Revd Helen Writes....

​

  At this time of year many of us are looking forward to our holidays. I wonder what kind of holiday everyone prefers? The comfort of the package deal? The adventure of backpacking? A luxury cruise like one of my friends who takes two suitcases of glamorous dresses for dinner at the captain’s table every night? Or something in-between? Our holiday habits have changed in recent years, and apparently camping is currently booming, and not just because it’s cheap. There is something about the flexibility and freedom it promises, plus comfort is no longer something you have to leave at home. And I’m told that tents are now really easy to put up. You can make a tent spring out of a foldaway bag, already formed and ready to inhabit, in just a few seconds. More comfortable ones open into twelve-person palaces; electric hook-ups keep the milk fresh, and foldaway bowls mean that you really can take the kitchen sink. Camping may be flexible, carefree and cheap, but it certainly isn’t travelling light.

 

  A very long time ago Jesus told his disciples, to go and spread the good news of his Kingdom to the surrounding villages and towns. And they were told to travel very light. We could wonder what the Disciples felt about that. Did they feel confident and raring to go? Or could they have felt perhaps rather apprehensive? Unsure how it was all going to turn out? Worried that they might be left not knowing what to say or do? Wondering how they were going to fill Jesus’s sandals? They had seen and heard him healing and teaching. They had seen him do dramatic things. They had heard the stories that captured the imagination – stories that are still being read and still inspire 2000 years later. And now he’s telling them it’s their turn? Jesus was different and amazing and totally good. They must have doubted that they could do it like he did. They must have thought “suppose it goes wrong?” Imagine the embarrassment of standing there telling someone they were healed, and nothing happening.

 

  The disciples did go out. And what happened? They found themselves doing things they would never have imagined they could do. They might have thought that they were insignificant and didn’t have the power or ability to change anything, but they found they could do things and they did make a difference. And Christians of course have gone on making a difference through all the generations that followed, right through all the centuries to us, today, now.

 

  So perhaps there is something in this travelling light; in taking nothing much for

the journey. It has been suggested that the ‘getting back to nature’ that many

people express in their desire to get their tents out, is not just a desire for a

refreshing and cheap holiday but has a spiritual cause at its heart. Perhaps the

urge to camp – or indeed any other urge to throw ourselves into the unknown

– is an attempt to remind ourselves what it means to be without all the

responsibilities and even without luxuries and to be able to move as we please

– to hear the call of the wild, even if it does involve a twelve-person tent and a fridge.

 

  To learn something new about ourselves and about God, and to find the will to share it with others we may need to find new perspectives. To do things in ways we haven’t done them before, to learn things that only come from trying untried paths. It is the opposite of the Scout motto and it is good to sometimes Not Be Prepared and be ready to be surprised. There is a place for home and security, but it is on our journeys, unencumbered by all the things we rely on, that we are more likely to find our hearts and minds opened in new ways.

 

  Jesus said, “Take nothing for the journey.” Well, we can’t help bringing all kinds of things to our journeys of faith: our hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, the residues of our experiences. As we come to the living God, let’s ask that he will accept all that we bring and transform it into something that has the power and love of God at its heart. God hears our prayers but, even more importantly, God always travels with us. May we feel God’s presence as we get ready to enjoy our holidays and may we experience the joy that the disciples found when they did what Jesus asked and went out and made connections. With love and prayers.

 

A reminder that on Friday December 18th 2026 we are planning to have ‘Stable on the Green’, and we are looking for help from anyone who would like to offer it. Please contact the Church Office on 01428 717207 or email: admin@allsaintsheadley.org.

​ 

With love and prayers.

Helen Kempster