n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 4
as a pastor.
It’s what a lot of people
remember about Les’s ministry,
here in Brisbane or in his church
travels and work across Australia,
also in England and in America:
his focus on the Bible, his love for it
and our need to read it. Ten or more
years ago he campaigned on behalf
of the One Year Bible, divided into
365 sections. The idea was to read it
all the way through in one calendar
year; and quite a few of us signed
up for it.
We never know, do we, what is
beneath the surface in other people’s
lives. Here was Les, product of a Technical School secondary education; not
shy of getting his hands dirty; passionate “rev head;” world traveller at a time
when we were agog at inter-continental travel, so rare was it in those days;
entrepreneurial, man of the world and successful businessman. But ticking
away there, all the while, was this love, this fascination, this attachment of his
to the Word of God, here in the Bible.
There was a time in his life, as I can remember, when Les tried to hold it
at arm’s length, to ignore it, to push it out and away from the immediacy of his
everyday life, interests and concerns. But he didn’t succeed. In the end it won
him over completely and became emphatically and obviously center stage for
him. As in this past year or so, when he couldn’t read it himself, he loved it
when others read it to him. He knew it well and if distressed about not being
able to read it himself he found reassurance in being told that it was there in
his mind and memory anyway.
In the words of the Doctrines of the New Church, “People have
communication with heaven through the (Lord’s) Word.” (Sacred Scripture
113) Again, when a person reads the Word sincerely and prayerfully, “the
angels attach themselves to the (teachings) and take delight in them.” (Arcana
Coelestia 9152) And that’s really beautiful. I believe Les was in heaven when he
was reading the Word or listening to it read to him.
Talk of heaven, of course, was an absolutely constant theme for the Lord
Jesus Christ. He all the time spoke in similes about it, comparing it, for instance,
to a grain of mustard seed which starts out so small but grows so large. As to
who is greatest there He pointed to the forgetfulness of self, or innocence, as
seen in little children. And He talked about it as His “Father’s house” where,
Les treasured his Bible.
It was the underground
water reservoir and
system from which he
drew, not just in his
relationship with Bev
and his family, but in
all things and people
he was involved with.
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