Month: January 2019

 

 

Suggested Scripture Reading: John 9: 1 -41

Scripture Focus: John 9: 25 Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I know. Whereas I was blind, but now I see.

Frustration. What is it? What is its origin? Why are humans so subject to its iron grip? And most importantly; Is there any escaping it?
Here is an appealing episode in the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a promising revelation for minds, inquiring about the true identity of this Man who has recently come among them. Jesus opens the doors of Heaven to make known to earth-bound creatures, the imminence of Heaven’s power to solve earth’s impossibilities; like opening eyes which were destined never to see earth’s beauty, or sadly, to see first hand the evidence of earth’s pain. We, along with the other characters in the narrative are taken to the very threshold of participation in an impressive victory performed by Jesus.

Without warning, there is a rude interruption in the ecstasy of the moment. Frustration, with her illegitimate brood known as fear, cynicism, timidity, and rigor mortis of the soul, demand entry into every soul present.

The initial onslaught of ‘frustration’ comes from a source, from which the young man was expecting jubilation, over the victory of sight won for him by Jesus, namely, from the leadership of a community of faith. ‘ What if the religious aristocracy could be enlisted to diminish or to destroy this so-called miracle of restored sight? Then two challenges facing the religious community would be dealt a fatal blow. On the one hand, the challenge was to give a reasonable explanation for this” MIRACLE,” in a day that had long since ceased to believe in miracles! On the other hand, the challenge was to deal with this “Jesus of Nazareth” who was stirring chaos in the Synagogues throughout the region.

Heart-wrenching frustration is threatening the solidity of the young man’s fortress! A tender soul, just barely out of the shadow of perpetual darkness, is the victim of frustration and her evil crew. What does one do, and where does one go, when the religious community turns its back upon a person who is in the ecstasy of some positive experience of God acting in his life? And as stunning as it seems, it is a tragic reality to this present hour. “Frustration’ still finds committed allies in pulpits and pews! Some announce from the pulpit their shrunken image of God and boast of their abandonment of the Christian ethos. Sadly, from many in the pews a supportive ” AMEN ” echoes. Little wonder the church, once vibrant with the life of the Spirit is creeping along at snail pace!

But to return to the narrative!
Not yet is ‘frustration’ finished with its malicious intent to stifle the sounds of praise from a grateful young man, whom God has touched with a miracle of restored vision. Therefore, the leaders begin to pressure the people, who have watched this man grow from birth, to provide substantiating evidence in order to further develop their scheme. What a blow to a heart, newly born into the excitement of the world of sight, to listen to his own neighbors and friends deny him! Too strong a commitment to the truth concerning this boy’s health status had the potential of implicating others into something undesirable. So why get involved? So the neighbors choose the safest path of non-committal. ” We are not sure of this man’s identity,” they concocted. This fellow looks much like the one who traveled the streets of our community for years, but we can’t be sure it is he. They make every effort to assuage their guilty conscience. “What is going on here in this community now is not normal. We never saw anything like this before! Who knows where all this is going to end? It’s better to stay out of it!” They cowardly convince themselves.

If a community chains itself to a narrow definition of ” normalcy” or ” the usual” it will never experience ” the new Heaven and the new Earth” Scriptures promise.

Frustration now attacks the last remaining stronghold of hope for the young man!
” The Jewish leaders did not believe the man had been born blind, so they sent for his parents. ” Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? If so, how can he now see? Notice the deliberate attempt of the recognized authorities to confuse the minds of the innocent. “Is this your son?” they asked. ” Is this the one you say was born blind?” frustration smiles her devilish smile, as fear causes the parent’s hearts to tremble. The parents see immediately where this is heading. To be seen to lend any credence, whatsoever, to their son’s avowed miracle at the hands of Jesus, would lead to expulsion from the religious community. “That this is our son, we know; that he was born blind, we know but, how he now sees, or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age, ask him!.” This time it is the angels in Heaven who laugh! “Give God the glory, young man,” came the self-righteous command of the leader,” we know this man, Jesus, is a sinner!” The young man listens for a moment, to what sounds to him like a mournful wind  blowing in leafless trees; then in a voice trembling with excitement he announces: ” WHETHER HE IS A SINNER OR NOT, I DO NOT KNOW; ONE THING I DO KNOW, ONCE I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE!”
Frustration and her brood slink off into the darkness to await the arrival of the next victim. And  Jesus takes the young man’s hand and together they go to welcome the dawning of a new day!
There is no other antidote for the paralyzing effects of frustration upon any soul, but to permit the spiritual gift, which God already gives us in Jesus Christ, to fill the soul to overflowing! Then shall I arise and shine, for my light has come.

PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
O God, not until the sky grows dark,
thus heralding the end of day,
do I see the Evening Star, shimmering in all of its glory!
It is not until Your hand touches all that I treasure here on earth does my heart sincerely whisper its gratitude for the awesomeness of Your Everlasting Light, and the steadfastness of Your Unconditional Love.

Teach me to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom: for the eternal Day Star from on high imparts His glorious light each moment. In my darkest hours of frustration may I dwell in the blaze of Your sunlight, that my witness to Your victory may richer, fuller be. For the sake of Your Love for us in Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

HYMN:  AMAZING GRACE                         Andrea Bocelli

https://binged.it/2FYVXSa                             (Click on this link)

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

1. It is recommended that you read the entire chapter of John: 9 in order to gain a fuller understanding of the story and of the meditation that is based upon it.
2. Photo: Taken this summer (2018) The beautiful Joe Batt’s Arm, Fogo Island, Newfoundland.

