Author: rattleyrow@gmail.com

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WHEN THE LAMP FLICKERS

                   WHEN THE LAMP FLICKERS

Scripture Reading: John 8: 12-20

 Psalm 19:105 Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Text)

This text is in heartfelt gratitude to God by one who has discovered the fulfilment of the Divine’s promise to accompany all like him on life’s journey. Although The Word precedes the fulfilled promise to this person, regardless, that Word is a sacred covenant between himself and God. Time and again, The Word arrives like an unseen presence, offering to lead to still waters and green fields. Consequently, souls staggering under torturing emotions become peaceful and serene once more. The Word is a medium from outside a self to be light in the deepest darkness, threatening to take one’s soul hostage.

In the final analysis, however, those who testify of any permanence of the experience of The Word BEING The Lamp that brightens their way are far fewer than those who sadly wish that ‘ The Lamp’ would never flicker. It is sad but true that even many churchgoers hearing the text, “Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path,” long for more revealing evidence for themselves and concerning their efforts to change a hurting world. Is it not the flickering of the Lamp that induces such uncertainty? 

The Old Testament is rife with images of humans caught in diverse situations that flip quickly between celestial light leading them and the dense darkness of a moonless night enveloping them. 

Job, once a wealthy man of respect, was regarded as a man of deep faith. In time, Job becomes tragically forsaken by family and friends. In extreme poverty, he sits alone, reduced to a heap of human misery, and finally, his wife, deeply pained by his condition, advises him to “curse God and die”.(Job 2:9)
But not for long does the “Dark Night of The Soul Prevail!” Instead, the Creator of light offers Job His steady hand to restore that flickering Lamp, and Job responds, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him”. (Job 13:15)

Long after the stream of time flowed through the land of UZ, where Job expressed his inspiring faith, God, seeing the complexities of an ever-changing world, responded. And, The Word, which God gave to light our way through this world, proved insufficient. Subsequently, The WORD “BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US”  in the man Jesus.
But still, this world remained a rich environment for this human experience of The Flickering Lamp. On one occasion, there is a celebration for the glory of the lighted mind, and in the next moment, the fearsome darkness of the Flickering Lamp invades. The contradiction continued even though The Word, the Lamp given to light the human pathway, came in Jesus. A haunting question, dripping like molten lead on a naked brain, persisted: “What difference did Christ’s coming to dwell among humankind make? The Lamp of certainty still flickered!

Thomas was one of twelve chosen by Jesus to be one of His disciples. The scant material available concerning Thomas portrays him as one of solid loyalty and unwavering devotion. Jesus’ tenderness and patience were the hallmarks of this relationship. However, Thomas sought to deepen his understanding of Jesus more than once when confusion threatened to breed doubt. On one occasion, when Jesus informed His disciples of His forthcoming return to His Father and foretold them that they would later join Him there, Thomas intervened, “We do not know where you are going; therefore, how can we know the way”?

There it is! The flickering Lamp! 

Purely earthy limitations blind Thomas in his search to understand faith’s awesome mysteries. Every day’s journeying with Jesus intensified his desire to live like Him! Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6). 

With leaden steps, Thomas’ friends rendezvoused to share one another’s incapacitating grief over their crucified Lord. Thomas was missing from that company. He wasn’t there when “The Risen Son” electrified the atmosphere of the Upper Room. All restraint was abandoned! The whole world was alive, hailing the heavenly message, “He IS RISEN”!

But Thomas wasn’t there!

So, the others told him!

“I won’t believe it,” Thomas replied, “Until I see Him myself and feel the print of the nails, I will not believe it!!

Darkness threatened to extinguish the light in Thomas’soul! The Lamp Flickered!
‘But what made the undeniable change in his close friends’? Thomas wondered. They each glowed as though they reflected a light fixed internally. But the darkness for Thomas only grew deeper, until that night, sometime later, when they were all together again. And, Thomas was also there! Suddenly, Jesus, The Risen One”, was there with them!

     Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and  believe.”
Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:27-29).

There was a noticeable brilliance in the light that shone in the world that night. And, to this hour, hidden in our malignant doubts and fears, the ever-present Christ reveals Himself as the master over the experience of our flickering lamps.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote a most revealing Word for his people, Israel, worthy of remembrance still:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who calls you by your name,
I Am the God of Israel”. (Isaiah 45: 3)

       A Prayer To Follow This Meditation

Father, my Father,
in Your hands is the indispensable gift of light that first shone through the dark abyss during creation. At Your command, the light revealed the innumerable possibilities hidden in that darkness. Among those possibilities, You fashioned humankind in Your image, to share Your creative desire to enlighten their habitation to resemble Heaven, the home from whence they came. Consequently, You gave them Your Word to be a lamp for their feet and a light to shine upon their path.

But in time, humans deliberately chose darkness over light” (John 3:18-20). “The Lamp flickered”.

FatherYou responded to the darkness, “and the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us”. But as the light increased, so did the human desire for darkness. The darkness deepened until the day a Cross was set with a sickening thud on Golgotha. “And darkness covered the whole land”.

But now, twenty centuries after, this thunderous chorus  echoes through heaven and earth: 

” Hallelujah! GHRIST IS RISEN”! And although our lamps of faith and action still flicker occasionally, it is not without the embedded certainty that when our Lamp in this world flickers, “The Light of The World ” is never far behind!
This very night, as dense darkness of hatred and war creeps over the world’s horizon, it’s time for the world’s inhabitants to reflect the Light of the One who dwells within each of us. 

