Wild Thing

Swedish people seem to be really open about their faults, perhaps it’s the weather creating an indoor reflective personality that broods over things. Not that this is a bad thing and it comes with an indoor hospitality that once your through the front door embraces you with the warmth the winter takes away. Makes me feel quite at home because that could easily be a description of any northern town.
Given this openness I was bowled over by somebody yesterday who said that he thought the Swedish Church was like a pampered and much loved old pet. For years it had been well cared for by the people it served, anything it wanted it got, indulged in every way it had grown fat and lazy, and the cause of this indulgence like any other was of course love.
Events of the last ten years, especially the partial separation with the state had been a big shock. This church which had been an arm of Government now as just an arm.
Eight years on this was now beginning to look like another kind of love, the tough love, true love of someone who really cares about their pet and wants it to be what it was always meant to be, a bit wild, a bit fun, a bit scary…
How tame do we want our faith communities to be? If they are to engage with regeneration they will need to be lean with the energy that comes from being slightly hungry! As Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they will be filled.”
That reminds me, its breakfast time.