I hadn’t worn shoes with heels for over 18 months. I was speaking at an event in London, which was a wonderful change to speaking to a sea of faces I couldn’t see on a computer screen wondering if there was anyone there listening.
My adventure started when I set off home after a fantastic late evening meal with friends.
My feet were already hurting on the short walk to the station. But by the time I finally got home at 3.30am in the morning my feet were screaming to stop.
The journey was a series of unexpected events with every station closed along my usual route due to a serious incident at one of the stations forcing me to walk 10 miles across London with no taxi in sight. I finally hobbled into Kings Cross to find all trains cancelled till 2am. There I was met by two strangers sitting on the same row of seats who within the 3 hours we were together getting back to St Albans we moved from being strangers into a company of intrepid explorers.
Paul’s fabulous letter to the Philippians is a letter for just such an occasion.
He writes … ..”being confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion”
Paul is encouraging his friends, those who had decided to put their shoes on and follow Jesus, to keep walking.
If you read chapter 1 v3 - 11 Paul talks about the fact that life is full of the unexpected, when insight and knowledge are key to learning how to react and there are times when your feet really really hurt. We are all frail and life is fragile but in the midst of this reality is this incredible truth that God has promised to walk us home.
What God has started God will complete. We never walk alone. Paul shares the love he has in his heart for the readers of this letter. And we may well be surprised by the company of angels.
We need to keep putting on our shoes and keep walking.
During this advent season let us pray for others and ourselves. This week every time we put on our shoes or slippers (or those we care for) let’s pray for the steps we will each take that day, the places we go, the company we will keep and may we know the promise that God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
And walk us home.