For Your Love’s sake and for Your world, we pray. Amen.
Hymn:  Let There Be Light

 

https://youtu.be/YNfR3r1WuEY

   

 

Editorial Notes
I wish to acknowledge the outstanding photography in this post as the work of a Newfoundland photographer
Ray Mackey. It is used here with much pride and many thanks.

 

 

 

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Meditations

The Trumpet Sounds Within My Soul

 

The Trumpet Sounds Within My Soul

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man, he could not see over the crowd.” Luke 19: 2-3

Zacchaeus was a very wealthy chief tax collector living in Jericho. On one occasion, when Jesus was to pass through town, Zacchaeus was determined to see who He was. The crowds on this occasion were massive, so Zacchaeus, driven by compulsion, climbs into a sycamore tree to fulfil his mission!

“But Zacchaeus, what unimaginable force lay behind a man of your position and notoriety to undertake such seeming ridiculous action? Scaling the heights of a sycamore tree, indeed”! Do you not hear the insulting vibes from the jeering crowds?”

 A subsequent condemnation of Zacchaeus by his fellow citizens was a summary statement concerning him: ” This man is no child of Abraham as we are; he is a sinner”. Zacchaeus knew only too well the pain of such exclusivity, based mainly upon his profession. But, as revealed later in this account, he would give virtually anything to be called “friend” by another human!

Undoubtedly, a power mightier than anything found in this world often visited the profound loneliness of this man’s soul. 

There is, available to every member of the human family, a capacity that turns ashes into roses and loneliness into a symphony of love. This capacity is what Zacchaeus found, or more precisely, It found Zacchaeus!

Truthfully, it matters not how one identifies this occurrence; it is undeniably a part of our humanness, an intervention by otherworldliness.

We are left to ponder the details of the seeming outside intervention involving Zacchaeus. Perhaps it started with his experiences of empty aloneness! It was so with Jesus while in the desert during His temptations. The record informs us that,t finally, angels came and ministered to Him. 

Day and night, night and day, whether in the tax booth or walking along the seashore with the lonely cry of the seagulls accompanying him, Zacchaeus was alone! Truthfully, it is often the long night watches, when sleep evades us, that God selects as His time of visitation. Or, as the African American Spiritual has it:

   “My Lord, calls me,
  He calls me in the thunder.
His trumpet sounds within my soul.
I ain’t got long to stay here”.

Before the present narrative begins, it is evident that ” The trumpet of the Lord ” sounded clearly in Zacchaeus’s soul. Now, its sound obliterates the sounds of mistrust and suspicion against him and any self-ponderance of what some might see as inappropriate behaviour disappeared like a morning mist. 

 In a candid statement, Luke tells us much in just a few words. Zacchaeus “wanted to see who Jesus was”. On this occasion, Zacchaeus notices the enthusiastic crowds, their faces glowing with delight and approval. He recognises almost every face in the present group, but in their closer company, he sees only faces reflecting hearts of stone.

And then, the outcome! The final part of the narrative. Let the trumpet now play a version of “The Hallelujah Chorus!” Zacchaeus no longer has to stay in the place of constant longing and ill-fated dreams. 

No more is Zacchesus besieged by thoughts of being equipped by God to share some innate goodness with his neighbours and friends who, until this moment, have rejected him. But listen, there is not to be anywhere found a human being who bears the likeness of God, who is not equipped to share some personal gift for the betterment of his race. 

Listen to the trumpet sounding in your soul and live as a child of God. Be eager to be inclusive, and see worth in all you meet. Be quick to love and slow to judge. Remember Jesus’ admonishment to the critics of Zacchaeu: Zacchaeus, too, is a child of God! 

 ( Luke 19: 9-10)

A Prayer to follow this meditation

My Father,
 The sound of Your trumpet in my soul is an
  occurrence for which I am eternally grateful.

Sometimes, when the cares of this world weigh me down and threaten to overwhelm me, Your trumpet refocuses my soul to walk with You beside the still waters and into the green fields.

Sometimes, when words of faith are derided and made light of in the group, the temptation is to blend anonymously into the background. The trumpet sounds within my soul. Fear evaporates, and the Lord provides the opportunity to offer His defence in love.

Other times, I hear Your trumpet in the dark of the night when sleep refuses to interrupt the not-so-pleasant memories of my day’s performance. Then the trumpet’s sounding announces God’s calling time, and, before long, in complete reassurance, I fall asleep in Your arms.
 Father, in Your merciful love, may I continue to hear Your trumpet’s guiding sound until I reach the gates of my heavenly home.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn: Where He Leads ME, I Will Follow

https://youtu.be/e9FqFC0WA-o?si=5F2H_zpPR8skoxEe

 

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KNOW THYSELF

“KNOW THYSELF”

 Additional Reading Luke 4: 1- 13. “The Temptations Of Jesus”

Text Psalm 71: 4-5

” Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth”.

The ancient Greek dictum,” Know Thyself”, was carved in stone at the entrance of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece. The” Know Thyself” inscription has encouraged people of all ages to search for self-understanding. Consequently, that undertaking quickly reveals that the essence of one’s life is not to be searched for in the world outside but within one’s self. “To know oneself seems to be the easiest thing of all, yet it is the hardest,” concludes one ancient philosopher. And so it remains to this hour.

