The Importance of Telling Others

There’s a beautiful account in the Gospel of Mark where a man who has been possessed by demons, or experiencing some sort of challenging mental illness, is healed and made well by Jesus.

Most of his life has been tormented by his illness. People have been fearful of his presence, they have, at times, tried to chain or restrain him, but he has always managed to break the chains. It means he is very isolated. People don’t feel comfortable around him and he doesn’t trust them either. Jesus’s intervention is dramatic, but problematic. He drives the demons possessing this man into a herd of pigs who run down a steep bank into a lake and are drowned.

Not surprisingly, after this great healing, the man wants to come with Jesus as he prepares to leave the region in his boat. Jesus, very tenderly, says no to this request and asks him to go home to tell his family all that God has done for him. The man not only tells his family, but starts to speak with all the residents of those local cities about how much Jesus has done for him, and all the people are amazed.

Last weekend, my son and some of his friends from our youth group went to Castlewellan Castle for a weekend of Bible teaching, sports, worship and fun alongside 140 other young people and their leaders from churches right across the diocese.

As I dropped a couple of them down on Friday evening, I was struck by all the volunteers and youth leaders who were giving their weekend up to facilitate such a special experience for these young people. The welcome team and Diocesan staff were busy welcoming the young people, showing them to their rooms and making them aware of the very engaging programme that was about to unfold.

Sometimes, when your path crosses over with an event like that, it prompts you to ask some questions. When I saw all the organisation involved in sorting the different groups into dormitories and small groups, when I saw all the lists and permission slips being processed at the welcome desk, when I saw all the young people streaming in with, probably, different dietary requirements and, perhaps, allergies and medical conditions that needed to be managed, it takes a lot of organisation to put something like this on.

It’s actually quite a countercultural event.

So many young people don’t have too many opportunities to engage with in-person activities. With so many things happening online and social media, it was quite refreshing to be somewhere where there was very poor internet coverage and connection.

Instead of burying their faces in screens, you saw people speaking and joking with one another. Sports and activities and small groups were set up in such a way that people could make new friends from other places.

It was beautiful to hear when my son came home that he had enjoyed the weekend. He had made new friends. They had enjoyed lots of fun together. There had been talks about the Bible, about Jesus and prayer and opportunities to talk about these things with older leaders and with one another and it was a safe space to share your thoughts and questions. There had been times of worship together and, perhaps, it made you aware of being part of something much bigger than yourself on this journey of faith.

I’m very grateful to Andrew and the Diocesan team, to Ryan, my colleague, who accompanied our group, and to all those other leaders from other parishes who made such a special weekend possible.

You might wonder why they would leave the comfort of their homes and their families to put on such a weekend. I think the key might be found in this beautiful story in Mark’s Gospel. When this demon possessed man experienced something of the healing and kindness and love that comes from an encounter with Jesus, a part of you wants to be with Him always, to go wherever He goes and to do the things He does and be part of His community.

I would imagine, all who gave their time to running this weekend have had their own encounters with Jesus which, on all sorts of levels, have been transformational. Maybe 5,10, 20 or 40 years ago someone introduced them to Jesus. Maybe they shared a Bible story or a prayer or a talk that opened up this new world of faith and encounter with Jesus as a living person.

How marvellous if you have had that experience yourself to be part of a team or community that introduces others to that possibility for their lives.

As we think, with thanksgiving, about hose who opened that world to us, maybe parents or teachers or grandparents or youth leaders, let’s think of others, too. What about the Sunday school teacher who prepared lessons for you week by week through your childhood, or the BB leader or Girl Guide leader who spoke with you about faith in their lives? What about that teacher you had in secondary school who always seemed to care about you and know intuitively when you could do with a bit of encouragement? What about the clergy of your childhood or adolescence who seemed to preach the most boring sermons you could never understand, but who awkwardly came to visit when you were in hospital and said a prayer that somehow brought some peace into the situation?

Could you be that person in someone else’s life? Could you pass on something small or simple of what God has done for you? It might make all the difference.

Can I ask you, please, to hold in your prayers the family of Adele Andrews whose funeral will take place on Thursday at 10am in church. I think, on such occasions, of how our catering team, who work on behalf of Fields of Life, are such a practical demonstration of God’s care and help in the worst moments a family can encounter.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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