Month: November 2018

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Meditations

HIDDEN HOPE

 

ADVENT

Romans 8:  18 -24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

Scripture Emphasis: Psalm 65:5 You (God) are the hope of everyone on earth. Even those who sail on distant seas.

The words of David in Psalm 65, are addressed to the Almighty. They are not the utterances of some religious recluse. They come from the red-hot crucible of living. The Psalm reveals a soul that has been overwhelmed by sins and now, witnesses to the faithfulness of God, to answer his uttered prayers. On the foundation of those convictions, he makes this proclamation:

“God, You are the hope of everyone on earth,
Even those who sail upon distant seas.”

David  here makes the not so veiled suggestion:” If He did it for me, He will do it for every child born of woman and man!”

Now there are but two conclusions one can reach concerning David’s proclamation. Either it is hyperbole, an exaggeration, a simple case of poetic license; Or this is a profound theological truth that becomes: the glory of the lighted mind.”

” O glory of the lighted mind,
how dead I’d been, how dumb, how blind!
The Station Brook to these new eyes is babbling out of
Paradise. The waters gushing from the rain are singing:
” Christ is risen again.”(1)

If it is hyperbole, that” God is the hope of everyone on the earth”, then life on this earth is best described by William Shakespeare’s Macbeth:
(Act II, Scene I). “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”. (2)
It’s either that or else; it is the most glorious truth that a human being can hold on to until life’s brief candle goes out, and God ushers him into the brilliance of a new day’s dawning.
“God, You are the hope of everyone on earth,
Even of those who sail on distant seas.”

But what is to be said of those, in our increasingly secular society, who think it the hallmark of intelligence to announce to the world their absence of belief in God and Jesus Christ? There have always been those who boast about living by a Stoic Philosophy like that  William Henley expresses in ” Invictus.”

” Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”(3)
William Ernest Henley

Does that misguided assertion alter life’s equation which David elucidates, having Old Testament Wisdom alone?
” God, You are the hope of everyone on earth,
Even those who sail on distant seas.”

There is no mention made of any opportunity for any human’s assertion of either belief nor unbelief! David does not make the state of human understanding, the contingent factor for the activity of the Divine! God’s command: Let there be light” is not dependent upon whether or not a person believes it! The person may draw the shades to continue his desire to experience the darkness, but that does not change the universal truth of light ‘s existence.
“You, God, are the hope of everyone on earth,
Even those who sail on distant seas.”
David’s words convey the truth of universal inclusivity of everyone on earth, and ‘hope’ is the common binding force.

This thought may indeed have roots in the Theological doctrine of IMAGO DEI; the belief that from creation, God shares unique qualities of human nature which allow God to be made manifest.” The faculty of reason enables one to become most God-like when that person develops a capacity to partially grasp the nature of God’s ultimate reality.” (4)

The proclamation of David has its genesis in the Old Testament and relies upon Prophets and Priests for its transmission throughout the earth. As necessary and as revealing as that truth remains, it cannot compare to the enunciation made in the New Testament of the same fact. In the New Testament, “The Word Becomes Flesh and dwells among us.” It is through a vital and living relationship with Jesus Christ that God’s gift of ‘HOPE, ‘given at birth emerges from the deep places of one’s being to enter into our consciousness, and enables us to share in God’s hope for the world.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.(5)

           PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

When we consider the quality of  HOPE which  You have secretly hid deep inside these bodies of ours, we bow in awesome wonder, O God.

We are mere vessels of clay, subject to frailness and death!  What an invaluable treasure You choose to store in so frail a vessel. Hope is the very ethos of Your Heavenly Abode, and You hid its germ in us as a signature gift before we arrived here ! Father, we believe that the hope that springs eternal in the human breast, is Your way of using us as Your Co-workers, to work together to have Your Will done here on earth as it is in Heaven! Your Hope, Father, on that very first Christmas Day, was that the world would see in Jesus, Your Hope for the world’s future.

