[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during May 2025]
Did you notice a particular buzz today? The 20th May each year has been designated as World Bee Day; the purpose of the day is to help recognise and promote the importance of bees and other pollinators in the production of crops and maintaining the natural environment. The date has been chosen as it is the anniversary of the baptism of Anton Jansa who pioneered the keeping of bees. Was your baptism a memorable occasion?
The Bible does not have much to say about bees but it does mention honey and stings.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119 v103 [NIVUK]
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
1 Corinthians 15 v55 [ESVUK]
The 20th May is also World Metrology Day. Metrology (not to be confused with meteorology) is the study of systems of measurement and this event each year falls on the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875. The introduction of the International System of Units means that we no longer need to learn the intricacies of rods, poles, perches, chains or furlongs. Once again, the Bible has something to say on the subject:
You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. … A full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 25 v13-15 [ESVUK]
Does the way in which you deal with other people measure up to your claim of being a follower of Jesus Christ?
The third in our trilogy of anniversaries today is the inaugural session of the First Council of Nicaea in 325AD. The council was a convocation of Christian church leaders who met at the behest of the Roman Emperor Constantine I, with the intention of defining the basic precepts of the Christian faith. The eventual outcome was a series of statements of belief that have become known as the Nicene Creed. The creed, in various forms, is still an integral part of many of the liturgies followed by the ‘mainstream’ denominations.
In our tradition we are, perhaps, not so familiar with reciting the creed as a regular part of our worship.[1] Nevertheless, we would endorse much of what it contains and recognise it as a unifying force within the diversity of Christian faith and practice.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the Earth,
Her charter of salvation one Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.
Samuel J Stone (1866)
References:
[1] Matthew 6:7 NKJV
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Last week’s reflection: Your Kingdom Come
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys
Thank you Steve for today’s reflection. Your trilogy of dates is really interesting.