Midweek Musings – Knowing Your Place

Have you ever wondered whether others are asking:

What is s/he doing here? Who does s/he think s/he is?

It’s the feeling that maybe you don’t have the right to be in the conversation, or the experience to be in the team, or the skills to be used in a task.

Most of us have only got just-enough security, that it doesn’t take much for us to be destabilised. And the thought that people might be asking these questions can really rock us.

A few years I listened to Sarah Bessey give a presentation reflecting on her experience of being female in conservative church contexts. Overwhelmingly she felt that she had always been accused of either ‘not being enough’, or on the other hand ‘being too much’.

She said the message that women have heard for too long is that either: 

You’re too much or You’re not enough
You’re too strong or You’re too weak
You’re too opinionated or You’re too bland
You’re too emotional or You’re too cold
You’re too feminine or You’re not feminine enough
You’re too smart or You’re ‘blonde’
You’re high maintenance or You’re too detached

Would you agree with her?

If so, maybe 2000 years have not changed much. When Mary chose to sit with Jesus learning from him, rather than stand in the kitchen preparing a meal for him, maybe you can hear the men’s indignant thoughts,

Why is she here? No one will listen to her anyway. Why does she not go and do something practical? That meal is not going to cook itself.

But can you hear Jesus, defending her, not just against the men but her sister as well? It’s not just men who think you are in the wrong place.

Can you hear him say:

You’re in the right place.

Luke 10:38-42

In one sentence Jesus lays out a different pathway for women as well as men.

To all of us he shows a new way about:

The way I listen to others
The way I talk about/to others
The way I support others
The way I seek to understand others
The way I protect others
The way I ask for help from others
The way I offer help to others
The way I honour others

Jesus’ actions and answers challenge office politics, a culture that needs #MeToo, church roles, and, perhaps most importantly of all, the way I see my own security, whoever I am.

So take your place: with the Master.

There’s much to learn, much about the way we think to be reformed, much about what we value to be challenged, much about the way we see one another to be transformed.

Read and Be Stirred

We are taking 3 months thinking about the promise and possibility of hospitality. The suggestion is that hospitality is how we share grace to one another and then offer grace to others. But first we need to receive the grace that is offered to us by Jesus – in the context of meals.

You might be interested to read this article:

Hardly anything is more characteristic of Christian love than hospitality. Through the ministry of hospitality we share the things we value most: family, home, financial resources, food, privacy, and time. In other words, we share our lives.

Tim Challies

Coming up

2. Wellbeing Course: starts Thursday 18th February, 1-2.30pm

Are you living on empty? Maybe it’s time to refill.

The Wellbeing Journey is a new series exploring holistic wellness: body, mind and spirit. It is based around 6 key areas of wellbeing: physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial and vocational, to help you discover how to run on a full tank.

There are eight sessions to explore together, lasting between 60 and 90 minutes, which includes a video and time for discussion.

If you know someone who would benefit from discussing their wellbeing in a friendly and supporting environment, do invite them.

Here’s the link: https://zoom.us/j/92865676423?pwd=TVZSR253YWc1Wm1LQ3l4eTdDY0o3dz09

Our Regular Gatherings

If in doubt

All the links to the meetings are in ChurchSuite and on the ‘Calendar’ section of our church website: https://www.salfordelimchurch.org/events/

You’re not alone

If you need help and don’t know where to turn, you are always welcome to contact Neil on 07771 558058.