1 Corinthians 3: 1-9    Matthew 5: 21-37

It’s the big picture I’m trying to hold close today as I consider the words of Paul to the people at Corinth so long ago. It is not an easy thing to do, not living as I do, as many of us do, in a world which encourages and expects us as individuals to share our gifts, and also feel the pressure to perform, to do it all, to take it all on.

It takes a lot of us to do what needs to be done, each one is called to do our small part. And yet, in the end, it is God who makes us grow.

And so I wonder now:

• If we can understand growth, can we also experience the grace within it?
• Might we also begin to comprehend when we do not to grow, becoming static , lifeless or rigid , and this can be ultimately dangerous? Dangerous to the health of the communities of faith we live in and serve and might I daresay, dangerous also to our own souls?

Many of us live and serve in places where people are not necessarily likely to step up and do what needs to be done alongside us. Some of this is borne of habit. Some of it surely comes from no longer being able to do what was once done. And yes, if we are honest, it is possible it is also because our own egos, our own fears, our own long ingrained habits simply do not make room for others.

I count myself among those who struggle with this — and remembering that there are others just waiting to be able to say to me,  “I’ve got this.”

And yes, I am among those who forget — if not with my words, then certainly with my actions — that ultimately, “God’s got this.” That growth has been given to me to do just a small piece of the work. And that ultimately, God is the one who make it happen.

Revd Ruth Dillon