Families can be special in all kinds of different ways. Sometimes it is in the simple things - the clatter of plates at a shared meal, the familiar voices drifting through a house, the quiet reassurance of knowing you belong somewhere. And sometimes it is in the harder things - the disagreements, the disappointments, the times when relationships seem stretched. It can be in the sharing of celebrations and joys, or in the times when we’re bound together by sadness… Families can be places of deep love, but they can also be places of challenge, because families are made of people, and people are gloriously imperfect. One thing is common though, whether we have families with who we want to spend lots of time or not, and that is that most of us carry a longing to belong, to be accepted, to be held securely within a circle that says, “You are ours.” It is into that longing that Paul speaks in Romans (8:12-25). He doesn’t begin with rules or expectations, he begins with ide...
Life is full of choices. Every day we decide where we’re going, what we’re eating, when we’re leaving, what we’re watching – there are choices everywhere. Sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they’re exhausting. There’s a story about Herbert Asquith, the former Prime Minister, who once spent a weekend with the Rothschild family. At teatime the butler approached him with a level of choice that could only happen in the world of the very wealthy: “Tea, coffee, or a peach from off the wall, sir?” “Tea, please.” “China, India, or Ceylon, sir?” “China, please.” “Lemon, milk, or cream, sir?” “Milk, please.” “Jersey, Hereford, or Shorthorn, sir?” Sometimes choice goes too far. You walk into a shop and want everything or you can open a restaurant menu and want everything. Choice can be wonderful but it can also be hard! Our readings today (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23/ Romans 8:1-11) are all about choice, but not the “China, India, or Ceylon?” kind. They’re about t...