The Smell of Beginnings

I came across a great quote from Carlo Carretto recently
'Today's people... want a church made of friendship, of genuine contacts, of mutual interchange of little things. But more than anything alse, a church that feeds them with the Word, a church that works with them by physically taking them by the hand, a church whose face is like that of the church of Luke, of Mark, of John, a church that is just starting - that smells of beginnings'.
I really desire such a church - I would join a church like that! In fact I want to be a person who smells of beginnings.
I talked of this quote in my first preach at St Mary's - looking at the call of Abram in Genesis 12 - a call into the unknown, of obedience and trust. I'm sure that in order for Abram to follow this through he must have got the smell of beginnings in his nostrils.
And here we are - with the smell of beginnings and a call to trust and obey.