Today it is raining heavily in Glasgow... stoating, bouncing, stair-rods, cats 'n' dogs, bucketing, whatever expression you want it is doing it.  And in a few minutes I will wrap up in my waterproofs, pick up my jolly frog umbrella and walk through it to the first of today's appointments.

I like walking in rain, so long as it's a chosen, if necessary, activity.  When conditions are right, I like getting soaked to the skin and then enjoying the warmth of getting dry again afterwards!  I like splashing in puddles (I never quite grew up) though I don't like it when drivers see splashing pedestrians as a fun game to play.  I like the shinyness of the washed world after the rain, and the rich smell of freshly watered earth.

Today I like simply that I can go out in the rain, that I have health and strength enough so to do.  I like that there is almost always loveliness if we seek it.

Nothing especially profound, just the joy of life in all its fullness.

This week we will be beginning a short preaching series looking at the Bible and how we use (misuse and maybe even abuse) it.

Last Sunday someone came in just as the service was ending and I got chatting to her as I stood at the door.  It turns out she is a Piskie who moved west a year or more ago and has yet to find a church.  She asked about our services and then said 'you do preach the Bible don't you?'  I can guess what she meant but it caused an inner chuckle in the light of current intentions.

For some reason my Baptist Times didn't arrive until Saturday and I was delayed in reading it, but it had an Outside Edge column on.... reading the Bible and the danger of thinking it is all sewn up in one reading.

Hmm...

This week I'm playing around a bit with authority, the Barthian WORD, Word, word scheme, and the ideas that 'the word of God is alive and active' and that it 'became flesh and dwelled among us.'  Whether it will make any sense, whether this person will be at church and what anyone might make of it remains to be seen.

Other themes we will be looking at include handling difficult texts and the dangers of proof-texting & out of context citations.  In between we will have a multi-lingual service for Bible Sunday, supporting Scottish Bible Society.

Yesterday's service ended with us singing 'Great is Thy Fathfulness' in the BPW version.  It makes a good harverst hymn, reminding us of God's fidelity and providence.  In the version we used it has these words:

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

These are the blessings your love will provide

I think I prefer that to 'blessings all mine with ten thousand beside' as it feels, in the 21st century, that the original is a bit materialistic (far from its author's intent I'm sure).  Strength for today, hope for tomorrow - what more is needful?  Blessing enough for me to have these two.

It is a shame that this wonderful hymn seems largely consigned to the box labelled 'funeral hymns' and I'm glad that we employed in the context of celebration yesterday.

I have found bits of Matthew 18 coming to mind over the last few days as the "drug induced alopecia" has taken hold.  Despite my worst fears, the loss of my hair has not reduced me to gibbering wreck, rather it just feels like one more step on the road to health.  It's been a tall stile, if I hold to my long-distance footpath metaphor, and it teases me with the prospect of another just ahead when the residual more tenacious hairs (around 10% of total, those in the 'rest' rather than the 'growth' phase apparently) are shorn and shaved.  Nonetheless, the over-riding feeling is a sense that it is 'better to be bald and alive rather than hairy (can't think of a nice word!) and dead.'  All of which took me to Matthew 18 with its injunction to amputate parts of the anatomy that lead to sin/stumbling in order to enter life rather than retaining them and burning.

It made me wonder about the way in which we imagine resurrections bodies/life in heaven - if we actually give any thought to it all.  Mostly people seem to imagine their current body perfected, at least perfected as per some beauty magazine.  A kind of permanent, perfected 25 year-old self in full health and with perfect faculties.  Which doesn't quite fit with Matthew 18.  And it buys into a lie about what 'perfection' and 'normality' really are anyway.  I recall many years ago hearing of someone who was a lifelong wheelchair user saying that in their imagination everyone in heaven had a wheelchair; and why not - who defines 'normal' or 'whole' as being able to walk or run unaided?

I've also found myself wondering what other little challenges to the 'body beautiful' myth might be justified.  Jesus told people that there would be no marriage in heaven, presumably, in part, as there is no need for procreation.   Which seems to render a lot of body parts redundant.  And so it could go on if we actually took the time and effort to wonder just what really matters, just what of our physicality might (and it can only be might, because we don't know for sure it will be physical anyway) survive into eternity.

The necessity to amputate rather than burn is a scary one.  The necessity to endure temporary or permanent disfigurement in order to live, if undesired, is a copable one.  The idea that wholeness is not measured by number or function of limbs, organs or hairs is vital to enabling us to accept and love ourselves as we are - made in God's image and likeness.  Which makes me wonder... is God bald?! ;-)

We had our harvest thanksgiving this morning and it was SO good!

People kept on arriving and arriving until there was nowhere left for anyone to sit.

The All Age approach seemed to really work, with the children relaxed and happily joining in to the extent they wished as we made the Galatian Holy Smoothie (recipe below) and thought about our favourite smells.  The Operation Agri "children's" video provided our main information on projects but we also thought about the juice and aroma therapy oil projects.

Our 'thought for the day' imagined God has the 'master perfumier' or the 'supreme smoothie make' who chooses the right combination of flavours/scents and expertly crushes them in such a way that the lovely flavours or beautiful scents are preserved and enjoyed.  Unlike the supermarkets and high street stores that only want perfect specimens, God works with bruised apples, speckled bananas and even mouldy strawberries, valuing their inherent potential and gently but firmly combining them in a thing called a church to create something truly amazing.  We steered clear of a God who likes to break people and centred on a loving God who brings out the best we can be.  I think it worked.

When it came to Communion we had two adults and two young children serving and it really worked.  I was afraid of grumbles but thankfully they didn't come.  The children combined dignity with energy, sobriety with wonder - I was blessed by it.  Afterwards someone told how her own daughter when growing up and being excluded from communion complained about missing the party.  No one missed out today.

The student lunch was well received with a good dozen or so students staying (a number of others had to leave due to other commitments) including one or two who were with us for the first time.

All in all a great morning.

Now, even my Greek is good enough to know that the fruit of the Spirit is singular, not plural, but our smoothie, which the children assured me was delicious, was 'nine alive' as follows:

1/4 pint apple juice - love

1 banana, peeled and sliced - joy (a yellow smile!)

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced - peace

1 orange, peeled and segmented and 1/4 pint orange juice - patience (quality needed to peel an orange!)

1 kiwi fruit, peleed and sliced/diced - kindness

1 cup red seedless grapes - goodness

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks - faithfulness

1 cup of assorted melon chunks (or 2 slices peeled and diced) - gentleness

1 cup strawberries - self control (!)

Place all the ingredients in a liquidiser and blitz until smooth.  Ours was a lovely pink colour.

An alternative is my Galatians 5 Fruit Salad.  Ingredients as above except omit the juice, add one apple, cored and sliced/diced and use diet lemonade (living water!!) as the liquid.  Low calorie and scrummy.  Enjoy!

Photos (c) Ian Sinclair 2010