Day 48 Part 3 - Lichfield

(continued from Part Two)

At Muckley Corner the pub was shut. I wasn't looking for another drink but it was disappointing to see another business fail. Through the windows I could see evidence of some last gathering -perhaps a party to consume the last of the stock before locking up and walking away. A last supper, of a sort. It could have been the morning after the night before, or many mornings later.

Lichfield is the cathedral city of one of England's largest dioceses. From the Welsh borders to the industrial towns of east Staffordshire, and from the peaks of the moorlands in the north to the heart of the Black Country, the Diocese is as incredibly diverse.

I was ordained in Lichfield Cathedral and have attended the ordinations and licensings of many friends. I've been here on conferences, courses and for meetings.

My hosts for the night were Pete, Cathy, Jon and Tom, whose house stands in the cathedral Close. Pete, as vicar of St Paul's, supervised my curacy and his generous training enabled me to take my first faltering steps in ordained ministry. I owe them much.

Pete has a new book, "Walking the Walk", which is being launched this week. It's a dramatic re-telling of the story of David, king of Israel.

It was a fabulous evening and I slept peacefully, despite noticing a locking bolt on the outside of my bedroom door. I doubt Pete and Cathy ever lock their guests in at night, and assume they inherited the arrangement. How odd.

My walking verse for the Day was 2 John 1.6: "This is love, that we walk according to his commandments."

Love then, not in the romantic sense but in the world-changing sense of the gospel, is not about words but actions. And if love is walking in obedience to Jesus' commands, then it's active, simple, demanding. It's walking the walk, as well as talking the talk, of being a disciple.