Luke 2:6-7 6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (KJV)
Christmas Greetings To all who have come to visit our web blog Clinging To The Rock. We are grateful for your visit. May the Peace and Beauty of this Christmas Season enrich your life, and bring lasting blessings to all within your household.
EDITORIAL NOTES
Christmas Carol: O Holy Night
http://thejoyofmusic.org/dvd-christma… program #2608
Organist Diane Bish is joined by Sergeant Major Chuck Seipp at National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC.
*ttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkHl…
The Holy Bible. King James Version. St. Luke 2: 6-7
(The meditation that follows is purely an imaginary creation of my own making. When it was delivered several years ago at a Christmas Eve Service, some found it helpful. Having the desire to be helpful still, I include it now in the present forum. You will have to engage your imagination. I believe it captures the spirit and the purpose of the mission for which God sent Jesus into the world.
May you and all in your household have a most Blessed Christmas.
There are three scenes. The first at a Bethlehem Inn; the Second: A Shepherd’s cottage near to the Judean hills; the Third: takes place in the Bethlehem stable, where the Baby Jesus is born.)
“The shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2: 15. ( I Suggest you read verses 1 – 20)
“Listen! Did you hear that? I could have sworn I heard another knock at the door! Keep it down; keep it down, you rabble-rouser! One would have to use a Roman mallet to get attention over this din! No use for anyone else to come knocking on my door this night. My inn is full as is every other spot in Bethlehem! There is just no more room; not even if it was King Herod himself who came looking. Well! I might consider it if the king came seeking! I might sleep out of my bed just for one night to have the honor of him under my roof. But that is not likely to happen, is it? There will be no king around here this night!
Listen, there it is again! Someone with urgent business according to how they ‘re knocking on the door! Hold on there! Don’t break the bloomin’ door down! Got no room for you anyway. Might as well be patient! Keep the noise down, will you? I am going to see who it is at the door.
Well, that didn’t take long. Like I said, It is someone looking for lodgings for the night! I feel sorry for them; a young man, and his lady who is about to give birth. I told him as I told you, I might sleep out of my bed if King Herod was the one asking me, but since he was far from being a king; I could not offer him and his lady anything. He said he had tried everywhere. And that this might be the night, whatever that meant! I told him there was a stable out back where the stable boy lives year-round with the cattle. I suppose last chance he’d put them up for the night.
The second scene is set in Nazareth earlier on the same day. Here another thread of the same story is about to be woven. (We are silent, unseen observers in the humble cottage of Benjamin, a shepherd, and his wife, Naomi.) Benjamin is making ready to return to his shepherd’s responsibilities on the Judean hills. He has had a two-day reprieve from his tedious work of caring for the numerous flocks of Bartholomew, his master. Naomi is so very concerned about Benjamin, the love of her life. She looks at him now, and pity rushes into her glance! Her eyes grow misty at the thought of his being out there on the hills without the company he had at one time looked forward to having. Naomi felt that way ever since the family crisis, about which Benjamin rarely broke his silence.
It is believed by some, that one’s destiny in life is somehow pre-determined. The old folk use to say that if a boy became a fisherman like his father or grandfather, then it was because even before his birth the sea had laid claim to him, throwing a little salt spray into his soul! Benjamin had been chosen to be a shepherd! His whole life has the focus of owning his own herd. One day he would share ownership and, responsibility with his son. That goal was about to be a reality; when a dreaded situation came to pass! He couldn’t pay the Roman taxes, and he watched his dream fade into a heart-wrenching disappointment. He was forced to sell everything, and eke out a bare subsistence in service to someone else. That someone is Bartholomew. There are twelve of them in all in the service of Bartholomew.
Naomi moves towards him for their last embrace. She seems almost reluctant to break in upon his solemn reverie. Naomi knows well what is on his mind! She lays her head on his breast, and after a moment sobs, “ O Benjamin, this is his birthday. He will be twenty years old today! O Mark, where are you? Benjamin’s chin quivers. His eyes fill with tears, and without another word, he leaves the house.
Mark is an only child! It was he that made Benjamin’s life worth living. All of Benjamin’s plans had centered on Mark. When the farm failed, with it went all prospects for the future. Mark had taken his few belongings and left home. Rumour has it that Mark has strayed far from the standards he had known, but no one knew for sure. For whatever reason, Benjamin and Naomi hear no word from him in three years; and hopes are beginning to fade that the family would ever be reunited!
The heavens are brilliant with a million stars dancing as though commanded to contrast the dullness in Benjamin’s mental sky. When he reaches the grazing herd, the moon has dressed the whole hillside in a garment of glorious light. And then, just as Benjamin and his co-workers finish their rounds, the night bursts open with fantastic wonder. It is as though the curtain of the night rises, and with their naked eyes, they all stand face to face with the unfolding of the most beautiful pageant of the universe! One star appears as the director of this incredible symphony, and brings the shepherds in to fulfill their part in the most spectacular event that this world has ever experienced! And Benjamin thought to himself, “ I sure need something that will be great enough to take my mind away from the agony of my days.”
