Sunday, 12 June 2005
"Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth."
I went to Evensong at the Minster today. It was the best service I have ever been to there.
I like Evensong at the Minster. The choir is amazing to listen to, and it is one of the most awe-inspiring buildings I know. I often gaze up during the service and think about the faith of the people who worked so hard to create such beauty. Another thing I love about Evensong at the Minster is the organ voluntary at the end. The music reverberates around the building and fills me with joy.
Despite this, I do not feel that I get as much spiritually out of Minster Evensongs as I do out of other church services. Many times I have gone, there has not even been a sermon, although the last few times I have been there were. Still, even when there was a sermon in the past, the preacher has either failed to ignite anything within me, or else their words befuddled me so that their meaning was lost. I personally go to church to seek guidance and hear about different ways of interpreting things, as well as for the social aspect (which I also find lacking at the Minster, although that may be more my fault).
HOWEVER, today's sermon, though brief, was brilliant. The preacher, according to the leaflet, was The Revd Canon Terence Grigg. The reading that he used as the basis for his sermon was taken from Ezekial, chapter 37 (the bit about the vision of raising dry bones to life).
He talked about God speaking to us, and how, when we learn to listen to God, we will find we hear His Voice often. His message at times may seem strange, but if we trust in Him, all will be revealed. He mentioned examples from his own and others' experiences. There were tears in my eyes as he spoke.
This feels very relevant to me. God has spoken to me many times, including times when I have thought I must be crazy to do as He asked, and yet when I have obeyed, I have found that He was right all along.
Currently, I have an issue which I want His guidance on, yet I have found Him strangely silent. Earlier this year, I had a different issue I wanted an answer to, and I felt like He was not answering me, then, either. But when I finally acted, I found that He had been guiding me the whole time.
Perhaps I have been shutting God out, afraid of His answer. I think I need to learn to listen again. And I need to stop worrying.
Today's voluntary was Bach's Prelude and Fugue in B Minor. It was, quite simply, beautiful.
