Welcome to the
North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
Welcome to
the month of February! I have to confess
I was totally ignorant of the origins of the name, and so- obviously these days
– I resorted to Google. Apparently the month is named after a Roman festival of
purification known as Februa – when participants were ritually washed. But more
of that later! What else is there to say about February?
It is, of
course, the shortest month of the year – 28 days except for Leap Years. Various
verses in the Bible refer to the brevity of life: : Psalm 90 verse 10 restricts
a typical life span to seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength; James
4 verse 14 refers to our life on this planet as ‘a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes’. We are
here only fleetingly: how do we make the most of the relatively few days that
we have? Answer below!
At the
beginning of the month we have Candlemas (February 2). This is the day when we
commemorate the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22ff)
and we celebrate his being a Light for revelation to all people. The second day of the month is also
noteworthy for being Groundhog Day! The 1993 film saw Bill Murray being stuck
in the same day, over and over again, with little hope of escape: the legend
referred to in the film’s title is that of Phil, a groundhog in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania - if when released he is able to see his shadow, that is a
forewarning of six more weeks of wintry weather to come (not always accurate,
by the way!). Putting the two together,
do we not see a description of the ideal Christian life – i.e. Christ entering
the temple of our hearts every day of our lives – each day without exception
living ‘in Christ’ and knowing Christ lives in us?
February can
be a cold month and also a very wet one: one rural appellation for February is
‘February Fill Dyke’, immortalised in Benjamin Williams Leader’s painting in
Manchester Art Gallery – the rain or melting snow fills the dyke with water. Jesus said, towards the end of the Feast of
Tabernacles (John 7:37-8):” If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will
flow from within them.”
We are
called not only to invite the risen Jesus Christ into our hearts but to pray to
be filled, and continually refilled, with the Holy Spirit (the phrase “Be
filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5: 18 is a command, not a take-it-or-leave
it suggestion!)
Back to the
meaning of ‘February’ – from a (pagan) Roman festival of purification. Midway through the month we have Valentine’s
Day, which is, of course, associated with love.
Our forefather in the Methodist movement, John Wesley, believed that
true spiritual purification resided not in trying excessively to attain a
particular standard of goodness, but in letting the glorious, unconditional,
self-sacrificing Love of God (as seen in Jesus) fill our hearts to overflowing.
He believed there was no limit to what God could accomplish in our lives if we
were open to every good thing he had to offer (this doctrine is sometimes
called ‘Perfect Love’).
So: cold and
wet it may turn out to be – but I wish you all a truly Blessed, Joyful, Loving,
and God-Glorifying February!
Geoff Floyd
Supernumerary
Minister
Welcome to the
North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
Welcome to the month of February! I have to confess I was totally ignorant of the origins of the name, and so- obviously these days – I resorted to Google. Apparently the month is named after a Roman festival of purification known as Februa – when participants were ritually washed. But more of that later! What else is there to say about February?
It is, of course, the shortest month of the year – 28 days except for Leap Years. Various verses in the Bible refer to the brevity of life: : Psalm 90 verse 10 restricts a typical life span to seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength; James 4 verse 14 refers to our life on this planet as ‘a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes’. We are here only fleetingly: how do we make the most of the relatively few days that we have? Answer below!
At the beginning of the month we have Candlemas (February 2). This is the day when we commemorate the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22ff) and we celebrate his being a Light for revelation to all people. The second day of the month is also noteworthy for being Groundhog Day! The 1993 film saw Bill Murray being stuck in the same day, over and over again, with little hope of escape: the legend referred to in the film’s title is that of Phil, a groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania - if when released he is able to see his shadow, that is a forewarning of six more weeks of wintry weather to come (not always accurate, by the way!). Putting the two together, do we not see a description of the ideal Christian life – i.e. Christ entering the temple of our hearts every day of our lives – each day without exception living ‘in Christ’ and knowing Christ lives in us?
February can be a cold month and also a very wet one: one rural appellation for February is ‘February Fill Dyke’, immortalised in Benjamin Williams Leader’s painting in Manchester Art Gallery – the rain or melting snow fills the dyke with water. Jesus said, towards the end of the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:37-8):” If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.”
We are called not only to invite the risen Jesus Christ into our hearts but to pray to be filled, and continually refilled, with the Holy Spirit (the phrase “Be filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5: 18 is a command, not a take-it-or-leave it suggestion!)
Back to the meaning of ‘February’ – from a (pagan) Roman festival of purification. Midway through the month we have Valentine’s Day, which is, of course, associated with love. Our forefather in the Methodist movement, John Wesley, believed that true spiritual purification resided not in trying excessively to attain a particular standard of goodness, but in letting the glorious, unconditional, self-sacrificing Love of God (as seen in Jesus) fill our hearts to overflowing. He believed there was no limit to what God could accomplish in our lives if we were open to every good thing he had to offer (this doctrine is sometimes called ‘Perfect Love’).
So: cold and wet it may turn out to be – but I wish you all a truly Blessed, Joyful, Loving, and God-Glorifying February!
Geoff Floyd
Supernumerary Minister