Now, we will accept this challenging invitation to Know Thyself by first exploring the experiences of David, Israel’s one-time famous king, as told by himself in Psalm 71  of The Old Testament.

It becomes clear to readers at the outset of this Psalm that David’s self-knowledge takes him immediately beyond the confines of the present world. Consequently, an unrelenting search inside himself reveals that God is waiting, ready to satisfy his quest.
“You have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth, I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.” (Psalm 71: 4-6).
It remains a fact established over aeons that by accepting the challenge to “Know Thyself,” one must, from the outset, know that humans can only know themselves by knowing God first.
But notice David is not granted immunity from the pitfalls that seem to be woven into the very fabric of man’s world. Instead, threats become the cornerstone of emerging faith, and victory lies hidden in the fiercest temptations. Wise is the man who, like David, calls to memory faith’s prior conquests when threatening foes are on his very threshold.

 “Know Thyself” is the consciousness of God being present within a person. And therefore, one can survey all worldly situations with the aid of divine introspection.

 It is remarkable how David, in this Psalm, portrays the make-up of a human being; body, mind and Spirit, still used in modern Psychology to describe the connection between all three aspects of our being, the mental, the physical and the spiritual. (2)

Quite naturally, David, a resident of a worldly community, shares its material and physical and mental features. Therefore David is acquainted with the critical nature of some fellow citizens. Their suspicions often result in physical threats and wholesale condemnation of another person’s successes. But, like a basketweave throughout the first portion of David’s Psalm, consciousness of the immediate danger to his body prompts him to seek refuge and deliverance from his God, thus revealing his spiritual stance.
Nevertheless, the preservation of the body is part of one’s identity in the physical world, where tradition dictates that one is responsible for defending himself against all threats. Consequently, the mind urges David to fight fire with fire as the only legitimate response to protect the body from imminent threats. To do otherwise is considered a sign of weakness. ” May my accusers perish in shame. May those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.” David concludes.
(vs 13)

But, in David’s case, running parallel throughout this weave, there is the memory of a more noble thought:  “From birth, I have relied on You. You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.” David’s return to his origin is not a new beginning out of nothing but a restoration. And so it remains for everyone who answers the call to ” Know Thyself”.
 As He prepares to begin His earthly ministry, the New Testament record of Jesus, the Son Of God, deals with the cruel onslaught of worldly temptations. In the end, Jesus demonstrates the essential requirements for his followers: “Love the Lord, Thy God, with all thy heart, and thereby be enabled to “Know Thyself,” 

   PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

O God of such tender love, mercy, and wisdom that I am
lost in wonder, praise and awe.
I marvel that You placed us incomplete in this world where so many attractive resources promise to satisfy our pressing quest for completion.

You also reserved a private space for each one of us. From here, you gently reveal with love to everyone that to become overpowered in the world’s riches and eventually name them ‘mine’ is to remain incomplete forever.

 You whisper from Your dwelling place within me, “Hold all the world’s riches in your spirit, thus transforming them into things of lasting beauty, and finally give them back to the world transformed by the love of God! Thank You, whispering, God, I trust You to lead me aright. Continue to lead me to know myself and express a living, passionate love for You as Jesus did. Amen.
Hymn: Be Still My Soul

https://youtu.be/5UJFw3p76d8

 

NOTES

  1. Scripture references are from the NIV translation.
  2. Meaning of Body Mind and Spirit
    mind body and spirit meanings – Search (bing.com)

3. Hymn Youtube as indicated at the site.

 

 

 

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THE CALL FROM THE BOUNDLESS DEEP

THE CALL FROM THE BOUNDLESS DEEP

Additional Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1 – 11

TEXT
“1 Peter 1: 13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”

This text is remarkable counsel from a man whose life in seasons past was moulded and shaped by the unpredictable forces of the sea. The unreliable sea was the only driving force Peter knew! He depended entirely upon that sea for his livelihood. He learned to deal with its disappointments and uncertainties. Every day his effort was to wrestle the sea’s treasure from its miserly grasp. He and his crew toiled all night more than once and took nothing. One morning, while routinely preparing to put back to sea, Peter was delayed in his effort by someone on the shore. Jesus inauspiciously flung the thought into Peter’s soul of ‘catching men’ rather than fish’. In a split second, Peter felt a new reality entering his soul. He heard an unfamiliar Call from deep inside himself for the first time.
The experience was utterly other-worldly for him.

