Monday 10 March 2008

Have you ever wondered what its like when people of a certain profession all get together? When undertakers gather for a convention - do they all practice their long faces and earnest expressions? When headteachers get together, perhaps they wag a reproving finger at each other, just to keep their hand in. Maybe estate agents spend the time showing each other round the conference venue, and lawyers follow each other round carefully, hoping someone will trip on a loose bit of carpet or an uneven step. All that scope for suing!

Well, I've just got back from a conference of preachers. Imagine that - a whole bunch of people all used to the sound of their own voice, shut up in a conference centre together! In fact, they did listen to each other and there was lots of mutual respect and encouragement. There were all sorts there. Some in dog collars, some in suits, some in jeans, some in dresses. (Only the women, of course!) They came from different backgrounds and different churches, from as far away as Scotland in the North and the Channel Islands in the south. The one thing they have in common is the desire to get their message across, and to do it well.

Preachers aren't unique in that, are they? If you've ever had a really important message to deliver - especially "I love you" or "I'm sorry" - there's just no substitute for doing it in person. Florists used to tell us we should "say it with flowers" - but when a thing needs saying it has to be done face to face, eyeball to eyeball. If any of you have teenagers in the house, you'll know all about the mobile phone hermetically sealed to the ear… or more often to the thumb. But, even so - there's some things so important they just have to be said.

Mind you, when preachers say it they don't always get it right! On one occasion a visiting preacher was shaking hands at the church door when a Sunday service ended. The same old man kept joining the queue again and again, muttering some discouraging words like "load of rubbish" every time he came past. Concerned, the preacher commented on this to the vicar. "Oh don't take any notice of him" the vicar said "he just repeats what he hears from other people!"

When God had the most important message ever to deliver, he sent Jesus to do it in person - nothing less would do. Some people are still delivering that message today - in all their different voices and their funny little ways. Has anyone told you that God loves you recently?