What's Missing?

Marmalade. This is the marmalade that I made from some of the left over Christingle oranges. I know that I was warned that they were the wrong type of oranges, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. As you can see, this marmalade is a bit on the runny side. There is something missing, in this case, it's probably not got enough pectin in it.

I wonder if you've ever had the experience of thinking that there is something missing. Sometimes things just don't add up, and sometimes it's difficult to tell what it is that's missing. If you didn't know anything about making marmalade then you might not have been able to tell what was missing from this jar. Just that something wasn't quite right.

Paul had got a strong feeling that there is something missing. He'd been travelling around what is now Turkey and Greece, telling anybody who would listen about Jesus. He has now ended up in Ephesus. Whilst he was there he met up with a group of disciples. Now, in today's reading we only have a snapshot of their conversation, but I think that there must have been more to it than this. It doesn't really sound like the first line in a conversation, does it?, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

Continued here...