Are we ‘unwilling’? The 24th May is a very important day for all Methodists. Many of you will know exactly why. Some of you may not be so sure. 24th May is known as ‘Wesley Day.’ So, is it the day the John Wesley was born? Or the day John Wesley died? Actually, it’s neither of these. 24th May is known as ‘Wesley Day’ because on this day in 1738, John Wesley went to a meeting of Moravian Christians in a room in Aldersgate Street in London – and he wasn’t very keen to go! You may well be asking, therefore, why is this date so special? Well, this is what John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, wrote in his diary on 24 May 1738:

‘In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.’

It is significant to remember that John Wesley, at this time in his life, was already an ordained Anglican priest and he had been on a missionary trip to America which, admittedly, wasn’t particularly successful. He had been impressed by the faith of the Moravian Christians who had travelled on the same ship as him, and he felt something was missing in his life. So, he tells us in his diary that he went to the meeting in Aldersgate Street ‘very unwillingly.’ The fact that he was unwilling is interesting, but it’s probably more important to note that he went to the meeting despite his feelings.

I suspect that many of us are feeling increasingly unwilling to keep to the strict lockdown and social isolation guidance from the government and from the Methodist Church. An increasing number of people are saying: ‘this has gone on long enough for me now!’ On this Wesley Day, perhaps it will be helpful for us to remember that it was at the point of feeling very unwilling, but going to the meeting anyway, that John Wesley met with God in a powerful and life-changing way. It’s possibly not overstating the situation to say that if John Wesley had given in to his feelings that day, and not gone to the meeting in Aldersgate Street, then the Methodist Church would not exist. Of course, John Wesley had no idea about that at the time. Perhaps you are feeling increasingly unwilling to continue with lockdown and social isolation, but we may find that as we choose to respect the guidance to stay at home whenever we can and keep our distance from other people, that God meets with us in significant and special ways. We will also be helping to save lives and stop the spread of the coronavirus, which is currently killing hundreds of people every day in this country. John Wesley was feeling very unwilling, yet he was surprised by God on 24 May 1738. I wonder if, however we may be feeling, God will surprise us on 24 May 2020? Please be open and expectant to the fact that God will meet with you in a very special way at this time…

The hymn-writer reminds us: ‘God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.’ And it’s true that God does move in a mysterious way, a way that we are simply not able to understand. But God does ‘move’ – and God may well surprise us. Today, let us give thanks for the Methodist Church, both locally and worldwide, for everything that the Methodist Church means to us… and let’s be open to God moving in us and through us in surprising ways as we continue in lockdown and adhere to the social distancing guidelines. We make our prayer with the hymn-writer…

Let us pray:

Come all you saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds you so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Amen.

Nick Lakin