My eldest son is about to return to Australia having spent a few weeks back in the UK during January. His birthday falls about 3 weeks after he has left, so I thought I would take the opportunity of getting him a birthday card before he flew back. (Past experience has taught me that it can take many weeks for the post to arrive in Australia). He is a keen dog owner and has a very cute dog called Cheddar. She is a Labradoodle, and I assume is named after a certain type of cheese!
Whilst in our local Post Office I came across this card and couldn’t resist getting it for him. The humour is quite subtle and I am yet to find out if my 33-year-old gets it! (His birthday is not until 18th Feb). A lot of our humour is based on word play.
Jesus told parables, often using humour or at least visual illustration, camels and eyes of needles, springs to mind. The underlying teaching in the parables he told was often not immediately obvious, but once it was understood the message was clear and often quite radical.
How accessible is the language we use in our faith? Are we sometimes so “subtle” in our faith that others don’t see it? Do we sometimes avoid the message that God is giving us because it’s not what we want to hear?
Prayer: Teacher and friend, help us to have ears to hear, eyes to see, and lips to speak. Forgive us when we ignore your teaching, even when it becomes clear to us. Help us to speak clearly, in language that is accessible to others, and help them understand the love that you have for us all. AMEN