13/06/2026
Images of Christ Church June 14th
Why does everything have to change?
I well remember when I last changed my car. Whilst very pleased with my new acquisition, I struggled to cope with the fact that all the switches were in different places. The consequence was that I spent several months indicating to turn right, when I really wanted to wipe the windscreen, and instead of washing my rear windscreen, I turned the headlights on.
Why can’t cars be standardised? Why does everything have to be different? Why is life so confusing? Why can’t somebody develop a standard plug socket to use in every country? Why do some countries drive on the wrong side of the road? Why does the pace of life have to change so quickly? The best reason I’ve found so far for having children is that they know how to sort out the computer.
Uncomfortable though it may be, change is a necessary part of life, and we have to accept it. I have been thrilled to be here amongst you in Christ Church for the last nine months and am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to come back for a second time. There is something unique about Christ Church. It is a wonderful place to minister, and Julie and I go back to England with many memories. Three years after retiring, it really has been a blessing to have one final opportunity to lead a congregation through the great feasts of the Christian year: Harvest; Outreach Sunday; Christmas; Lent, Holy Week and Easter; Pentecost; it has been a privilege to baptise thirty new members of the Christian faith; it has been a joy to share the good news of salvation with so many people; it has been humbling to go back up to Noh Bo and share faith with so many young people, especially when you hear of the hardships and inequalities of the world that they have endured. But what of the future? We return to England, and I fade back into obscurity as a retired vicar living in a small village just off the York ring road. But our prayers for Christ Church continue, and I have every confidence that the church will continue to draw in many people. You will see people coming to faith in Jesus; you will continue to act as a witness to the truth of the Christian faith in SE Asia. And that future is exciting. God is at work here and will continue to be at work.
Change will happen, and although that will take some getting used to, it is necessary for growth. The world has never been a static place. We need to be available to help and support one another, but we also need to accept change as a means of growing and developing as people.
One thing we can be certain of is that God is alongside us in the course of change. He is always open to new possibilities. The reason we can move forwards is because we know that we serve a God who loves us, is always with us, and who sometimes challenges our perceptions and opinions. At the centre of the Christian story is the change of heart. ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh,’ says the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel.
There is no greater or more beneficial change than to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and be filled with the Holy Spirit - the Spirit who offers us new meaning and direction, who enables us to see the world through new eyes. We are made to be the people of God, made new by the acceptance of His love for us.
Change can be frightening. It can also be tremendously exciting. The promise of God is that the change He offers is the way to discover genuine meaning and purpose in life. We have the assurance of God’s love and presence with us.
So take heart. Even when life feels uncomfortable, God the Good Shepherd is alongside us. We see this is the life of Jesus. He was always ready to encourage his followers. Even to the penitent thief on the cross, he gave the offer of paradise. It is God’s love that creates us, redeems us, and continues to renew us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
God is alongside us to help and support us, whatever may befall us.
Oh, and if you should happen to visit England and see a driver flashing his lights for no good reason, I do apologise – it’ll just be me trying to clean my windscreen.
Revd. Tim Eady
PS Thank you for looking at these images of Christ Church over the last 40 weeks. Today, it is up, up and away. But the ministry of Christ Church goes on. May God be with Christ Church in its future journey.