Subsequently, one night in the vicious throes of the stormy sea, Peter, while in the company of Jesus, experienced the inexplicable power and sheer beauty of Faith in God. Jesus’ response to the storm’s mighty battering captured Peter’s attention. Then, slowly, it dawned upon him that Jesus was introducing him to something entirely different from the hidden dread of the boundless deep, which Peter knew all too well. And in complete ecstasy, Peter, at that moment, coveted this same experience for those he cared for most and for those he loved the best.
But too soon, the consideration of a career change from ‘catching fish’ to ‘ catching men’ grounded in complete abandon! The  ‘instructor in chief’ had met a cruel death at the hands of enemies at Calvary. For Peter, the Call from the boundless deep within himself was less enticing now. The familiar pounding of the sea offered a more private place to deal with feelings that ran too deep for tears. ” I am going fishing,” Peter announces to his co-workers, whose silent prayers seem answered by Peter’s decision. ( John 21: 3-6)
But how can anyone fathom with such decisiveness the mystery involved in the two calls from the boundless deep? Being a citizen of the world, Peter had responded, paying attention to the advantages so readily available to a fisherman. The other possibility, to be a fisher of men, recently issued by Jesus, came to a previously unheard region of Peter’s existence. It came to the unfathomed depths of Peter’s soul. It was an unspeakable experience of Faith in God that had no comparison whatsoever with being a fisherman. He would now catch men!  Perhaps, he and his companions might all become Fishers Of Men.

In his work “Crossing The Bar,” British Victorian Poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson uses the same metaphor to impart the mystery of human behaviour that awakens the soul to its destiny:

 CROSSING 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”.

At the centre of the town, which I proudly call home, there is a pond fed at one end by two tributaries, and at the opposite end is the pond’s access to the sea. At high tide, the ocean waters move swiftly to share their volume with the pond. The pond appears to be drawing from the boundless deep of the ocean. At low tide, the flood water returns home to the boundless deep! The rising and falling of the fast-moving waters are too full for sound or foam.
In my youth, I stood for hours on the bridge that spans the tide, imagining the incoming surge to be the grace of God preparing us for the work awaiting us. The outflowing tide takes the needs, the sorrows, and the community’s pain to be lost in the sufficiency of God’s mercy and grace.

 Likewise, Faith is Peter’s discovery and final acceptance of the truth. Beneath the surface of every experience, there is always the sufficiency of God’s unconditional love and the reality of a Transforming Friendship. Thank God, the Call from the boundless deep, as uttered by Jesus, won its victory in Peter’s life. Peter’s initial decision to return to the fishing grounds resulted from heartache and disappointment. Subsequently, it vanished when the risen Christ made clear that Fishers of men is the result of Faith born of love. It is the ending of the timidity to express, before all others, unconditional love to the One who demands it. (see John 21:15) “The call from out the boundless deep” defines Faith. Drawing from out the boundless deep’ will prepare us “to see our Pilot face to face when we have crossed the bar”.

             A Prayer To Follow This Meditation

Our Father,
speak the word only, and our spirits will bear lasting allegiance to Your way. Indeed, You show us the way, the truth and the life.
Yet, words are impotent until the Spirit propels them deep into our being to invigorate our resolve to live for Thee.
Let us receive, as from Thy hand, the gift of this new day and affirm Thy power to make it worthy of being offered to Thee at eventide. We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn: I Feel The Winds Of God

https://youtu.be/IEudmc1fLeo

NOTES

1. Scripture references are found in the NIV translation of Scripture.
2. The photographer is unknown to me. However, gratitude is expressed here for this beautiful picture of the Drum Bridge
( Draum Bridge) locally named.

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Meditations

THE GLORY OF THE EXTENDED SELF



         THE GLORY OF THE EXTENDED SELF

Matthew 25:40  ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 

The ability to extend oneself beyond what is allowed by our physicality is a commonplace occurrence. Our children leave home. But who will deny the fact that they remain there? They are not physically present or available to the senses, but communications remain, even if seemingly from a different sphere. Spirit with Spirit still meet. Sometimes, years later, people surprisingly discover that they do things the way they observe in childhood. That suggests more of the extension of a self than the mere formation of a habit! 

Rudyard Kipling Gives expression to this thought:
“If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine” (2)

However, the reality of The Extended Self goes further than what family relationships demonstrate. The study of emerging communities by anthropologists and sociologists worldwide indicates the essential ingredients of shared selfhood. Farther still, any consideration of “The Extended Self” invites reflection of the relationship between humankind and the divine. What does it mean to be created IN THE IMAGE OF GOD”, as Scripture states?  

 In theological discourse, a distinctive feature of the Divine describes The Omnipresence of God. Since God’s power and knowledge extend to all parts of His creation, He is present everywhere. And humankind is distinguished from all other species of the animal kingdom by sharing this unique endowment with his Creator.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1: 26) God, who is Spirit, shares the miracle of the Extended Self through the Spirit of His human creation, as witnessed in both the Old and New Testaments.

Genesis 28:15, (NIV) Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 

 Matthew 28:20b, I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.

 Colossians 2:5 “For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.” 

 Paul, the author, is here writing to Christians in Colossae, a small city in Asia Minor, while he is a prisoner in Rome. 

In many instances, the written word is an effective medium spanning the miles that separate individuals and provides mutual sharing of spirits. Then too, there is the extension of the self in matters of the prayers of the faithful. On such an occasion, there are three simultaneous actions occurring. God’s Spirit is meeting with the petitioner who intercedes with God concerning another person known to be in need, and at the same time, that person who is praying is extending himself to embrace the one in need through faith and love.

The extended self of Jesus throughout His physical presence on earth is the cornerstone in building the New Faith.

John 4:49 – 53 “The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”
 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.”

And still, today, Jesus comes! And still today, hurrying and harried, multitudes cry out, “No room! There remains such an urgent need for the world’s throngs to make room for the Prince of Peace! And whenever that happens, amazing changes will follow. The indwelling Presence of Jesus prepares individuals to be extensions of Himself.  Only then will our response to human needs emulate the words and actions of Jesus, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, my brothers, you have done unto me.’