He came unto His own, but they did not receive Him then. A Cross looms alongside the manger, but Hope, Father Your Eternal Hope, and now ours are resurrected. And this very night millions of us will ask You to make this Christmas Night the occasion when there  will thunder throughout this weary world a heartfelt: ” Welcome  Blessed is He who Comes again  in the Name Of our God.” WELCOME, Jesus, to this world! Take Your Power and reign! Amen.

 

 

HYMN : O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

https://youtu.be/7xtpJ4Q_Q-4

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

The translation of Scripture used in this post is New Living Translation.
1. From ” The Everlasting Mercy’ by John Masefield e Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse > 337. From ‘The Everlasting Mercy’
2.The Tragedy of Macbeth
Shakespeare homepage | Macbeth | Act 5, Scene 5
3.William Ernest Henley, in ‘Invictus’ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4.Reference “IMAGO DEI” http://www.religionfacts.com/imago-dei
5.From ” Crossing The Bar” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45321/crossing-the-bar

 

 

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Meditations UNCATEGORIZED

THE DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN

Suggested Scripture: Luke 5: 1- 11

Scripture Emphasis: Luke 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

It has long been said, “that the darkest hour is the hour before the dawn.”The darkest hour” has been used figuratively to describe ‘ the lowest ebb in human affairs.’ There are many conditions present in Simon Peter’s life that might well place him, according to this scripture account, at his lowest ebb. Peter is not devoid of religious consciousness at the time he has his first physical encounter with Jesus here.
One’s encounter with things eternal is never dependent upon any physical vessel. It is God who chooses when to make His Presence known within a human being. No person is ever a purely physical entity, ” And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”( Genesis 2:7)
” Religion goes back to the beginning of culture itself, and the spiritual is that which makes us human.”

Simon Peter is of the Jewish faith. He would have been conversant, in at least some of the topics of the Old Testament, as Jesus was. Granted, not to the same intensity as Jesus was, yet in the way most Jewish people were. In truth, there was too much of a consciousness of God for Simon Peter to dismiss God from his thoughts completely.” What does God want with me? Is the fact that I toiled all night with my partners, and got nothing to show for it, a possible sign of something more, encroaching upon decisions already made? Have I set my horizon to end on the fishing ground, when there is something beyond that horizon that God is waiting for me to undertake?” A million such questions battered at the door of his soul. As it often is still, it is a deep-rooted fear that keeps him from answering that door. Fear is darkness! And inner darkness breeds graver fears! The darkness creeps at snail-pace towards the dawn!
Happily, for Simon Peter, the fishing nets demand his immediate attention. Paying close attention to the washing of his fish-nets provide a distraction from what was happening on the beach in front of him. Peter could see on the faces of many of his fellow townspeople, that the young Prophet’s teaching was enlightening them. In truth there it was, the very thing he longed for; Someone to bring light to the darkness of his inner self! ” But, I am not that kind of man,” he quickly interjects, as he seeks to defend his inner darkness from a straying sun-beam. And the darkness grows darker.” Who knows what will happen to you, Peter, if you join in with that beach crowd?” a sinister voice from within insists.” Would you substitute your fishing partners whom you have known for years, for any of those, you see there; and Peter, for WHAT? A career change; Peter, what will become of your family?” And ‘the dark night of the soul’ grows darker still! Then, while the doors and windows into Peter’s inner sanctum are strongly fortified, Jesus comes and speaks to him! From among all that company present at the sea-shore, Jesus picks the one who deliberately tries to avoid his attention. Jesus climbs on board of Peter’s boat with him.

The crowds on the shore grow yet larger in number, but Peter knows, it was just the two of them now: Peter and Jesus, Jesus and Peter. However, the keeper of the darkness is not yet prepared to relinquish his prize. The darkness intensified with every passing second. ” Peter, are you not being forced to play the part of a fool? Everybody knows that you must depend upon only what is given to you by this world. All of this talk of Jesus, about the Father supplying our needs, is just that, “talk.” What you see is what you get, man! Open your eyes and see!” “Peter, let’s go fishing! Let’s go out into the deeper water, and put down the nets, and catch fish! ,” said Jesus, piercing Peter’s reverie. There is a moment of intense silence! Never in his entire life does Peter struggle more intensely with the self-evident, undeniable fact. ” There is nothing out there! What You see is what we caught this whole night!” comes Peter’s muffled response. And the keeper of the darkness smiles his insidious smile. “But since You asked me,” says Peter,” I will go!”
Now I believe that it is Jesus’  deliberate intention to demonstrate, first to the tempter, and secondly to Peter, that God has more treasures hidden beneath the surface of what is visible than one can ever know until he surrenders to Him. The catch, resulting from what seemed to be the lifeless sea, sends fingers of the dawn into the eastern sky!
But the ruler of the darkness makes one more brutal assault to immortalize the indecisive darkness that envelopes Peter. From deep inside himself, words, as heavy as lead slowly escape Peter’s lips: ” Jesus, I am not worthy of all of this! I am a sinful man. Depart from me.”

