I REMEMBER MY FRIEND ALAN WHO DIED YESTERDAY.
Nottingham/Derby
DAVID Wells a talk given in Derby last night.
DISCIPLESHIP. RELAX PLEASE.
How are you ... I'm very busy.
I know you're very busy..... I'm busy too. ( A busy competition)
Are you keeping busy?
How do we measure effectiveness.as a par8sh ?.... how many people have jobs.
Lots of meetings and agendas... procedures.
DID HE DIE FOR THIS?
We have lost our sense of purpose.
CHURCH DOES NOT ACT WELL WHEN IT FOCUSES ON SELF.
The last thing people need is a busy Church.... its time to change how we behave.
- Mission
- Discipleship
- Encounter.
Misconception.
IDEALISATION...... MAKING THE HOUSE TIDY ( VISITING A TIDY HOUSE DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE US FEEL COMFORTABLE
Tidy house suggests best behaviour...(eg Teacher at school mass)
RE CHURCH: Many people who have been away think: ”I cant go back there... they'll give me that look."
It traps people into thinking that they are not good enough to come to church.
We have creatted an environment where the young feel tidy.
Some think that we do not love them.
IT'S TIME TO DISCOVER ‘MISSION'
Very few people live ‘happy ever after'
Slogan ‘How to find a perfect match..... nobody can perfect you.
Some people think that the Church is perfect.
Religious people are strong dependabel etc.
IN REALITY : Disciples insecure ... look at the Apostles insecure prone to jealousy
There are all sorts of issues under the surface in all our lives.
You at work and you at home are two different people.
Pope Francis asks us to be ourselves i the Church. (BE THE PERSON YOU ARE AT HOME)
Church is not dying Amoris Letitia #325.
May we never loose heart because of out limitations.
What is needed is not a change of strategy... what is needed is a change of disposition.
LORD WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TODAY.
(THE STORY OF THE Seven Clerical students who walmed into a bar... thrown out because they thought they were a stag Party.) THE SUGGESTION HERE IS THAT THESE CAN'T BE REAL... THE FALL OUTSIDE OUR PERCEPTION OF 'CHURCH PEOPLE'
We have Good News... they think we are dull..
Paralysis lacking in hope
Evg 49 I prefer a Church which is bruised and dusty. (Pope Francis)
Eg .... did you say hello to that person?... no it’s Bob who is on today .. Do I only say hello if I’m on a welcome rota..... surely we are or are not a welcoming community.
DISCIPLESHIP ... IS AN ATTITUDE ... NOT A PLAN.
For Pope Francis the enemy of the church is not atheism , or secularism ... it is us.
Stop talking about us... the church.
Start talking about Jesus and the world.
If you want to get a sense our priorities... go into the church and move a statue... see the reaction... We loose the sense of mission.
Stay close the reason for why we do what we do....... and we won't loses heart.
We re_ echo the love we have experienced.
GAUDATE ET EXULTATE.
MARKS OF A missionary Disciple.
1. A itenerant walking relationship with Jesus.
Lord can we do things together... consciously talking to Jesus about what is happening.
Encounter to be met.... Mt 11:28-30 (Jesus shoulder to shoulder)
(BAD habits .... Holy Orders!!)
2. See the ordinary day to day experience as mission.... who is God going to introduce me today.
3. Practice virtue.
REDISCOVERY OF Christian Virtue.
“Don't be robbed of your joy.
The face is the mirror of the soul.
Even when down be cheerful. “ St Therese Mary.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord Our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just...... it is our duty and our salvation... etc.
POPE Francis: CHEER UP ....AND TELL YOUR FACE.
YOUR JOY IS FOR YOUR NEIGHBOUR ALSO.
(1THESS)
Evangeli Gaudium 83.
Stop being ‘Sourpusses' in Spanish translation ‘Vinegar Face'.
1 Peter. Hope within you.
They want to know why you are happy.
When it omes to the following which has the bigger Q!
Complaints Gratitude
X
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See Deus Caritas Est 18 (Benedict 2006)
When my wife says a we are doing something.
“David we need to talk"
I know deep down that she has practiced this fo weeks.
David do not become too serious.... it was the happy David that I came to love.
Now we go out for a meal once a month and we can renew our love.
We strategize we plan.... often the only one we dont talk to is the Lord.
We dont need another new plan... small gestures make all the difference it raises the human heart.
FRANCIS de Sales.
Conclusion:
When I die and go to heaven ..... before I go in I'm sure Peter will hand me an evaluation sheet.
To my surprise there will only be one question.
“DID YOU ENJOY THE LIFE I GAVE YOU”?
“Was I meant to"?
“ I enjoyed Fridays" ..? What about Tuesday's...
Then the story of the family sitting down .... wife feet curled up reading a book.
Daughter on the phone .... son on the computer playing a war game...... for some reason dad stopped looked around and thought to himself ..... “It does not get any better than this.