From your eyes, He beckons me.
From your heart, His love is shed
Til I lose sight of you and see the Christ instead. (3)

                        A Prayer To Follow This Meditation

Merciful Father, look with pity upon what the modern Church has become. It is difficult to believe that this is the same institution for which women and men braved the wild seas, faced the horrors of savage beasts, and entered the very gates of Heaven singing Hallelujah! For me, to live is Christ! To die is gain.”

Now praise God, just in time to save one from ” the swamp of despair”, Hope springs eternal in the human breast”.I saw a beautiful yellow dandelion flower close to a giant snow drift, now greatly diminished. “Look, see me!, it announced, “Winter has lost its grip . I am the first of many beautiful things that God plans yet to be”. And echoing from a crowded church on Easter Sunday Morning, I heard the vibrant notes, ” Christ The Lord Is Risen Today, Hallelujah! And now life knocks upon every church door.

 Many modern-day folks seemed to have joined the company of the first disciples who, behind closed doors, fearfully tried to come to terms with a newly occupied tomb in Joseph’s garden. But, then, amid their disbelief and worn-out yesterday’s faith, Jesus stands in their midst with the offer of new resurrection life. 

So, please, God, number us with those first disciples who gladly accepted Your gift of Resurrected Life. For thereby, Hope springs eternal yet again. So, moving forward now into this new day dawning, let this be our daily Hope, that others lose sight of us and see the Christ instead. Help us by Your grace to realize that whatever we do for one of the least of these our brothers and sisters, we do it unto Christ. And all for His glory. Amen.
 Hymn: Take My Life

https://youtu.be/DZKGYSRHjpQ

 

 

NOTES

Photo: The late Bertram Roberts. A long-time family friend and known to me from early childhood. Mr Roberts was a faithful sexton at the Brigus United Church for many years. This is one of my favourite pictures capturing life and personalities from the Brigus of my childhood.
2. Poem by Rudyard  Kipling, MOTHER O’ MINE
https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=43&q=mother+o%27+mine.+rudyard+kipling&cvid=a9df238ff17447bc945e4d07549e25d1&aqs=edge.1.0l4j46j0l4.21704j0j1&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=HCTS
3. Author unknown.

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Meditations

The Passion OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

O sacred Head now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns
Thine only crown

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain

What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest friend
For this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?

O make me Thine forever.
And should I fainting, be
Lord, let me never,
Never outlive my love for Thee. Amen.

 

There follows a reading of the Passion Story as recorded in the
            Gospel according to Luke.

                                    A Prayer To Follow

O Jesus,
Humbly, I kneel at Your wounded feet.
I am unable to lift my eyes higher than Your pierced feet. My horizontal gaze takes every attempt to look into Your eyes hostage. Everywhere, I see faces bearing signs of heart-wrenching grief, indications of failure and paralyzing defeat; I see the marginalized and the forgotten. Everywhere I look, I see people who lived with the hope of meeting You and experiencing Your transforming love, but, alas, they conclude that the way of Faith is too challenging to continue.
No, Lord, I am not living about 2000 years ago. I am in this present moment! I cannot bear to look into Your eyes now, so long after that first Good Friday, and see that our accomplishments for You seem to be so small. I am haunted by what You once said while here on earth “Inasmuch as you have not done it unto the least among these, you have not done it unto me.”
Then, reassuringly, the sounds of the world that diminish every human effort to do better, become lost in the sound of a voice gently speaking to me. ” The LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:17). Punctuated with whispers of gratitude, I request:’ O come to my heart, Lord Jesus. There is room in my heart for Thee. Together, we will make a difference in the world where we live. Amen.

Hymn:O Sacred Head Now Wounded

https://youtu.be/JwgM8R7akeU

 

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Meditations

INSIDE THE BARRED GATE

INSIDE THE BARRED GATE

Extol the LORD, Jerusalem; praise your  LORD, praise your God, Zion. He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. PSALM 147:12-13

Supplementary Reading: John 20:19-30

“A picture is worth a thousand words is an axiom in multiple languages that complex and sometimes numerous ideas can be conveyed by a single still image, conveying its meaning or essence more effectively than a mere verbal description”.
( Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)                      

 But, no still image can stir human emotions like the verbal expression of the same subject. Every other attempt is impoverished by avoiding the common human endowment of the written and spoken word. Words are the better conveyor of the human spirit. For instance, a personal experience of mine finds reflection in the descriptive words of the Psalm writer’s expression above. It stirs a memory from my childhood. Our home was a large three-storey house surrounded by fences and stone walls, making a large garden where I spent untold hours climbing and swinging in the branches of an old apple tree. In particular, one feature in the Psalm writer’s memory of Zion, the Home of faith for all Jewish people, is the mention of a seemingly insignificant detail, a Gate with strong bars designed to protect all who enter therein. The memory of my homestead forever stirred by the words of this Psalm is the big barred wooden Gate that provided access to the main roadway. The Psalmist’s mention of ‘the bars of your gates’ and the protection thus provided for those entering Zion, is catalyst enough to stir my memories and speak to my soul. Those words convey something of the love and concern that made that place of my childhood feel secure and safe while preparing us for whatever awaited us in life beyond the protecting Gate.

