September 2018 – Clinging To The Rock

Suggested Scripture Readings:
Psalm 65 ( A careful reading of this Psalm is suggested.)
John 14: 1 – 14

Psalm 65: 2 – 4

“O You who hear prayer, to You all men will come.

When we were overwhelmed by sins,
You forgave our transgressions.
Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
Of your holy temple.
You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior”,

These words capture a life-changing mystery; they permit us a view of our earthy home from the door of our Father’s House in Heaven. It is an experience that the Psalm writer of Old Testament fame, David, graciously shares with us.

To gain a true perspective one must seek to view human life from beyond this world’s boundaries, while engaged in its struggles, and competitions, its pleasures, and opportunities; otherwise the truth concerning it will be malleable and distorted. Neither is the present technological boast, to view the planet from outer -space sufficient.

David offers the one viable alternative herein:
“Blessed are those You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the good things of Your House.”

The Poet, Oliver Wendell Homes in a poem called ” The Crooked Footpath,” brought back vivid memories to me, of the crooked footpath I daily traveled on my way to and from school, as a boy. The path was well worn by those on countless un-named missions. In one spot, the path veered far right; in another, it made almost a semi-circle to the left. What endearing stories this path might tell if it could speak! It may tell the story of a weary traveler wishing soon to be home; or of the slow, meditative movement of worshipers on the way to church, seeking to find rest for their tired souls; or of the wobbling steps of one who had overindulged in a celebratory event, and of one over-anxious young fellow, bent on intercepting the chosen direction of his sweetheart. The crooked footpath always stirred the imagination to wonder why. Oliver Wendell Homes advises against drawing any such conclusions.

” Nay, deem not thus – no earth-born will
could ever trace a faultless line;
Our truest steps are human still —
To walk unswerving were divine!

Truants from love, we dream of wrath —
Oh, let us trust the more!
Through all the wanderings of the path,
We still can see our Father’s door.” (1)

As David views his earthly home from the doors of his Father’s Heavenly Home, a Hallelujah chorus by the Celestial choir enraptures him.
As the choir soars to the breath-taking crescendo: ” And He shall reign, forever, and forever,” David turns his gaze towards the earth, and in that stunning moment, he observes millions of people, who own the evidence of answered prayers. They are coming from every direction, to witness to the goodness of God. On the lips of this happy band of pilgrims, there are songs which celebrate liberation from the tyranny of defeat and sin. Now they are on their way to join forces with David, as the chosen of God. They, like David, will continue their earthly pilgrimage, but with resources, available only from the Heavenly Father’s open door.

Then for a brief moment, the earth is wrapped in a shroud of mist that obliterates the earthly scene from the eyes of David. The mist represents the failed attempts of humankind to regain Paradise; lost since our first parents sought to rebuild it in their own design, rather than the Father’s. Nations are in turmoil. Confused and frustrated people, bow their heads. Their hearts are heavy, for many have already experienced wars and revolutions, bloodshed and death. In despair, they whisper: ‘What’s the use? There is no way out of earth’s dilemma!”
Now from Heaven’s Door David suddenly experiences the vanishing mists. He smiles to see the advancing prayer warriors, advancing still. And in that vision, David sees the future hope for the whole world.

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” ( Ps.65:) The celestial choir recaptures the magnificent setting for David! The effulgent rays of the setting sun bathe everything in crimson glory. Tears flood David’s eyes as he hears the multitudes of earth’s millions giving back the song the angels sang: ” Our God reigns, –And He shall reign forever, and forever! ” Where morning dawns and evening fades, You (God), call forth songs of joy.” ( Ps. 65: 8)

And then he sees it. David observes the silver cord binding Heaven and earth, making them as one; he considers the streams of life-giving water! ” The streams of God are filled with water.” (Ps. 65: 9) Everywhere the streams flow there is new life. Once infertile fields, now evidence an abundant harvest; meadows, once abandoned to the aridity of a desert, now echo the sound of bleating lambs.