 

 

Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Matthew 17:20
Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

When you encounter a person, who is like a shelter from a fierce wind ; when you meet someone, who with speech that is punctuated with bitter sobs, tells you the story of an encounter with The One who changed tragedy into triumph; On the day you become aware, through facts relayed by a fellow pilgrim, that vast resources beyond all that appears to be, lie waiting for anyone who will believe, then on that day lift your eyes and rejoice, for on that day you see victories belonging to Faith. When God-consciousness takes the place of human consciousness, then is the world on the verge of a new and lasting rebirth.
The Old Testament personage, Abraham, owns the designation  “Father Of Faith.” Abraham, surrounded as he is by the verities of his historical setting, dares to lift his eyes and sees God.

The world is loud in its proclamation that no one transcends the laws that govern the natural world. However, Abraham sees ‘Eternity’ unshackled, in the ‘Face of God.’ Unspeakable treasures are waiting for him, just beyond the veil of the things that are. Accordingly, God’s promise to Abraham, that he is destined to be ”the Father of many nations’, might have been dismissed without further thought, since there was no heir and Sarai, Abraham’s wife was past childbearing age. Fate laughed in ‘ the Face of Providence,’ but in that same ‘Face, Abraham saw what was yet to be. Fate and Providence are often in conflict at the heart of many unsolved dilemmas of this world!
Abraham shows us Faith that inspires. To this very day, when we observe something of its kind, there is longing for the germ of that noble way of living, to be the possession of all, and thereby fulfill God’s initial plan to distinguish the human race from all other species.
Faith is that attitude that dares to look beyond the smug complacency of the world’s fatalistic conclusions and seeks for and finds God. Faith turns a deaf ear to the roar of the crowd, demanding that ” It is futile to try!” You may be left standing alone, but ever secure in the knowledge that the Eternal God is with you. That is what Faith is!

Abraham experiences the strain of a corrupt religion that is gaining momentum throughout the world of his day. Even some members of his own family likely abandoned the faith of their forebears, like Noah. Abraham never left Jehovah for the idolatry of Ur. He and Sarai were willing to stand out as different from that idolatrous community. If we are to develop genuine faith, we need a similar spirit. We too must be willing to stand alone and to be different.
The demand for faith is the hallmark of the Old Testament! It’s prophets, priests, and kings make its claim their mantra. The effulgent rays of their faith light the pathway of many of its participants, right to Bethlehem’s manger, where there lies before the world the very epitome of faith become flesh!

Given that the life of faith finds such a remarkable expression throughout the Sacred Word of the Old Testament, how much more available is the ability to live the life of faith, in the Company of the One who is the very essence of faith. Jesus demonstrated throughout His life the victories of faith and finally at the moment of His death announced one final victory of Faith’s eternal reward: “Father into Your Hands I commend my spirit.” Herein is Faith herein is Hope, herein is Abundant Life!

Somewhere there is recorded a story of an elderly parishioner, who towards the end of his life sought his minister to help him prepare for the final journey. He informed the minister of the difficulty he experienced when he knelt beside his bed to say his evening prayers.” I sometimes fall asleep there on my knees”, the troubled man, confessed. The minister, a seasoned suppliant himself, felt the old man’s deep distress. ” John,” he offered,” why not place a chair beside your bed, and imagine Jesus sitting there beside your bed. John, talk to Him like you are now talking to me. Tell Him your longings, your sorrows, your sad times and your times of happiness, and the blessings for which you are genuinely grateful. Tell Him everything and listen to Him speak to you.” Sometime later, the minister made another pastoral call and was delighted to see that John had taken his suggestion. ” Yes,” John, eagerly relayed, “I practice His Presence every day, and especially at bedtime. You know, I am as sure of His being there beside me, as I am of you being there now beside me.”
It was sometime following that John’s distraught daughter came to inform the minister of his passing. ” I so regret that I wasn’t present with him when my dad died she said. He was obviously in need of something. He was reaching for something on the chair “.’ No, my child”, responded, the man of God,” not something, your dad was reaching out his hand to Someone.” Tenderly the minister related the story surrounding the empty chair that for some time occupied a place beside her father’s bed.” You see your dad through simple faith when the time was here, stretched out his hand to hold the hand of His Friend, and together they passed through the gates of death into the place prepared for him. That is righteousness born of faith.

A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
Open my eyes with the touch of Your Hand, so that I may see, how much I really need You, O Lord.

I do thank you for the gift of hearing, which permits me to listen to the caroling of the birds and the thunderous crash of the sea against the headlands of home. Thank you for the sound of a baby’s cooing, and the sound of words that reveals a loved one’s feelings of appreciation and love.

But Please, dear Lord, touch my ears so that I may hear, You speak to me of Your Eternal Love for all the members of the human race. Let me hear You say once more, as you look upon my effort to do my part to bring Heaven and earth closer together,” God saw that it was good.”

Lord, touch my heart that it might have a deeper capacity to hold more of You! Then in all that I see around me here on earth, will be lost in the brilliant light of Your Face everywhere I look. Then the only sound I will hear will be the sounds of love, like a symphony that is being played, under the direction of the only perfect conductor of life’s harmonies.
Lord, open my eyes to see,
My ears to hear,
My heart to Love,
So that in Faith, I may help fulfill Your dream of a Heavenly World Where Your Will is done as it is in Heaven.  And all for the sake of Your Love for us and the World! Amen.

Hymn: My Faith Looks Up To Thee

https://youtu.be/oGKLmThF2to

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

1. The Scripture references are from the New International Version of the Bible
2. PHOTO: Taken at our summer cottage, ( SHALOM)  at Michael’s Harbour, Newfoundland.