Benjamin was one of four shepherds chosen to engage in the wonders of the night. Under the watchful surveillance of the star, they shiver their way through the frosty night; cold on the outside but warm with the inner thought that the Great Creator of the universe was holding them in His arms. “ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger.”
Only the dim lights from heaven’s windows brighten the interior of the stable. Suddenly there is another light. Benjamin takes notice of it as it begins to move from a corner of the stable. The light is a torch in the hands of someone who slowly moves towards the manger where the baby is lying. Benjamin watches in wonder as it draws nearer! There is something familiar in the gait of the light bearer, who kneels in adoring awe before the baby. And then Benjamin sees the most beautiful sight of his entire life!! The figure kneeling at the manger is Mark! Without speaking a word to the others, Benjamin hastens to the worshipper and kneels down beside him, and whispers to him through his tears, “Happy birthday, Mark.” And the other shepherds said afterward they were sure they saw the baby smile!
Prayer To Follow This Meditation
O God, Creator of all that is mysterious, we are genuinely fascinated by all that takes us beyond the limits of human understanding. We pray for humility so that in this age of technology we may not conclude that humankind will yet resolve all that is mysterious. We have an obsession with the many tiny gadgets that seek to revoke the world’s mysteries.The flick of a switch can take us to a site picturing starving children in Ecuador, or a refugee camp in Afghanistan. It is easy enough to boast of our ability to circle the earth and explore the outer regions of space. But “man’s inhumanity to man!” is still an unsolved mystery. O God ,forgive humankind’s obsession with conquering outer space, before we conquer the enigmas of human behavior.
Father, this is the hour for the world to hear Your Message from Heaven: ” Let us go to Bethlehem, and see those things that have come to pass.” But how will the world hear unless the voices of those who have already heard it, amplify it above the world’s distracting verbiage?
Father, here we are, identifying entirely with the helplessness of the Baby, at whose cradle bed we kneel. How would such a one, so weak, and helpless ever rise to the enormous complexities that life would rain down upon Him? It is the power of Your love that remains His driving force, and Jesus’ Faith that You would always remain with Him. This is the secret of His victory! Let Your love that created this event so long ago, reveal itself within our hearts this night.
And all for Your Love’s sake. Amen.
Hymn: Silent Night – Josh Groban
EDITORIAL NOTES
1. Here and throughout the text of this meditation, the quotations from the Holy Bible are from the New International Translation, Unless otherwise noted in the text.
2. Hymn: Silent Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rbyYrLsUPWI&feature=youtu.be
3. Photo: The Arches National Park, Utah, USA
taken November 2017. We have titled this photo “The Light From Beyond” The photo has not been enhanced in any way .
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
God bless Mummy. I know that’s right.
Wasn’t it fun in the bath tonight?
The cold’s so cold, and the hot’s so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy – I quite forgot.
If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny’s dressing-gown on the door.
It’s a beautiful blue, but it hasn’t a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.
Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I’m there at all.
Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said “Bless Daddy,” so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember it. God bless Me.
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers. (1)
A Prayer To Follow This Reading
Father, the innocence of this child creates a longing inside of me. The world now is growing to be such a cold and lonely place, and that is happening at the same time as when Faith in You, among the multitudes, is declining.
Father I remember, like Christopher Robin, kneeling to pray, at the foot of my bed. On some bitterly cold winter evenings my ‘Amen’ became unshackled from the ending of my prayers and shivered its way to the heels of my first uttered petition. Then, when I eagerly surrendered to the inviting fortress of the warm snuggly blankets, I felt so entirely secure, I soon drifted off to sleep reassured that You were holding me in Your Arms. Thank You, Father, for that memory that comes back from somewhere to strengthen and to sustain me now!
In this empty and often lonely cyberspace age, the truly amazing thing I notice, since the years so quickly have fled, is: ” If I open my fingers a little bit more, I see You beside me, as in days of yore!” You haven’t changed one bit .hank You, Father. for keeping my memory green! And so may it be until the end. Grant that in that hour, I will see You still beside me, and as I drift off to sleep, Please, be there to assure me still that: ” When the morning wakens, then will I arise, pure and fresh and sinless in Your Holy eyes! ” AMEN.
(To gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows, a reading of the suggested scriptures will be most helpful. Also, a study of the Editorial Notes at the end of the post may prove to be beneficial)
November 26 is observed in the Christian Liturgical calendar as ” The Reign Of Christ Sunday.” The meditation that follows has that emphasis.
Psalm 2:6 ” I have installed my King on Zion,
my holy hill.”
1 Thessalonians 2:19 – 20
What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed you are our glory and joy.” (1)
It is time for each one of us to go inside ourselves and reclaim whatever time is remaining to us and be liberated from the iron grasp of the insidious tyrants that have imprisoned us with unrequited dreams. It makes little difference, if any, at what stage you are in the lifespan calendar of the allotted three score years and ten; now is the time to embrace the full measure of living which is the rightful inheritance for each human being.
