Minister’s Message 16 February
I wonder how you balance your resources between the present and the future. Some prefer to live in the moment, while others have an eye for what’s coming ahead. To put it in the contentious framework sometimes levelled at my generation, some people are all about the mortgage while others focus on the avocado toast.
Such a binary (however provocative), ignores people for whom either choice is a luxury. So, what happens if you add in a sense of responsibility for others? How much do we forgo the avocado toast or the mortgage for the sake of people in need? Or to parrot the debates from the Channel 4 programme, “Go Back to Where You Came From”, do we place our country under further strain to support those living in worse conditions across the world?
Without a doubt, life is complicated and making the right decision is challenging. We all move within this space of competing demands and moral imperatives. Yet, in our reading today, Jesus was in a far less nuanced mood. “Blessed are you who are poor… woe to you who are rich” (Luke 6:20, 24). How do we unpack the social revolution of Jesus? How do we live as disciples within this framework that has a clear preference for the poor, the hungry, and the mournful?
For those braving this Sunday's service, I hope you're ready for a debate!
Every blessing,
Alex Johnson