Saturday 2 February 2013

The John Piper Mosaic at St Paul's

You can't miss it when you come into church!

By the noted artist John Piper, famed for his stained glass windows in Coventry Cathedral, it shows two of Jesus' disciples on Easter Day. It is about to dawn on them (or has it already) that Jesus really has risen from the dead.

This Christmas it struck me how full of journeys Luke's gospel is. The story depicted takes place as part of a journey, from Jerusalem to Emmaus. We are told of Jesus' travels. And at the beginning of Luke there are the journeys of Mary to see Elizabeth her cousin, Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem, then later taking him to the Temple in Jerusalem; and then later Jesus getting lost on a trip his family make from Nazareth to Jerusalem. It is as if Luke wants to stress how so much of the Christian life is a journey.

Years ago someone said to me that they had difficulty believing that Jesus is God. I said, do you believe he is the Truth? Not sure. The Truth? Not sure? The Way? Yes. OK then, I said, stick with that. For if he is the Truth and the Life he will lead you there. And sure enough he did.

So, if you are not sure where you are in terms of faith, or Christian faith, don't worry. Stick with Jesus as the Way. Somewhere it says, Seek the Lord and you will find him.

So, travel on that journey with Jesus; don't worry about the arriving at a fuller faith. God will lead you to that.

And by the way, how many journeys can you find in Luke? Do tell me when you have counted them.

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