There are myriads of people throughout Christendom who have a limited perception of their awaiting inheritance. And that is the result of the tyrannical forces within, which prohibits the vision of a fuller existence over that which is already known.
There is a Greek myth concerning one, Herme, the messenger of the Olympian gods. He is best-remembered for his astounding wisdom.” His ideas were passed from Master to Initiate for generations, for personal growth, and with the intention of achieving a greater and deeper understanding of the self, the world, and the beyond.” Perhaps the most memorable of these sayings, for our purposes now, at any rate, is: “As within so without,” (2) What we lend our allegiance to within the self, is necessarily the reality we present in the world.
The mission which the Apostle Paul undertakes with the Thessalonians in the scripture quoted above,is to have them stand, as individuals and then collectively, before the one perfect example of human achievement, Jesus Christ the King! There, in the Presence of The King, the accumulation of this world’s awards diminish in size and importance, but there is no remorse because the appearance of what is yet to be is imminent and amazingly possible.” For what is our joy, and our hope or the crown in which we glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is it not you ?(Thessalonians) Indeed you are our glory and our joy.”
A Prophet of The Old Testament, Malachi, many centuries ago, foresaw the necessity of the world’s people to take steps in preparation for receiving God’s intended endowment for them. “Who can endure the day of His coming? Who can withstand His appearance? He is like a refiner’s fire or the cleaner’s soap.” ( Malachi 3:2)
Only in the Presence of The King do we glimpse the full meaning of The Cross! The King commands an upward glance into the face of God.Then He focuses our vision first to our right, and then to our left to complete the outstretched arms of a cross. It is in that direction that we see the pain- pinched faces of the people whose presence here, is the opportunity that God is providing for each of us, in order that one day, when we stand alongside them in the Presence of the King, they will be known as our crowning glory. In the end is that not the greatest gift of all? Will that not be riches beyond all measure, to look upon the smiling faces of the one time forgotten, the lost and the least, and to know that God has chosen us to carry out His Plan to have His will done on earth as it is in heaven.
But the symbol of a cross is not complete until we follow the final direction of the King’s gaze, -downward
It is from the deeper places in this world that our present way of living is drawing its momentum.” For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) KJV.
It is from the depths that the false and debilitating belief arises into consciousness; that one is as well to keep silent since one person can do nothing!
It is from the depths that there is arising an ancient and a noxious philosophy, (to call it theology would be a misnomer), which disputes the divinity of Jesus, and seeks to remove Jesus from the center of Christian Theology. Of course one remembers from the Crucifixion narrative that the same cynicism and disbelief met His gaze from some at the foot of His Cross!But the Gospel does not end in the downward look of Jesus. In the end, He looks up again into His Father’s Face and talks to Him:” Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit.” Let us not end our story with the downward gaze. We have something more than the lifeless maxim of the ancient Hermes:” As within, so without.” We have the living Christ who by living “within” us, makes the “without” something beautiful for God!
A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
Our Father,
Bring the light of Your wisdom to our minds so that we may choose Your Way, over the destructive ways of the world that are the product of a bogus worldly wisdom.
Father, bring to our hearing the keenness that can listen clearly to Your still, small voice above the clamor and fake distractions which the world invents.
Bring to our eyes the vision of purer, and more beautiful things than those which appear to be the obsession of this present age. May we stand firmly in the Name Of Christ the King, to honor the dignity and the sanctity of Your Creation. No one on the grounds of ethnicity, or gender or position, or political creed, should dare to take advantage of another or to abuse another.We beg You to Forgive the warped intellect that seeks a theology that would condone any such behavior.
Father, In the Presence of The King, whom you have installed in our consciousness, to be the moral and ethical compass for your people, we bow with reverence. We freely offer You the throne of our will so that You may use it as Your own, and so rule from there, that we may be co-workers in the building of Your Kingdom. In Jesus Name. (3) Amen.
Hymn: The King Of Love My Shepherd Is
EDITORIAL NOTES
1. Here and throughout the text of this meditation, the quotations from the Holy Bible are from the New International Translation, Unless otherwise noted in the text.
2.One of the seven principles of the universe
as taught by Hermes Trismegistus https://treeofknowledgecoven.com/2012/07/01/as-above-so-below-as-within-so-without-as-the-universe-so-the-soul/
3.While this is not a direct quote from Psalm 2., the author is confident the inference will be clear to the reader.
4.Photo: Taken in Utah, Arches National Park, USA. Nov,2016
(To gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows, a reading of the suggested scriptures will be most helpful. Also, a study of the Editorial Notes at the end of the post may prove to be beneficial)
Matthew 27: 57 – 66 He rolled a big stone in
front of the entrance to
the tomb and went away
Psalm 31:8 You ( Lord) have not handed me
over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.(1)
Nostalgic feelings may run deep for some who recall the old song, “Don’t Fence Me In.” This song, incidentally, The Western Writers Of America, chose as one of the top 100 songs of all times. Now I do not claim expertise in any way concerning Western music. However, I am intrigued by the idea that this particular genre captures the idiosyncrasies of everyday living. There is something compelling about this song title, and the longing for the freedom it propitiates.
“Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don’t fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don’t fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evenin’ breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don’t fence me in!” (2)
Who doesn’t have memories of longing to be a friend of the West wind, that effortlessly climbs the highest mountains and goes laughing down into the valleys below? Or to be as uninhibited in seeking adventure as a river that explores every inlet and cove on its way to the sea? But there can never be for any human, freedom without responsibility! It is not at all unheard of to meet people who regret that there were not more fences in their past, to retard their progress towards heart-ache and sorrow. Too much freedom, and too little effort to be responsible, yields in emptiness and heartbreak.
Today’s promotion of a secular society, with its misrepresentation of freedom, as license to abolish long held mores, and engage in selfish and seductive behavior, is a tragedy of no small proportion. If we are ever to promote a sobering discussion about freedom and responsibility, it is in this hour. The abuse of opioids causing addiction, overdose, and death is reaching near tsunamic proportions. And yet, at this critical juncture, some government leaders are determined to legalize a substance that may well be a start-up drug, leading to more destructive behavior. There are millions the world over who find themselves restricted, confined, imprisoned, and in far too many cases, on the verge of death, because their one demand in this life continues to be “Don’t fence me in.”
The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation is the epic quest of the human race for Freedom. From the journeying of Abraham of Ur to destinies unknown, and his nephew Lot’s fatal decision to live in Sodom; to Moses demands to the Egyptian Pharaoh, ” Let my people go,” there echoes everywhere the desire for freedom! Throughout the New Testament, in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus; all events moving towards the final consummation of the ages in Revelation, the clarion note that is sounding everywhere, is the promise of ultimate and everlasting freedom.
The ill-advised attempts to establish lasting freedom among nations have brought the world to the doorstep of annihilation many times.
Three factors characterize human existence: a person’s freedom, a person’s responsibility, and a person’s spirituality. Almost from the first day following birth, a child begins to exercise his rites of freedom! The infant is free now to demand the rite of sustenance and is free to announce that his expectations must have a suitable and an immediate response. Many of the freedoms previously enjoyed by the parents take on a new design. Parents must now undertake the onerous mission of teaching their helpless little one to gain their freedom. Every act towards the accomplishment of some sign of independence by the child, calls for a celebration, and perhaps some slight tweaking of the observed freedoms.
We fondly recall the day our firstborn set out on her own to make what must have looked like an endless journey from my arms to her mother’s outstretched arms, a yard or so away. With a glowing face and eyes that outshone diamonds, she began the marathon. She held on with high concentration to the straps on the rompers she was wearing, and enjoying the taste of freedom; there was no stopping her now.
It now becomes the responsibility of the parents to teach their little ones that freedom requires something more to keep them safe, than the limited resources at hand at any crucial moment of need. The child must eventually learn to be aware of impending dangers and to develop the safeguards that will direct their destiny.
There is a third factor that contributes largely to our classification as a human being. The most important factor of all is an individual’s spirituality! The accurate measure of personal freedom, in the end, is the measure of private devotion to God. And subsequently, one’s commitment to God provides the strong impetus to act responsibly, so that all people everywhere may live in such a way as to be “Something beautiful for God.”(3)
The words of Psalm 31 quoted above are inspiring because they are incredibly relevant in our present milieu. The author of these words discovers the restricting barriers in his life that have shut him in with formidable destructive forces. The barriers, to some degree, are the end products of too much ill-considered freedom and a free abandonment of responsibility. Even so, it is the discovery of his spiritual factor that enables him to show an image of a complete human being! Hear once more the exuberant outburst of his reclaimed hope.” You (God), You have not handed me over to the enemy, but you have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Ps.31)
I do not fear being ‘fenced in’ in this world, as long as I know that God, through Jesus Christ is “fenced in’ with me! Therein is Victory and therein is Freedom.
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Father, we want to lend our voices to any who have forgotten how to talk to You, or perhaps have never been taught. This world is far too complicated a place to succeed in any attempt to go it alone! Therefore, we want to offer our voice to them, so that they may know the fulfillment of this incredible promise: ” Ask, and it shall be given unto you.”(Matthew 7: 7)
Father, forgive me for paying too much attention to the views of people purported to be wise when it is their ignorance that permits them to boast that they do not even believe in You. But Father, You show us that their views never provide the triumph of light over the darkness, And their deceptive charade of a self-created, loving fellowship to replace the Church of Jesus Christ is simply evil. Please give to me courage to stand up for the hard right against the easy wrong. Give to me that astute wisdom to know that only faith and trust in You through Jesus Christ, will accomplish Your Holy intention for the human race and change the world. In the Name of Christ, Who walks beside me I offer this Prayer. Amen
There follows one of my very favorite poems. May you find it as inspiring as I do, and may the imagery created by these words be a daily blessing for you.
Crossing the Bar
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ 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.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ 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.
Prayer To Follow This Reading
Teach us, dear Lord, so to draw from the boundless depth of Your mercy , that we may lie in perfect peace at the close of each day knowing, like the setting sun, that throughout this day we have tried our best to fulfill our appointed mission. That for our fellow pilgrims we have lined any dark clouds of their despair with a golden lining of hope , that will make this day’s sunset especially beautiful.