Some years later in life. I became acquainted with the
 ” Ode. Intimations Of Immortality from Recollections Of Early Childhood” by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. As time passed, this ode further confirmed my childhood experience and aided me in developing my faith in God.
Wordsworth wrote:
” Not in entire forgetfulness,’ and not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
from God, who is our home: Heaven lies about us in our infancy!”

And the Psalmist wrote: ” Praise your God, O Zion, for He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.”
 I cannot tell you how many times I have gone back in memory to that garden of my boyhood with its barred Gate, or how many times I have drawn inspiration from the reassurances offered in Psalm 147; for I have done both, against the powerful backdrop of Wordsworth’s poignant reminder as quoted above.

 In our faith journey, we all experience occasional challenges to consider whether our present faith is sufficient to deal with our situational complexities. Consequently, when earthly complexities are most severe is precisely the time for your private consultation with God in the privacy of your soul, where God waits to meet with you. The barred Gate stands to deter mental and physical distractions; You are, then, with the source of everything required to fulfil your life’s mission. Now there are but two, you and God, God and you!

It is noteworthy, above all else, that Psalm 147 portrays the sufficiency and the sheer beauty of faith in God. Although clad in the garb of Old Testament thought and imagery, it remains unrestricted in its powerful appeal and inspiring invitation. In reality, nothing is more important than for each person to preserve within themselves a secret space where at any moment, they can pass from time into eternity and be in company with the Divine, with God. It may be helpful to imagine that the Gate through which you enter into the presence of the Holy has bars shaped like The Cross, which reminds you of your relationship with Christ and your commitment to His ongoing Mission to the world.

A Prayer To Follow This Meditation

Father,
The breakthrough of memories is like the sun dispersing the smothering clouds to bring joy to weary travellers. So likewise, when yesteryear’s memories climb back into consciousness to enrich our present, we rejoice and praise Your Wisdom.
With confidence and joy, may memory bring us to look to the Rock from whence we were hewn and then seek from You the grace to continue to build an ever better tomorrow.

 Save us, O Father, from the lukewarmness of spirit that treats faith as an add-on of respectability. Instead, grant unto us a fresh memory of disciples waiting in an upper room behind barred doors for the living Spirit of Christ to resurrect them, and define the Mission still intended for them and us.
 “Life’s tumult we must meet again;
 We cannot at the shrine remain;
 But in the spirit’s secret cell
 May hymn and prayer forever dwell.”
 (Samuel Longfellow)
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we offer our prayer. Amen.

HYMN: Go To The World (click on the link below)
Voices United: The Hymn and Worship Book of The United Church of Canada page 439

https://youtu.be/N7_AU9Fg0gA

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The photo is of Brigus United Church of Canada before renovations completely changed the appearance of the building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Meditations

GOD’S SPACIOUS PLACE

         GOD’S SPACIOUS PLACE

Psalm 18:17 – 19. (NIV)
 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
 He brought me out into a spacious place.

Supplementary Reading: Mark 4: 35 – 41

Psalm 18 is a saga that dramatically captures the sound and fury of one man’s frightening experiences having possible lethal occurrences, but instead, it concludes as a story of inspiring hope. Essentially, this is the image of a vicious storm approaching one fragile piece of humanity, awaiting its destructive blow. In addition, David, the chosen king of Israel, is stealthily outmanoeuvring the deadly pursuit of Saul, his predecessor. Saul’s jealous rage is as lethal as the ominous storm clouds overhead. That which is spawned in the dark recesses of a human soul ought to be feared as much as any atmospheric disturbances. But where does one find comforting relief when all possible escape routes appear impassible? 

God’s way of providing for His children when they experience impossible situations is to provide for them the Spacious Place. Herein, personal reflection on the ultimate meaning of victory proceeds in the Presence of the Divine.

The most urgent need looming in the dawning of this New Year for us is to discover, as David did, God’s  Spacious Place. Events that demand one’s immediate action are forbidden entry into God’s Spacious Place. Consequently, Personal faith is either born for the first time or becomes unbound from restricting doubts because, in this Place God is, and acts.

As usual, within the shadows of each new day, legions of unknown or ill-defined experiences demand our readiness. “Sound and fury” most often breeds thoughts of helplessness and hopelessness. Our littleness is magnified when considering the howling wind in a night of storm, the shattering blasts of a senseless war, or the sounds of weeping in the wake of a deadly pandemic.

In this Psalm, David witnessed the storm’s destruction and celebrated the wonder of his escape from it before God. But still lurking in the soaked surroundings, close by, Saul and his maundering crew, bent on their destructive mission to murder David, slink forward. And at that moment, David lets us in on the secret of his truly admirable life:

Psalm 18:17 – 19. (NIV)
 “He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
 He brought me out into a spacious place;.”

Faith is to cease all assertion of the self and to make room for the divine initiative. It is an act which is the negation of all activity. A moment of passivity out of which the strength for action comes because, in it, God acts. (2)
For us, The Word that inspired David’s heroic venture,
 ” became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”. ( John 1:14)

“We must not permit fears and the suggestions of impossibility from the world’s cynics to hem us in and limit our mobility for Christ’s mission. There is much work to be done. Therefore once more, Jesus Christ invites us to join with Him in God’s Spacious Place to see anew the picture of this world becoming the Kingdom Of God.

