I am sitting in the Ministers’* Office at our church. In the corner is a little pile of cuplets (officially known as ‘castor cups’) – the little cups you put under the feet of chairs in order to stop them sinking into the carpet and leaving marks. They sit there as a reminder that a while back we had some chairs in the office under whose legs they used to sit. I suspect that they predate the current carpet we have in the office as the current carpet is hard-wearing and unlikely to be affected by chair legs.
The chairs under which the castor cups sat have long since gone to the great furniture recycling centre in the sky. One of them had a piece of hardboard underneath the cushion – replacing the webbing that had broken when someone sat on the chair and then sat on the floor through the chair. The others were, well, shabby and uncomfortable.
But the cuplets (I am sticking with that name) remain. They were not disposed of when the chairs were, and may well soon become a national heritage site because they have been here so long. I sometimes look at them and think ‘I ought to do something about them’ and remain in my chair, held fast by inertia and lethargy.
I wonder what cuplets we have in our own lives… things that are residual clutter to which we have become accustomed or can’t be bothered to deal with:
Apologies that need making.
Vocabulary that needs to be reined in.
Attitudes that need adjusting.
Hardness of heart that needs softening.
Activity that needs curtailing.
We can easily get used to these things so that they don’t bother us. But if they are relics of an old lifestyle that is incompatible with being a follower of Jesus they are things that bother him.
Anyone need any cuplets?
Be blessed, be a blessing.
To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”:
Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.”
There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard.
Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night.
We will have steel helmets for those who say, “The roof would cave in if I ever came to church.”
Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot.
Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present.
Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to church and cook dinner, too.
One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature.
Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
The church will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.
We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he’s too loud!
*grammar pedants calm down, there are two ministers who share the office.