May the purity of the pale green sky that stretches just beyond the glorious sunburst waiting to make its debut, remind us of the purity of the unfailing love that lightens the way along every path that we must travel this day. if somewhere between Sunrise, and Sunset the one , clear call sounds for us, may we know that we will have The Pilot close at hand to lead us beyond the setting sun, to where we need not the light of sun or moon or stars ever more. In the Name of The Pilot we pray. Amen
Editorial Notes
Crossing The Bar: Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Organ Solo: Beyond The Sunset
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXzbDtXECyg&feature=youtu.ben Solo: Beyond The Sunset
Prayer: Franklin D. Curtis
Photo: Taken at our Summer Cottage ,in Michael’s Harbor,
(To gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows, a reading of the suggested scriptures will be most helpful)
Acts 17: 26 – 28
LUKE 7: 1 – 10
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to Him: Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have You come under my roof.
Jesus said to the crowd following Him, ” I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Luke 7: 7 & 9
The winds of God are blowing in this New Testament story. All the characters here are like so many ships waiting for the wind to fill their sails, and carry them God knows where.
And now, some two thousand years afterward each one of us who considers that “it is in God we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) We wait and ponder, how can that mystery come to be our experience.
The Jews were waiting for the fierce winds of political change to rise again. The centurion was expecting the reactionary winds of the revolutionaries to rise again. The Centurion’s slave was waiting to see whether the temperamental wind of his master’s mood will bring him life or death. The vast majority were waiting, just waiting for they knew not what!
Suddenly the wind arrives from an entirely unanticipated direction, thereby rescuing the scene from being recorded in someone’s diary as just another dreary day. The wind carries several of these unsuspecting characters into the deeper waters of spiritual experience.
And if the truth be known now, this is the same irresistible longing that inspires many to search for the Spirits leading: ” For in God we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17: 28)
Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, Mold me, fill me, Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me. (2)
When God answers that request, no longer are people idly waiting ‘like painted ships upon a painted ocean.’ The winds of God will fill the sails of their souls, and embolden them to engage in the building of God’s Kingdom to promote His glory.
From the outset, it is of vital importance to pay close attention to the direction from whence the wind of the Spirit comes.The Jewish people had waited for generations in anticipation of God’s Messiah! They await the first traces of dignity and respect to herald the beginning of God’s reign! They await some mighty warrior to unleash the chains of oppression so that they might live as God’s chosen people.
It is incredulous that the first indication of a new day dawning for them comes from the same direction as their greatest torment and their despair – from a Roman Centurion’s barracks!
Consider how difficult the situation is in the hour of their awakening. The atmosphere is tense. Everywhere there is suspicion and fear that is almost palpable. Political and religious considerations electrify the air they breathe! The Jewish population, known among themselves to be ‘the Chosen of God,’ are now being considered no more than Roman subjects with potent anti – Roman sentiments. And to have a Roman centurion stand sentry over their community, monitoring their every activity, brings suspicion and hatred into their souls.
The Jewish people, much to their chagrin, discover that this centurion is uncharacteristically friendly, naturally compassionate, and sincerely considerate even towards the least and the last. This fact defies all logic, the people conclude. There must be some ulterior motive for this behavior! This fellow is a gentleman, besides being a centurion. And these are essential facts that one must consider. There is such incongruence here. How can there be a gentleman of Roman descent, and a Roman Centurion, at that? He is entirely outside the realm of possibility concerning the hopes and beliefs of the Jewish religion. Who knows what kind of God this fellow worships? He is different from them, and yet he possesses some qualities which they can only hope that one day will be theirs also. Perhaps the safest strategy will be to treat this fellow as ‘an island unto himself.’
The tenderness that the Centurion shows towards his sick servant cannot be ignored by anyone anywhere. His response breaks through all legal requirements of a master-servant relationship and demonstrates ‘love’ towards one of much lower rank.
Nothing affects relationships like observing one person giving to another the love and respect which makes that person as complete as God created him to be.
The frost begins to lose its grip and soon throughout the community, relationships start to change for the good.
The biting criticisms, the mistrust, the innuendoes begin to lose an active voice. The one they were contemplating making an island unto himself is already constructing an indestructible bridge between his heart and theirs. On the building site of the new Jewish synagogue in Capernaum, where the busy Jewish laborers are hard at work, is the Centurion lending a helping hand A gentle wind from heaven is beginning to stir.
It is intriguing to consider how the beauty in one individual’s life can awaken a similar vision in the spirit of others. David, the ancestor of these Jews, experiences, many years before, that same mystery, and writes about it, ‘the deep calls unto deep in the roar of Your waterfalls as Your waves sweep over me.” Only the deep will respond to the deep, anything that does not issue from the depth cannot touch the depths.’ A beauty lying so close to the surface of the Centurion’s life awakens the beauty in the lives of his Jewish acquaintances, which cruel political circumstances are threatening to destroy.
