The Parish Magazine February 2022

the parish noticeboard — 5
On reflection . . .
By Elizabeth Spiers
Obadiah: what is your
heart saying to God?
Marinela Malcheva, dreamstime.com
The book of Obadiah is just one chapter long. It was
written around 586BC and is a message to the people of
Edom who were the descendants of Esau, twin brother
of Jacob the Israelite. The Edomites and the Israelites
were family in God’s eyes.
Jacob’s descendants had sinned against God and come
under his judgement. They had been overthrown and
taken captive by the Babylonians and their city had been
looted and destroyed. Many were killed. Those who did
manage to escape ran to places such as Edom hoping to
find shelter.
But the Edomites were a very proud people. They
considered themselves to be powerful, invincible even,
and they boasted of it. When they heard of Israel’s
latest misfortunes they joined in with the looting and
destruction and, if they caught Jews escaping, they
handed them over to Babylonians.
FAMILIES CAN BE DIFFICULT
God’s message through Obadiah is that he cannot
stand by while they destroy their ‘brother’ (v10). He
tells the Edomites that although they may consider
themselves unassailable, a time is coming when they will
be completely destroyed as repayment for their pride and
their evil deeds. There will be no trace of them left at all.
Families can be very difficult to live with. Most of
us have a family member that is not easy to get along
with. Maybe they bullied us, or stole from us or treated
us badly. It’s all too easy to glory in anything bad that
happens to them or spread gossip about them. But as
adults, and especially as Christians, surely the better way
is to pray for them and ask God to break into their lives.
While we may not be able to enjoy a close relationship
with them, our response to them speaks loudly to our
Father in heaven.
People judge by outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
What is your heart saying to God today?
The Parish Magazine - February 2022 13
From the desk
of the editor
editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk
Having nothing to do
with silly myths . . .
Traditionally, February begins with the ancient
Christian celebration of Candlemas (see page 19)
which for us at St Andrew's Church also focuses on the
Christingle when we raise money for the work of The
Children's Society.
Candlemas is officially held on the second day of the
month, which is also the day when Americans have
Groundhog Day which is a celebration essentially based
on a superstition. Like many aspects of American culture,
it is slowly spreading around the world — although it
originally stems from a European superstition associated
with Candlemas.
While writing the article on page 19 I could not
help thinking about my mother who was the most
superstitious person I knew in my childhood. She would
never walk under a ladder, always picked up pins and
touched wood for luck, and dreaded a full moon because it
apparently made my father do stupid things. You will have
to ask my wife if I'm afflicted with this phenomenon!
I could never understand why my mother sometimes
saw a black cat as unlucky, but sometimes it was lucky,
or why wearing green was unlucky — green was her
favourite colour and she even got married in a green
wedding dress! She also had a superstition about Friday
the thirteenth — my father was born on 13 September so
when his birthday fell on a Friday — and if there was a
full moon — we all had to avoid upsetting him!
TRAIN YOURSELF
Apart from baptisms, weddings, funerals and the
occasional 'purification' after child birth, I can't remember
either of my parents going to church, although they
always insisted that I, and my two younger siblings went
to Sunday School on Sunday afternoon. It was not until I
had children of my own that I realised why they sent us!
However, I have always been thankful that they did.
Also, to be fair to my mother, she considered herself to
be a Christian and every day she would read a daily Bible
note that her younger sister passed on to her, and one
of her most treasured items was a Bible that my father
brought back with him from Jerusalem where he was
stationed for a short time during the Second World War.
Her Bible is now part of my library of over 150 different
versions I have collected during my life.
I don't know if my mother's daily reading ritual had
its roots in one of her superstitions, I like to think it
didn't because the Bible often refers to such things, and
recommends that we avoid them, for example:
'Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.
Rather train yourself for godliness' (1 Timothy 4:7)