Words of Light and Hope from Fran Neale AWA

Words of Light and Hope 23rd  March 2025 Fran Neale                                                                                                                                   

 Many people attended Jolyon (Booth)’s funeral on Thursday, a special man,fondly remembered by many.

Here is a quotation by George Fox which Jolyon introduced me to.

“Walk cheerfully through the world, answering to that of God in every man.”

From “Why Pray?” by Robert Llewelyn: “Somehow, somewhere, in answer to every prayer or praise uttered, or psalm recited or prayerful silence observed, with such sincerity as may be given us, good overcomes evil, light dispels darkness, truth supplants error and, if only in the minutest measure, the world is changed. So, too, for every stranger welcomed or  loving deed performed.”

Recently I suddenly started thinking of the chorus of a hymn I first encountered in my early twenties. It seems to sum up the Good News about Jesus pretty neatly.

“Living, He loved me;

Dying, He saved me;

Buried He carried my sins far away;

Rising, he justified freely for ever:

One day He’s coming –

Oh, glorious day!”

One line from the well known hymn “Lead us Heavenly       Father, lead us,”  is  “love with every passion blending” It strikes me that is a helpful though challenging idea. Whatever we may feel, we need to draw on God’s love to mix with it; to counter the feeling if it is negative, or to augment it if it is   positive.

Finally, one of my favourite quotations from Mother Julian of Norwich :-

“From him we come,

In him we are enfolded,

To him we return.”