One of the advantages of the life of a courier (that’s what
I did before I retired) was going to unexpected places. One day I found myself in Wicklow in the
Republic of Ireland, with time to spare before catching the ferry to come
home. In a charity shop, I found an
unused pair of stout walking shoes priced at only €6. The bonus, when I took them to the cashier,
was that they had a sale on that day and I got them for even less! I found that they were a little
on the big side, but I fitted them with
insoles and heel-grips; I use a second pair of socks and there'll be years of wear in them.
The presence of a gap where there shouldn’t be one is
surprisingly common. I’m sure at least
some of you will know about the adverse effects of an air-lock in a fuel line. Many more will have experienced the chilling consequences of a radiator that needs bleeding to remove air in the wrong place. As if by a miracle, the water gushes in to
fill the space and warmth is restored.
The common factor is a need to fill space with what ought to
be there. It’s not too late to think of
spring cleaning. If you’ve spent a while
going through your home, you may agree that it’s definitely a two-stage job. First comes the identification of what’s not
wanted, and clearing out the rubbish. Do
you then declare the job finished at the
end of stage one, i.e. with empty drawers, or a spare alcove somewhere? I’m inclined almost to guarantee that someone
will find something that ‘will fit that space nicely’. If you don’t want that alcove to provide a
parking place for a pile of old newspapers – or worse – you have to move
quickly on to stage two: fill the space with something worthwhile. My advice is to invest in a large pot plant
and a tall stool to place it on!
You may ask, "What have all these examples to do with our faith?" Of course, the same logic also applies to
spiritual things. Look at Matthew
12:43-45, where Jesus speaks of removing an unclean spirit. In modern parlance that might be an unhealthy or
sinful habit. The cleaning operation leaves us with an empty space, or our life
with spare time; how should we fill it?
If we don’t take on some good work, a new occupation or hobby, how easy
would it be to go back to the old habit that we thought had been ‘cleaned out’?
Eight or nine times in the New Testament (according to your
translation, of course), St. Luke uses the expression ‘filled with the Holy
Spirit’. See if you can find them all; here
are some clues. Three of them are part
of what we consider to be the Christmas story. Of the rest, one refers to Peter and two to
Paul; arguably the remaining others are the most significant, since they refer,
in one way or another to all believers.
Is there a space in your life that ought to be properly
filled?
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