But Peter meets the thrust of the demonic with the drive of the divine!
The darkest hour is shot through by a shaft of golden sunlight. Peter never witnessed a more beautiful sunrise on the Sea of Galilee in all his life than this morning’s; and he heard Jesus say: ” Neither do I condemn you, rise and let us go and we will catch people together.”

A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
Father,
Heaven’s dawn announces a new beginning.
Even though the darkness determines to hold on to the hills, and to creep with intensity into the valleys below; You speak emphatically, ” Let there be Light,” and behold the darkest hour is fear-mongering no more.

Your newly commanded sun concentrates its brilliant beams so as to shine directly into my soul, and behold, Your light offers to dance with me, to welcome a day of rich new experience!
Upon the walls of my soul’s ‘inner sanctum,’ I am hanging the picture of my return from my own far country, and thereby will daily remind myself of Your love that makes this miracle mine. (see Luke 15:11 – 32)
Now, Father, may that same love be the driving force to carry me out into the world where there are people still wrestling with the darkest hour. Make me, my Father, a true herald of the coming dawn. For the sake of Your love, I pray. Amen

HYMN: O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

 

https://youtu.be/nt69WDtYNLo

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

  1. A careful reading of the suggested Scripture may prove helpful in more fully understanding the meditation.
  2. PHOTO: I am deeply indebted to my friend William Tibbo, of Grand Bank, Newfoundland, for this moving image.

 

Categories
Meditations

HALTING THE FUNERAL PROCESSION

‘IN THE CIRCLE OF HIS EMBRACE’

Scripture Concentration: It is strongly suggested that you spend some time studying the following scripture passage before proceeding to read the meditation.

Luke 7:11-17 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the LORD saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

This incident in the life of Jesus has truths that lie as deep as the deepest ocean. In the end, these truths cannot be perfectly understood by us, just because they are grounded in God’s personal love addressing a particular human crisis, and forever lie beyond our full understanding!
This incident points to what lies at the very heart of the Gospel; God’s longing to address each individual’s’ need in His world. God ever reveals His unthwarted effort to show His Love. This Love will lead individuals away from the darkness of despair and into everlasting light; away from their littleness of mind and heart and into the liberation of people escaping from the tomb of death.

If there is but one person to whom God’s love reveals itself in this hour, let there be celebration in the community of faith;  for it means one more light is shining, thereby lessening the intensity of this world’s many varieties of darkness.

Let’s examine the challenging truths Luke’s story presents.
The stricken widow of Nain neither saw anyone nor heard anything, the day of the funeral. Through her tears, she could barely see her son’s coffin and the only sound audible to her ears was the beating of her heart. She has walked this desolate road before; she has bathed its dust with her tears. She is a widow. But on the occasion of her husband’s death, her young son was holding her hand.
At this precise moment,  Luke tells us, Jesus sees her. And feeling within Himself, how broken she is, Jesus determines that her procession towards her own personal grave must be His immediate concern. It is natural to wonder, just how much more, one human being can endure! First, her husband’s death, followed by the death of her son, and the excruciating horror of facing life’s challenges alone.

It is here that His Followers find the challenge to minister in the Name of Jesus Christ. There are thousands of people stumbling their way towards their own personal graves, with broken hearts, unfulfilled dreams, and uncontrolled habits. Again one wonders, just how much more one person can endure; but the more crucial question is, ‘Will there be someone to step forward to stop their funeral procession?’  Will someone be there to bid them not to weep? Will someone bring to them a glimmer of renewed hope?

