North Walsham Methodist Church

Grammar School Road,  North Walsham,   Norfolk,   NR28 9JH

Pause for Thought

 Have you any meals you remember?  Sometimes it is the food itself, others the company who shared the feast, and again it may be to do with the occasion. I remember a Passover meal we shared at Horsey as very special.  I can’t remember much about the wedding breakfast Jill and I shared many years ago!  But I do have a vivid memory of a particular breakfast on the shore of the sea of Galilee about 12 years ago.

 We had got up early and gone straight to the YMCA chapel on the lakeside for an early communion service.  The building is modern, rather like a boat upside down, and behind the communion table, the end of the building is entirely glass so you see beyond out on to the water of the lake.

The service was most moving and we filed out in silence; each unsure how or when or even whether to break the silence. Quietly we began singing as if we had been told to, the song, “He is Lord, He is Lord, He is risen from the dead and He is Lord.”  The silence was broken gently and the mood was one of joyful awe!

Just outside we smelt fish grilling on a stone slab on the beach and there was fresh baked bread too.  Together, unhurriedly, in the rising heat of the October sun, we shared a special breakfast together while someone read John 21:1-14  Please read this story for yourself. 

The fishermen saw a figure on the beach.  Fishermen in despair were led by Peter [always Peter] back to their old job; the one they knew.  In despair because, with borrowed tackle, they had lost their touch.  Caught nothing!  The stranger gave them advice and they, surprised, brought a heavy catch to shore recognising the stranger as their Master. 

They shared the meal he had prepared.  Their spirits lifted and Peter was prepared for the challenge of his life.

We may find it difficult to recognise where he is in our lives and may even be downhearted.

Jesus reveals himself to us, when we look, in many unexpected and different ways. Let us be ready for this to happen. Jesus reveals himself to us as we in obedience remember his sacrifice for us to deal with the problem of sin.  Let us bring him our failures and leave them at the foot of his cross.  Jesus reveals himself to us as we offer the thanks of our hearts.  Let us allow him to challenge us to work harder at trusting and obeying him more.

God Bless

Ralph Webb