It is God’s Presence within each person that makes ONE all nations on earth. The deep things of God in one calls unto the deep things of God in another! We must learn how to distinguish the sounds of suspicion, and hatred and selfishness from the sound of the ‘still small voice of God’s approach.
The ways of coercion and force from the Romans to submit, and engage in the worship of the emperor, threatened to annihilate the experience of God’s chosen path for many of His people. It is imperative to give recognition to the patience, the gentleness and the loving way by which God enables this centurion, to bring the golden touch of kindness and beauty into the Gospel Narrative.
Threats and punishments are never acceptable means of bringing another into the presence of God. The centurion’s response when we trace it to its origin, reveals a spiritual source! The ability to show such empathy as he does originates deep within the person whose essence remains in the hands of his Creator!
It is God who chooses this Centurion, and prepares him to show to the world the relevance of the Gospel to change the way individuals see one another, and the way they see their world. It is God who sows the seed of belief in the Centurion that Jesus can, and will bring healing to his beloved servant, and it is God who inscribes on this outsiders heart the message that love conquers all hate and division. It is God who gives to this prominent official the Grace to remain humble and to continue to be a tyro in the unfolding mystery of God’s plan for His creation.
All of this reveals that God reserves for Himself the right to choose the direction of the wind!
A sobering silence falls upon us as we consider how those who are waiting for a fuller demonstration of God, catch a glimpse of God’s will and purpose for the world, from one who is a foreigner, an outsider, an immigrant. ! Concerning this Centurion, Jesus said to the crowd following Him, ” I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” It is God’s Presence within each person that makes ONE, all nations on earth.’ (3)
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
“If thou shouldst never see my face again,
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
But now farewell”(4)
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Father, it thrills our souls, like when one hears the soaring crescendos of the Hallelujah Chorus bursting upon his ears for the first time : “God has made peoples of all nations to live together and to share the face of this planet as ONE. None can arrogate to themselves a higher and more excellent origin than another. Father, forgive that relic of arrogant blindness which still insists that ” there is something greater for the human race than being created in Your Image, O God. Some want to BE God!
Lord, teach us to beware of those whose minds can “make a Hell of Heaven and a Heaven of Hell’.
Father, forgive those who distort the message of Jesus with an obsessive care of self while condemning all others of different race and creed as being unworthy to receive minimal concern. In Your mercy, return to this world the heart of ‘the Good Shepherd, and provide more people for service, whose hearts are prepared to act in love as Jesus, did.
Let the Strains Of A Hallelujah Chorus burst upon Your world again to obliterate the noise and rumors of war. Let it mark the celebration of Your Kingdom Come and Your Will done here on earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus Name. Amen
Hymn: Blest Be The Tie That Binds
Editorial Notes
1. Here and throughout this meditation the quotations from The Holy Bible are from the New International Translation
2. Spirit Of The Living God http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/religious+music/spirit+of+the+living+god_20887570.htm
3. See 1. Above
4. Le Morte d’Arthur
Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
5. Photo: Robert’s Arm, NDB., Newfoundland. Taken summer 2017.
( To gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows, a reading of the suggested scriptures will be most helpful)
Acts 16:19 – 34
Psalm 144: 1 – 15
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge. Ps.144: 2
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake ..Acts 16:23
This Psalm is a moving expression of one individual’s discovery of the impact that God’s envisioned purpose makes upon life. So awe-inspiring is the vision of human life, which God reveals to him, that David is in a state of ecstatic disbelief. “Is it possible, that what he glimpses now is a plausible expectation of human life? ” What is man that You, God, care for him, or the son of man that You think of him? Can creatures whose days are like ‘a fleeting shadow, a mere breath,’ ever accomplish such magnificence, that will endure the test of time? Even though the Creator is the author of the brevity of human existence, nevertheless, He appoints humankind to an indispensable obligation in the unfoldment of His end plan for this world. We shall realize that the will which the Creator reveals to David, finds total consummation in the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
The introductory verses of Psalm 144 will appear to many to be utterly devoid of any trace of religious piety. Here we learn that the impetus for David’s lavish praise of the Almighty is his belief that the Almighty has prepared his “hands for war, and his fingers for battle.” It must be unequivocal that David’s belief does not constitute, in any way, the approval of the Almighty to engage in war as the final resolution of difficult problems. David’s responsive psalm to God goes much deeper than that.
David realizes that the underlying dynamic of his life is an entrance into another stratum of reality, where his physical being is entirely understood and therefore equipped. The idioms of preparing the hands for war and the fingers for battle would be commonplace among an ancient nomadic race where the survival of the fittest is a daily consideration. But how empowering is the belief that humans can, generally speaking, find an open door, which by entering, they can acquire preparation for the tasks which everyday living presents? David, in Psalm 144, reveals that in finding ‘ the door,’leading into a stratum beyond that which is purely physical, he was being accessed by a force of unconditional love, in preparation for tasks yet to be.
Andrea Bocelli, an Italian classical tenor, selling more than 80 million records worldwide, attests to the brilliant success of an outstanding artist. In 1998, Bocelli was named ‘one of “PEOPLE’S” 50 most beautiful people.
