GAINING POSSESSION OF ONE’S SELF

You may gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows by reading the suggested scriptures The Editorial notes at the end of the post may also prove to be beneficial)

Suggested Scripture Reading 2 Timothy 1:18

2 Timothy 1: 14
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us.

Another fridge magnet is added to our collection. Many of these magnets convey brief, cryptic messages; none more so than the newest addition.
” OUT OF MY MIND, BACK IN FIVE MINUTES” it reads.
I am somewhat taken aback, not so much by the addition of another ornamental magnet with its somewhat obscure message, but by the fact that for the suspected chooser, it is entirely out of character. The years between the beginning and the time of my discovery of this message, provide substantial evidence of the coolest, most calm, and stable individual to be found anywhere. She was always there, always the same stabilizing force, whenever I returned for my own five-minute reprieve from madness, following a tough day at the office.
It is a somewhat familiar cliche, to say nothing about the experience, for individuals to define a specific encounter as something to “drive one out of one’s mind.” And unfortunate, as it is, there are some for whom this experience threatens to continue, but without the promise, it all will be over in five minutes.
It is time to offer one more Beautitude: Blessed is the woman or man whose inner secret provides sanctuary to another when the pressures of life threaten to overtake them.
But let this truth be clearly understood. It is the hallmark of our humanness to feel the full-blown effects of stress, worry, fear, and depression. It is instead the method by which one chooses to deal with all of these, which is the most essential consideration.
Some will follow the promises offered by a pilgrimage to some far away meditation retreat center. Some will surrender themselves to mind-changing cults and abandon the orthodoxy that fortified their ancestors in many trying circumstances, yet others still, will turn to hallucinatory drugs and alcohol, seeking an escape from the pain of their own company. But the end result is often the same unaffected product.
There is a striking scene in William Shakespear’s tragedy. Macbeth. In Scene 5, Act 3, the knave Macbeth is desperate as he seeks an escape for Lady Macbeth from her psychotic ramblings that are torturing both of them. Pressures related to a horrendous past are taking their toll. Therefore , Macbeth seeks counsel from a physician,

MACBETH
“Cure her of that.
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?”
DOCTOR
“Therein the patient
Must minister to himself. ” (2)

The clinical synopsis of this situation reveals the futility of the known efforts to deal with any such invading crises.
Our Creator has so equipped the human species, that each one may gain possession of inherent quality, which not only keeps them sane in life’s turmoil but unveils the awesome wonder of the human creation. Indeed, it is so, as the author of Psalm 139: 5 testifies: “We are fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, was also a distinguished scholar, theologian, and mystic, wrote of the most urgent necessity for one to gain possession of one’s self:

” We must recover possession of our own being before we can act wisely or taste any experience in its human reality. As long as we are not in our own possession all reality is futile.” (3)
I am compelled to draw your attention to one historical character of the Christian era, who epitomizes the reality of one who succeeds in gaining possession of ‘his own being.’
Meet Paul, the grand old warrior of the Cross of Christ. It is through the bars of a Roman prison that he is forced to view the threatening storm clouds of his martyrdom. But not a trace of concern or pressure, rather the conveyance of an unshaken certainty that a force mightier than that which Roman authorities can wield upon him, is in possession of him. “For me to live, is Christ, to die is gain” is his abiding testimony.
( Philippians 1:21)
It is not for himself that Paul here reviews the mystery of God’s Presence within a person, which alone makes possible the recovery of one’s self; instead, it is to stir the memory of the much younger friend and brother, Timothy. Paul has been preparing Timothy to be his successor in continuing the mission of spreading the Christian message.
In the changing world, the younger Timothy could be susceptible to the world’s new ideas and interpretations. Most certainly, Timothy will be forced to hear the worlds cynics question his involvement in the mission of spreading the new religion. “Timothy,” they will argue. “Just consider that your friend and mentor Paul is in prison and this time most likely he will not come out alive! Is that what you want from this life? Consider also the fact that many of the so-called Christians are abandoning the new religion in droves. Timothy is it really worth the investment of your self?

“Paul speaks:
Timothy, call to mind the treasure that you already possess inside. Recall the faith your mother and grandmother knew, equipping them with that inner power to stand firm in the will of God. Remember every mustard seed of faith you have seen grow through the Grace of Christ in your lifetime. Timothy, the voices of the world will become stronger. Listen not to them. You must protect the treasures God has entrusted to you. And the Spirit of the Living Christ living in you will reveal the most dynamic self you can ever become.

A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

What language can I borrow, that can come anywhere near to adequately expressing my praise of You, my Father.
My praise seems to break through language and escape, leaving me in hushed silence.
I guess what I really feel is love. I know not how to express it though . unless thought itself be equipped with the Rhapsody of music, or be translated by some heavenly visitor to my soul.
I grow silent in thought at the realization of how” we humans are so fearfully and wonderfully made.” ( Psalm 139:14) You designed us to be intrinsically bound to the earth with its rich abundance; but yet you reserve a room inside each one of us for Your dwelling, from which You inspire us to tell the whole earth about Your Glory. Spirit with spirit is always meeting thereby making conversation always possible, between the two.
We ask You to put more courage into our hearts so that when the world starts screaming at us in protest, timidity and fear will not take us over. With an extra measure of Your Grace and Love, may the message of Your Truth flow from our lips. It is all for Your Glory, in Jesus Name, we pray, Amen.

Hymn: Here I am,  Lord – Aled Jones

:https://youtu.be/EcxOkht8w7c

 

EDITORIAL NOTES
1. Here and throughout this meditation, quotations
from the Holy Bible are from the New International
Translation, Unless otherwise noted in the text.

2.William Shakespear. Macbeth. Act 3, Scene 5

Whttps://www.litcharts.com/lit/macbeth/act-3-scene-5illiam Shakespear. Macbeth.

3. Thomas Merton. No Man Is An Island

https://ifarus.com/man-island-thomas-merton

4.Photo. ” ComeYe Apart With Me And Rest   

                           Awhile” Mark 6:31.

The Scene is Tizzards Harbour, Newfoundland,

July 2018.