Chaplains’ Chat

There are so many good things in life that we can experience. One of these is belonging. It is a deep desire that all of us have to belong. We might belong to a sporting club, we might belong to a reading group, or we might belong to a group of friends. We all belong to family, and to have this belonging and acceptance in life is a good thing. We are, after all, relational people, and we want to relate well to others. Of course, the difficulty in life is that there can be pressures on us to feel this sense of belonging. The pressure to meet certain standards, the pressure to be a type of person, and the pressure to perform in a job can be demanding. In an ever-increasing social media world, the pressure to be accepted online can be immense.  

The wonderful news of Jesus is that there is a belonging and acceptance that we can have with God. In Matthew 8 we read of an interaction Jesus has with a man who had leprosy. While this man would have typically been an outcast in society and not accepted, Jesus deals with him in radical and different ways. He is willing to accept him and cleanse him of his leprosy. It is a gracious act, not only showing us his power, but showing us so much about what Jesus is like. Of course, it points to the wider understanding that in Jesus there is acceptance and belonging with God. In many ways, the pressure to perform disappears. Jesus has reached out to us to accept us, and in his death and resurrection from the cross, we can belong in a loving relationship with Him. What marvellous news this is.  

Rev. Anthony Benn
Chaplain