Sometime before his birth, Andrea’s mother, Edi, suffering from appendicitis, sought medical attention. It was at this time that Mrs. Bocelli received advice from her doctor to abort the fetus which she was carrying at the time, because of substantial evidence that the child would be born with a disability. Andrea’s mother refused the advice. Sometime later the child was born with a severe vision defect. By the time he celebrated his 12th birthday, Andrea Bocelli was entirely blind.
Bocelli is a devout Catholic whose faith informs many – if not most – aspects of his life.
” Faith holds first place in my life.
I do not think anyone can ever do
anything without the help and will
of God.”(2)
Millions, the world over are enraptured by the sound of that magnificent voice singing:
‘ Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found;
was blind but now I see.”(3)
There is another truth needing an emphasis here. It is this; Every individual who successfully finds access to that ‘ other strata’ of existence, and thereby sees God, leaves the influence of that encounter as a blessing in the world, even after they depart hence and are no more.
This world is not a solid orb drifting aimlessly in uncharted space. It more resembles a honeycomb, whose interior is housing undeniable evidence that God always finds the right solution to fulfill His will for individuals, and His purpose for this world. This world is being made a better place because of the permanent effects left behind any person’s encounter with the living God, whether one realizes it or not. That is a part of the divine mystery of God’s unconditional love.
Neither is this earth, to recall a phrase of the poet, George MacDonald, ” a place of tombs.” (3)The earth is not a place where human frailties and disabilities inter our fondest dreams and highest hopes. If instead, we find here on earth “a fortress, a stronghold, and a loving God,” as David did, then we experience victory for ourselves, and renewed hope for the world. There is no frailty or disability in the experience of any human that can diminish the willingness and the power of God to affect. God’s presence prepares David’s physical body to meet the challenges that his present situation demands, and you are no different, and the promise is no less sure. Is it fading memory? slowing footsteps? dimming vision? – Nothing can separate you from the love of God.
The whole of the Old Testament and David, himself, are but shadows of the revelation that Jesus more perfectly completes. Jesus demonstrates this truth that George MacDonald so eloquently expresses: ” this earth is not a place of tombs.” The only people who find it so, are those who have forgotten, or perhaps have never known, that God is not finished with us yet! And that is precisely why God raised Jesus from the dead! Behold men, who Behold God! They are never defeated! On they go from strength to strength!
A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
No prison wall is thick enough to keep You away from me, O Loving God; no binding chains are strong enough to shackle the eagle within me, from soaring above the thunder clouds to find You.
I have seen that in the darkest night You surround us with examples of other humans, who are leaving Heaven’s door ajar, inviting us to share in their victory and find restoration in You.
( 4)Peter and Silas were in a dark Roman dungeon. They were wounded and bleeding, the victims of violent injustice. Father, how mightily You trained them and equipped them for that offensive hour. There must have been a chorus of Angels on hand to strengthen the sounds of praising and singing issuing from that inner dungeon. Prepare us, Lord, so that in our most hopeless situations the victory that always comes from You, will be a true celebration. If we live in You, we will keep rising from the dead. Amen.
Hymn: Amazing Grace – Andrea Bocelli
Editorial Notes
1. Here and elsewhere throughout this text,
all quotes from THE HOLY BIBLE are
from the NEW INTERNATIONAL
TRANSLATION, (NIV)
2. Andrea Bocelli. Quoted in an article: Andrea
Bocelli – Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Bocelli
3.George MacDonald in ” A Prayer for the Past
( To gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows, a reading of the suggested scriptures will be most helpful)
Luke 13: 31 – 35
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,…….how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing !” (1)
Restlessness is almost a definition of our humanness. Perhaps it is restlessness that differentiates us most of all from our Creator. The Divine Spirit rests after brooding over the deep, to create all things. Our rest is mostly spasmodic and seldom serene. It is restlessness, like the waves of an ever ebbing sea that best characterizes the human condition.
There is an uneasiness here on earth that is generic! It comes all unbidden, even as the world tries to make us comfortable, and gain that ” at home” feeling. The world’s consuming embrace soon reveals the phantom-like quality of its promises until one becomes disillusioned and filled with restlessness. Then there begins the endless quest for something more.
We make concerted efforts to curb our discontent, and on occasion, we enjoy some temporary relief.
For the poet, John Masefield, a trip on his challenging sea is all that is needed. Others find a meandering stroll down memory’s lane to enjoy the reveries of some far off yesterday is enough to restore life’s peace and tranquility. Still others, like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, find complete release from restlessness in the pages of some treasured book:
Come read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs
And silently steal away. (2)
But in the morning the delicate equilibrium steals away with the evening star.
The book providing yesterday’s pleasure is closed! The too-brief sea voyage ends! Someone or something awakens us from our reveries, and chaos and perplexities come again to knock upon life’s door!