All of this foreshadows a later time in history when the life-giving stream binding Heaven and earth together, arrives on earth in the person of Jesus Christ, as” The Living Water.”(John 4: 1-42)
The lambs in this scene populating the rejuvenated meadows( Ps. 65: 13 ) will forever remind us of the Coming of the Lamb of God; Who involves us in the challenge to bring to all the earth, the Gift of New Life.

A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

Father, I kneel in the splendor of Your House.
I am struck with the sheer beauty that envelopes me.
Just the thought that comes to me at this moment is overwhelming; that I, a mere creature of this earth, can climb the heights of Zion, to Your Abode, without moving an inch from this place of my meditation. I find that David discovered that mystery long ago:” I was glad when they said to me,’Let us go to the House of the Lord. And here we are standing (already) inside Your gates, O Zion!” (Psalm 122:1)
Father, what a difference it makes to view life on earth, while in Your Company! To adopt the current vision of life offered by this world will result in insecurity and fear. But when my soul realizes Your nearness, Hope springs eternal in my breast! It is because I have first-hand knowledge of answered prayers, that I join that mighty multitude of believers, who come to You, again and again, to be directed in my life by Your vision for this waiting world.

Father in a doubting world, let me be Your light;
In a boasting world, let me share Your Wisdom;
In a despairing world, let me speak boldly of Hope;
In a fear-mongering and the hate-filled world, let me show the Love of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father, I will lie down now and sleep, here in Your court, before Your Open Door, Amen

HYMN: Just As I am

https://youtu.be/CxA0TFe3-Uo?t=8s

EDITORIAL NOTES

1.OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. ” The Crooked Footpath”
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-crooked-footpath-2

2.Hallelujah Chorus
Georg Friedrich Handel
The Hallelujah Chorus, from Handel’s Messiah, is one of the most well-known musical pieces from the baroque period.

3. The photo we have titled: ” Sheep Shall Safely Graze.” This photo is taken in Lawrenceton, NL.

What is it about this town, which I so proudly call “home,” that tethers it to my soul with “hoops of steel?” Perhaps it is a common phenomenon felt by every wayfarer and finds a thoughtful expression in the old rhyme,
” Be it ever so humble; there’s no place like home.” That is true, I know, but the demand here goes deeper than that expression.

Perhaps it is the hills that girdle two-thirds of the town’s periphery. Even as a boy, I imagined they were very much like the ” fair green hills of Galilee, where Jesus loved so much to be.” Among the hills of home,” I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts.” There is a sense of peace one finds in the embrace of those everlasting hills. Add to that the sea’s enchantment as it squeezes its way into the remaining third of the horseshoe-shaped bay. That sea has flung its spray into the soul of many men, young and old, to compel them to become master mariners. The sound of the sea, forever, strikes a resounding chord in the depth of my soul.

And then, most certainly, there are the old-time customs, many forgotten in the present, but which have twined themselves into a person’s living memory, to help make him what he has become today.
The sound of the St. Patrick’s Chapel bell at noon and again at sunset echoing throughout the town, reminding the faithful to pray. The train’s whistle’s sound leaving the Brigus station sears a lonely memory in a fellow’s brain to return whenever he hears that sound, no matter how far from home he roams.
Then, there was a respectful observation of the town’s recognition of every resident’s value. There was a unique understanding in this town that ” No one is an island unto themselves.” Upon hearing the news of a neighbour’s death, it was the custom that homeowners would close their window-blinds to share in the community’s grief. Mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who are rejoicing was the maxim faithfully followed for years. There was a ritual in some congregations to have the church bell ‘toll out’ the deceased’s age. and subsequently have the town residents would send to inquire” For Whom The Bell Tolls.”
People past and present in Brigus whom I have known and love keep the ‘home fires’ burning on my soul’s altar, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
To have grown up in a family of seven ( 5 sisters and one brother) with a mom whose faith remains exemplary will forever make this place the most beautiful place on this earth. When I add to that, the other people who touched my life in boyhood, and those who remain to do so, I am, of all people, most richly blessed. I hold to the advice of William Shakespear:” Those friends thou hast and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel.” Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 3)