Radical Connection

Well that was the theme of tonight's service, the last in our (UN)Orthodox-Y series. Its been a great series. I hope its been shaping us in the values area. I really enjoyed preaching from John 13 and in particular Jesus' washing of the disciple's feet - there's a lot in that passage. I took the angle that Jesus' relationship with the 12 disciples demonstrated a quality of human connection that we should aspire to - that as Jesus determined to reveal the fullness of his love to the disciples (after 3 years of doing a pretty good job of it you'd imagine) so we are to practice a fullness of love to each other. So I talked about the radical love which inspired Jesus to this act, the radical example he displayed as a teacher/master/mentor and the radical decision that we are faced with when Jesus challenges us to "wash each others' feet". It was great to illustrate these points with awesome examples from the life of the cessioncommunity. We used a cool DVD clip, the name of which escapes me, with this great line used in talking about human connections: "the answer must be in the attempt" - radical connection with each other is something to be experienced as a choice in the now.

Personally I benefited from some time off keys - had a chance to soak in God's presence and felt a large burden of self-imposed angst lift. With it came the realisation that I can't take the experience of that moment with me, I can only choose to live in that place second by second, minute by minute. The same kind of radical connection that has to be chosen in the now. It made me realise how hungry I was for that kind of experience of God. It was a relief to know God's peace in my life.

Looking forward to tomorrow. I really want to achieve some stuff this week!

Jonesboy