We learn from Luke’s Gospel account of the life and times of Jesus, that human restlessness is not a sign that God forgets us. In the words of Jesus to the people of Jerusalem, He expresses the exact empathy and tenderness we humans crave. The illustrative picture that follows is God’s response to the chronic restlessness of the human spirit:
” O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
how often I have longed to gather
your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing.”(3)
It is a common conclusion of many who undertake a reading of the New Testament, that Jesus is something ‘completely OTHER’ than human. Therefore, all the mores and standards associated with Him lie beyond a human’s ability to achieve. I suggest rather that this image is the result of observing life from a vantage point above the restlessness and the chaos of the world. This vantage point ‘above,’ what we now are, is the result of one’s finding God. And consequently, we view life, with all the glorious possibilities our Creator sees. It is imperative that we understand that herein lies the only hope for the human race.
Under ‘the wings of God’ there is no tension based on the color of one’s skin; or how many millions one can lay claim to, while his brothers and sisters suffer the pains of starvation; no race towards the production of weapons of mass destruction to settle human-made dilemmas.
The gross misunderstandings, the partial truths, the warped and twisted ideas permeating the ancient city of Jerusalem, thrust the local populace into a sea of confusion, restlessness, and despair.
Jesus shows us the true meaning of empathy. Empathy does not mean to observe from the outside what lies inside a broken heart, or the longing to find some certainty in the quagmire of constant change. The essential meaning of empathy, Jesus demonstrates, is to take the offending circumstances that belong to other people, and graft them into one’s own experience long enough to put upon them, the mark of that spirit. Then upon their return to their owner, by the Grace of God, they will inspire victory.
During the Crucifixion, when mob hysteria reigns in the boisterous, and unthinking crowds, Jesus endures their insults and accusations. He silently gathers all inside Himself. Finally, He responds to His tormentors, and indeed to the world, by offering the most gracious moment ever lived. He impregnates the noxious air that is invading everything, with the prayer: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Our experiences of restlessness, whatever initiates them, need never be supplemented by any fear of God’s forgetfulness. We forget that God is always present in Jesus Christ, to gather us within the shelter of Himself, and thereby provide for us the peace that passes all understanding. As a hen gathers her brood under her wings, so He desires to shelter each of us.
In the end, however, our peace of mind and serenity of soul is contingent upon our willing obedience in this life. The full meaning of life becomes apparent only “In Him,” from ‘UNDER HIS WINGS! It is here alone that we can learn ‘To Be As He Is’ and therefore ‘Do As He Does!’ Our lives are to be the conduits of His unconditional love, and continuously drawing from the deep well of His empathy we must go out into the troubled world to bear one another burdens. Only in this way can we bring peace to the restless world.
There is a profound thought captured in a poem titled: “THE PULLEY” by the 14-century poet, George Hebert:
” When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by;
‘Let us, said He, ‘pour on him all we can:
Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span’.
So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flow’d , then wisdom, honor, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure
Rest at the bottom lay
‘ For if I should,’ said He,
‘Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore My gifts instead of Me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.’
‘Yet let him keep all else,
But keep them with repining restlessness:
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast. (4)
Prayer to Follow This Meditation
O God, our Father
May the Peace of Your Heavenly Home come once more to change the world, we now call ‘home.’
Many of Your children are afraid, disillusioned and beginning to despair. They hear grown men shouting at each other and threatening one other with utter destruction. ‘ Man’s inhumanity to man’ is exploding everywhere. Everywhere, greedy people flaunt their wealth while infants in the global village or on the next street cannot find milk to sustain life. There are governments glassy-eyed over the promised revenue to be gained from legalizing substances that may well increase the wailing because of lives similarly destroyed and broken by addictions. O God of all mercy, show us the way of Peace.
Show us again that Heaven’s Peace is not the “greenhouse” variety that too soon fades. Show us once more that Heaven’s Peace is the product of LOVE. Love that binds together all who bear Your Image. O God, Please, for Your sake, and for ours, hasten the reign of Your Peace on earth. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, AMEN.
Sweet Peace The Gift Of God
‘https://franksmeditations.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=367&action=edits Love
1.All quotations from The Holy Bible are from The New International Version, NIV
2. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in “DAY IS DONE,” stanzas 7,9 &11. Bartleby.com
3. See #1 above
4.George Herbert in ‘THE PULLEY’
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44370/the-pulley
Photo: taken at our summer cottage at Michael’s Harbour, Newfoundland , August, 2017.
Hi ,and welcome to each person who comes to this site either by chance or by design!
The site is dedicated to all who keep alive within their hearts , a prayer for the Peace of the world and Peace within for themselves.
I will offer a fresh introduction to the transforming Friendship of Jesus Christ , but most emphatically, I will not disparage any path that has led you into the Eternal Presence of God. Any resulting discourse will be between you and Him! All are Welcome! Come in and be at Peace!
You will not find here the answer to every question nor the propounding of such truth that will satisfy your every need. If, however, you find any help within the pages that follow, please say a wee prayer and leave the door ajar so that others may find an easy access to the site!
Thanks for coming and have a blessed day and a peaceful life.
5.
( To gain a further understanding of the meditation that follows, a reading of the suggested scriptures will be most helpful)
