Encouragement

Throughout the course of history there have many great motivators – people who have inspired others to reach new heights or achieve ambitions which they never thought they could achieve. One of the most famous speeches in history is the one of Winston Churchill about fighting on the beaches, on the landing grounds, in the fields and in the streets, in the hills and talking about never surrendering. Many have even gone so far as to suggest that that speech marked a turning point for the spirit of people caught up in the Second World War, and led them on to face some hugely difficult days, always confident in their ultimate victory.

In the Old Testament reading today from the book of Deuteronomy (30:15-18) Moses is talking to the people and offering them a fairly stark choice – a choice between life and prosperity or death and adversity. He explains how to choose life by following the commandments of God, walking in his way, and openly receiving his blessings.

Faced with such a choice we would probably all choose the life and prosperity option, but the problem is that many people don’t even know there is a choice. By that I don’t mean those people who have actively chosen not to follow God, but I mean those for whom life is tough, life is something to be endured rather than enjoyed, and there seems no way to improve that life.

One of the greatest tragedies you can ever come across is a suicide. The mental state of someone who has reached a point where they just can’t go on is hard for most of us to understand, but in most cases of suicide what has happened is that a person has reached a point where they feel no hope for tomorrow. Most people can cope with bad days as long as we recognise that good days will follow, but if you fail to see the good days ahead – then there is no hope, and for many there is no point in living.

It would be naïve to suggest that a word of encouragement would prevent such tragedies occurring but in some cases a word at the right time can go a long way to making life easier for someone. In Paul’s letter to Philemon he writes from his prison cell of the joy and the encouragement that he has received from him. He has been encouraged through his words and through his actions.

And as Christians we are called to be encouragers. Someone once described encouragement as a game of tennis with the ball being hit back and for – in the same way that people encourage us, we must encourage back… Ultimately it is a fact that every material thing we have today will be worthless and everything we have achieved in terms of fame, wealth or prosperity will mean nothing, but what will continue to mean something is what we have offered to other people, and if we have led a person closer to peace in their life, closer to Jesus, then we have left something that is worth everything.

The life of Jesus is a life of inspiration. It is a life that highlights how God can use those who seem weak and powerless to make a huge and lasting difference. Jesus of course was born into an ordinary working class family to an unmarried mother, he chose to spend time with those who society usually frowned upon, he spoke up against those who were using their positions corruptly, he argued against those who valued wealth and status above anything else.

And of course he carried through his beliefs right to the cross, where he took the sins of the whole world upon himself, and conquered death once and for all. In one of the most beautiful and powerful parts of the Eucharist prayers that we can use we say that Jesus opened wide his arms of mercy, embracing us in his perfect love.

In that embrace with his arms outstretched he calls us to choose life, and to tell others of that life… In that embrace he cries out that through any pain and suffering in life, through any trouble, he will offer the strength for us to overcome if we are prepared to trust him.

And this is the message that he calls his people to share. All of you will have heard people talking in negative terms about the Church, perhaps like me you’ve even done it yourself at times, but such negative talk is damaging not only to the person to whom we’re saying it, but also to God himself. Mahatma Gandhi, not a Christian but someone who hugely admired the life of Jesus, once said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’

Good news comes from us ! Good news shared enthusiastically spreads fast, because people are often looking for something to cheer them up a bit, or give them some encouragement for the day. There’s a Maori proverb which says, ‘Turn your face towards the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you.’

As Christians we must call people and encourage people to turn towards the Son, not sun spelt S-U-N, but son spelt S-O-N; Jesus, the Son of God and the Saviour of the world… Our words of encouragement to a family member, a neighbour, a friend or colleague, to whoever, can make a real difference, offering hope and offering peace – there is the famous saying that if you think you’re too small to make a difference then you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito, and we must never underestimate God’s power to use us and our words of hope to make a real difference. AMEN