survive is, of course, their sheer size, the surviving Tower was the largest of about eighty similar ones which formed part of the city walls. However, another reason is that they have been used for a variety of purposes over the years, and were not just neglected when the Roman Empire collapsed. The Maison Carrée, originally a temple to the Roman goddess Diana, has been a museum and private dwelling, among other things. The amphitheatre is still used for a variety of shows today.
We are all familiar with the saying ‘Use it or lose it’. When I was much younger I was not too bad a table tennis player, and in fact managed one year to win the under 16 competition for the town where I lived. However, I have not played seriously for many years, and last time I tried I could barely even hit the ball. When local amenities close, a pub, a post office, or even a church, there are frequently mass local objections, with many of those protesting seemingly unaware of the irony that one of the main reasons for the closure is a lack of use, and that they themselves may well not have used that particular service for many years. Jesus told a story about a man who went away on a long journey and gave some money to three of his servants to take care of while he was away. To the first he gave five talents, the rough equivalent of £2.5million, to the second two, about £1million, and to the third one, about £500,00. When he returned, he asked the servants what they had done with the money. The first two had used their money, and gave back double what they had received, and were praised for that, and given a promotion. The third however simply went and hid his money in the ground, and gave it back to the man who had entrusted it to him when he returned. He was condemned, and even what he had was taken away from him. Use it or lose it.
But for Christians, the things that last for us are not ultimately our own achievements, whether monuments and buildings, however grand, sporting and other successes, however impressive, or financial gain, however great. The things that last are the things of God. Here are three reflections on ‘The things that last’. The first is from a meditation by Frank Topping:
But the things that last
Cannot be measured in bricks and mortar.
For how old is sacrifice?
What age is faith?
How long does courage live?
When does hope end?
Lord, may the warmth and laughter and hope
That I have known
Be handed down in trust
To my children, and children to come.
May they live to know
That while all things fade and die
Love lives on.
The second is the closing lines of one of my favourite hymns, by Timothy Rees:
Sin and death and hell shall never
O’er us final triumph gain.
God is love, do love for ever
O’er the universe must reign.
And the third is the final verse of St Paul’s great chapter on love, in his first letter to the Corinthians, words often used at weddings and funerals:
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.
May we know God’s lasting love in our lives and world.
Deacon Stephen Roe
May we know God’s lasting love in our lives and world.
Deacon Stephen Roe