         A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

Father, in mercy, behold us now, residents of a place easily overcome by timidity and the overzealous conclusion of impossibility.

Please grant us the courage to stand firm for the hard right against the easy wrong. Grant us to be more scrupulous of the source of that perceived right. The right as inspired within Your Spacious Place will often differ from what lies within the people’s will. May the necessary actions be inspired by Your justice, undertaken in Your love, fortified by Your grace, and for the honour and glory of Your Name. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. 

Hymn: Be Still My Soul

https://youtu.be/hqgC1tqifV8

 

N‎OTES

  1. Scripture quotations are from the NIV translation.
  2. See C.H. DODD’s EpistleOf Paul to the Romans
  3. The photo was taken at our summer cottage in Michael’s Harbour, Newfoundland

 

 

Categories
Meditations

THE CHRISTMAS STORY

 O Come, Let Us Adore Him

Into the astonishing splendour of this scene, we come, O God. Unworthy though we are to be here, we respond to the magnetic pull of Your unconditional love that will not let us go. We now offer the only gift we possess, the gift of self. We know that none who offer that gift will turn away, fearful of unacceptance. Thank You, Father, Amen.

Hymn: Silent Night

https://youtu.be/CPhQcoSktkE

 

May the Eternal Glory of This Event shine brightly within your home and through you into your community this day and always. Amen.

 

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Meditations PUBLISH

THE KEY NEXT DOOR

A CHRISTMAS MEDITATION)

You are invited to ( participate in this meditation by joining me to  imagine something of the sheer magnificence and glory of ‘ The Christmas Story.’May the blessings of this season enrich your life and the life of all you love. This meditation previously appeared under the title” A Mother’s Comfort”. Although recently edited its content is mainly unchanged in word and substance. I offer it to you now as an expression of gratitude for your support of this blog endeavour and as an appreciation for your valued friendship over the Years. May your home glow with the radiance of Christ’s Presence throughout the coming Year

THE KEY NEXT DOOR

Background Scripture  Reading: Jeremiah 31: 13 – 17

Scripture Emphasis
Luke 2:7  ” And 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.”

Hannah, a Jewish woman, living  in Bethlehem, finished her half-hearted  preparations to observe what remains to be one of the most celebrated Jewish religious observances, The Festival Of Hanukkah or ‘The Festival Of Lights.’

Wrapping her shawl more tightly around her to protect her from the chilly evening wind, she stealthily makes her way down the main street leading out of Bethlehem. Her bowed form against that persistent wind suggests the determination behind her mission.
Tonight, the road through Bethlehem is like a crawling sea. When she dares to lift her eyes to glimpse the faces of the passers-by, she recognizes only a few are familiar. Then, suddenly, she remembers why so many other people are numbered among the local population. It is in response to Emperor Caesar’s decree that all the world should be taxed. Hannah now concludes that many of those on the street tonight will seek shelter from the biting wind, for tomorrow, as disgusting as it is, they will begin to pay the burdensome taxes.

Hannah and her husband, Benjamin, are proprietors of ” THE BETHLEHEM INN.” It was a thriving business for many years until the day the rumour broke that everyone should be taxed. Then the sweet music accompanying their hopes and dreams began to fade.
Suddenly, it dawned on Hannah that many of the strangers she encountered tonight were likely headed for Bethlehem Inn! For a fleeting moment, Hannah’s thoughts flash back to the Inn’s front desk, where poor Benjamin would be frantically trying to satisfy the many demands of the anxious patrons now arriving.

Hannah launches into an angry monologue: “Tonight, of all nights? On the eve of Hanukkah? Despicable taxes! Don’t they know I have to be on the road tonight? Poor Benjamin will have to get along without me as best he can.
Of course! How could these people know, or care if they did, that this is Hannah’s fifth year of strictly following this routine? It is always on the eve of the Hanukkah celebrations. Hanukkah is such a happy time, bringing home family and friends from afar. At sundown today, the festivities will begin. Music will sound throughout the town. There will be daily prayers, and many solemn remembrances will occur. But, there will be laughter and rejoicing everywhere and rich foods in plenty. But Hannah won’t be there! With determination, she hastens on her way, hoping with every step that this will be the year this might be the memorable night anticipated for five long years!

Benjamin, after four years, is familiar with this routine; he knows what forces his wife to journey, through winds and weather, on the Eve of Hanukkah.
Benjamin also knows Hannah’s first words to him upon her return. He will hear the same pathetic inquiry for the fifth time this very night:
” Is he here yet? I see you have kept the promise we made to him five years ago that on the Eve of Hanukkah, every year we will light a candle in his bedroom window until the day he returns! Benjamin, did he come home tonight for the holidays? ”
Five years ago, Mark, Hannah and Benjamin’s only son, on his twenty-first birthday, went away to war. There was but one letter from him since that time. Rumour has it that Mark and a number in his company died in battle honourably, defending their country. However,  Hannah refuses to accept that to this day.