The next feature of the story is equally important, and presents another challenge for ministry in the Name of Jesus Christ; it is Jesus’ concentration on this woman’s personal need that consumes His immediate attention. Other people present at the scene, no doubt, were experiencing a myriad of problems, with differing degrees of darkness! But for the moment, it was for Jesus,” a one on one situation!   ” When Jesus saw her, His heart went out to her, and He said,” Don’t cry.”He saw her unique experience with darkness, and He ordered a new dawn for her.

I fear that in this age of multi-tasking the value of ‘ a one on one’ ministry is misunderstood. There are often people who are in need of a new dawning, and are met with the skeptical conclusion, that the situation is impossible! If we can demonstrate to our own souls that we do sincerely desire to make a difference, then we start by seeing one person’s tears and endeavor to make them our own. Then tomorrow, in the  Master’s Name, you may effectively deal with two more. Work until the sky glows red with the beauty of the dawn, and the promise is fulfilled: ” Tears may last for the night, but, joy comes with the morning!

“Religion, if it is to survive, must be personal,” writes Viktor Frankl in ” Unconscious God.” Greater care is needed in today’s world to make certain that, ” The Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, must never be permitted to become only words again.

1. Brother, sister, let me serve you
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant too.

2. We are pilgrims on a journey,
and companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

3. I will hold the Christlight for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

4. I will! weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow,
till we’ve seen this journey through.

5. When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we’ve known together
of Christ’s love and agony.

6. Brother, sister, let me serve you;
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that l may have the grace to
let you be my servant too. (1)

The final feature of this story that challenges His Follower’s ministry in the Name of Jesus Christ is this. Jesus halts this mother’s personal procession towards her own grave and her son’s grave, as well, by giving them each someone to love, and some meaningful work to do. Luke puts it: ” Jesus gave him back to his mother.”

There are many on life’s journey who are broken on the wheels of circumstances beyond their control. They stumble from one meaningless day to another! Our ministry is to show them, Love, in the name of Jesus Christ, and by the Grace of Christ show them that their search for a more fulfilling life can only be discovered by faith in the One  who halts one’s funeral procession with His words: ” I am the Resurrection and the Life, anyone who believes in me though he/she were dead, yet shall he/she live

PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

O God, creator of all Compassion                                                                           Make me more compassionate towards all people, and towards the wounded earth. When people’s hearts are filled with compassion, then will we all see clearly that our sisters and brothers everywhere are meant to share in the riches of this earth, their home and ours.

However, to pray to be proprietors of compassion must be followed immediately by a request that You show us what to do when our initial prayer for compassion is answered!

Father, there is no one of us who has not seen the pain-pinched faces of little refugee children and the faces of their terrified and pleading parents, standing at our sovereign borders, begging for asylum. Father, How is compassion released into that setting? Can we pray: “Give us this day, our daily bread and remain helpless to relieve those without food or shelter? Father, Is it Compassion that forces us momentarily to feel their need?

But why is it that before anything can initiate deeper consideration, our logical, rational minds force a conclusion: there is nothing we can do! In the end, our compassion seems to wither like the fall leaves which too soon disappear.

Father, reveal to us again, how faith and compassion are inextricably bound. On one occasion when hungry crowds were in  need of food, Jesus, Your Son  said to his thunderstruck disciples, ” You feed them.” Their reaction then was to be as alarmed as we are by any such suggestion to provide for them. Please help us, Father, to address the dilemma that is presenting now? It is FAITH that keeps COMPASSION alive.

Give to us the faith that prays ” Father Into Your hands do we commit our spirits. Lighten our darkness, and grant us a deeper  Victory of Faith!     All for the sake of Your Love . Amen

Hymn: Here I am Lord

https://youtu.be/EcxOkht8w7c

 

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

1.Hymn: ” Brother, Sister, Let Me Serve You”

.http://www.pateys.nf.ca/cgi-bin/lyrics.pl?hymnnumber=635

2. PHOTO: ” SHALOM, Michael’s Harbor, Newfoundland