Vicar/Reader's Monthly Message

Candlemas, celebrated on 2nd February, marks the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the recognition of him as the light of the world. It is a time when Jesus was known by name, fulfilling the prophecy and declaring his identity to the world. This event reminds us that Jesus was recognised and named, and that we too are known and named by God.

I want to emphasise this as we live in a world where it is easy to feel like just a number. Whether it’s waiting endlessly on the phone, being put on hold. Going to a doctors or hospital appointment to be seen by professionals who only focus on one issue at a time. Having an appointment with a time limit and when you come out, realising that you haven’t explained everything and wishing you’d written it down. It can feel like we are never fully known. No one gets the full picture of you as an individual.

But God sees us differently.

In Isiah 43, God says: “I have called you by name, you are mine.” And in Luke’s Gospel, when Jesus is baptised, God’s voice declares: “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

God does not see us as a collection of problems to be solved or as one appointment among many. He sees the whole of who we are – our hopes, our struggles, our story. He knows us personally, loves us deeply, and calls us by name.

When we are Confirmed, the Bishop says these beautiful words,

“God so called you by name and made you his own. Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit.”

It is a reminder for all of us that we are never just a number to God. We are known. We are loved. We are his.

The Apostle John writes, ‘Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. God showed his love among us by sending His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love. Since God so loved us, we ought to love one another.’

There is no end to the love that God has for us. We are not just a number. With love, everything is possible. Love is all you need