This is Mark’s twenty-sixth birthday. This year Hanukkah falls on December twenty-fifth.
Tonight, Hannah’s destination, as it has been for four years, is the ‘Tomb Of Rachael’, the Jewish matriarch. The site, considered holy by the Jews, lies about six kilometres from Bethlehem and is Rachael’s burial site. According to the history of the Jewish people, Rachael came to represent all mothers who lost their children during captivity and war. Therefore, it was a common belief  “that Rachael could be heard weeping beside her tomb and would not be comforted because her children were no more.” (see Matthew 2: 18) The Prophet Jeremiah enlightens us further concerning the mystery surrounding Hannah’s annual journey:
Thus says the LORD: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country.” [Jeremiah 31:16-17]
Thus, Hannah’s determination all the ensuing years was to meet and talk with the messenger who kept the key to this critical mystery.

As she disappears into the shadows surrounding Rachael’s Tomb, Hannah whispers words of comfort. ” This will be the night Mark will return;! This will be the night he will see for himself the love that has kept the Light burning in his bedroom window, just as we promised”. Her expressions of Faith before Rachel’s tomb were punctuated with sobs and tears. More than an hour passes before Hannah makes ready to leave the site. Hope springs eternal in her breast. This will yet be the night when comfort from on high will come to her and Benjamin.
Hannah’s lips move in silent prayer as she rounds a slight bend in Bethlehem Road and searches the starlight sky over Bethlehem’s Inn. ” She whispers,” That candlelight in his window is brighter than  I have ever witnessed it before!”

Before the door fully closes behind her, Hannah inquires:
“Is he here,yet, Benjamin? Has Mark arrived home yet?”

It was approaching midnight when a  gentle knock sounded upon the door of ” The Bethlehem Inn.”  Following heartfelt prayers for the preservation of their hopes and the renewal of their faith, Hannah and Benjamin were about to retire for the night. Then, another gentle knock upon the door.
Benjamin, in hopeful silence, opens the door. There before him stands a young man! He inquires about shelter from the biting north wind. Benjamin noticed he held a donkey’s tether in his hand, and there on the donkey sat a young woman.” We are very tired,” the man offers,” And the young woman is going to give birth soon. Could you please make room for us tonight?.” Benjamin could barely breathe.
” No, there’s no more room in the Inn.” he stammers. The words cling to his lips, and refuse to leave. With one more unavoidable look in their direction, he starts to close the door. But he leaves the door ajar, just enough to watch the couple for a moment longer! Through the opening of the unclosed door. Benjamin’s gaze is drawn towards the window where a candle burns. Is it just his eyes, now affected by the bitterly cold wind, or was that candlelight dancing with a brilliance brighter than the evening star?

An inexplicable exuberance floods Benjamin’s soul; peace more beautiful than Benjamin imagined resides in heaven falls upon him. The dancing candlelight transfixes Benjamin; when the next moment arrives, it is with the impact of a divine revelation for him.  What if that Baby, to be born tonight, is somehow connected to our never-ending hope for our boy, Mark? Benjamin muses. His thoughts run deeper: Twenty-six years ago this very night, our baby boy was born on t is very spot  Coincidence? or was this God’s way of delivering a special message of comfort for him and his heartbroken Hannah? Could this somehow be God’s way of delivering the key to unlock their life’s haunting mystery?   ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, says your God,’  whispered Benjamin, quoting his favourite Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. ( Isa 40: 1)

The weary couple slowly departs when Benjamin quickly pulls the door open again and calls to them. ” Look, there’s no room in the Inn right tonight, but there’s a stable right over there; you may go there to shelter for the night. It is not the most comfortable place, but it will be better than enduring this night’s discomfort!  The man smiled the most pleasant smile that Benjamin had ever experienced. The man’s look confirmed a deep conviction in Benjamin’s mind. That night he discovered an eternal truth. And as Mary and Joseph moved toward the stable, they were enveloped in the brilliant glow of Heaven’s promise already being fulfilled. And Benjamin knew this was God’s way of saying, “I am with you here on earth. No great gulf separates heaven and earth; Heaven is just ‘next door. This is all you need to know. In life, in death, and in life beyond death, you are not alone; I am with you. In sorrow, I am your comfort; in joy, I am your stay. The Key that unlocks every mystery opens the door to supply every earthly need and, at the end of our life’s journey, will open the door so that we may be with those we have loved long since and lost a while. Benjamin hastens to greet his beloved Hannah to inform her that her prayers at Rachael’s Tomb are answered. The key to all is just next door.

A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

O Light Of The World
Shine upon us now!
May we become transformed like the stable that changed on that first Christmas Eve, from a shelter housing earthly beasts of burden to a place more splendid than the palace of King Herod, made fit now to house the King of Heaven. Yet, You glorified the everyday earthly things and included them all in a genuinely Heavenly event.

In the Light that shone from Heaven that night, ordinary things of earth were made o glow with splendour!
The stable, the manger, the hay, the donkey, the sheep, the shepherds and the wise men;  each revealed a  radiant beauty unseen since the day of their creation when it was declared that ” God saw it, and said that it was good”.  All  Created things that night were for God’s use in welcoming Heaven’s Baby, come to earth!
In mercy, bring all things, animate and inanimate, together again to declare the sovereign ownership of God and for Heaven’s purposes.
May we, the members of the human family, stand within the radiance of Heaven’s Glory; that we may learn to live with respect in creation, And gain such beauty of character, as to be made ready to ‘ be of Service” in the Welcoming of Heaven’s Gift, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN: O Holy Night  – Josh  Groban

https://youtu.be/4Zh-yR0pbmU