Clinging To The Rock

The Mystery And The Majesty Of Righteousness

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:20-31

Text “Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your Righteousness like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun”.
(Psalm 37: 5-6)

Scriptures of both the Old Testament and the New reveal an intimacy between the human quality of belief and the divine qualities of Righteousness. That, in itself, is part of a mystery. Belief is such a wavering emotion and subject to change. Righteousness is such a fixed and certain reality that the twain, belief, and Righteousness should never meet. Belief is temporal; Righteousness is eternal.

Still, belief is like the seedling that grows into a large plant that one day provides a home for the birds, as discussed in the Parable that Jesus told. (Matthew 13: 31-32).
That parable teaches that even the smallest amount of faith (belief) can significantly impact the world.
Furthermore, belief is the pulse-beat of Judaism and, subsequently, by association, Christianity.
 Of Old Testament fame, Abraham earned Righteousness by believing God’s promises, and he became known as the father of many nations, thus underscoring the indispensable quality of belief.
( see Romans 4: 16 -25 ) 

But where did that ability to believe God’s promises come from? 

 Some people trace their belief in God to some arresting phenomenon in nature, like the magnificence of dawn or the crimson glow of the setting sun. At the same time, others attribute such belief to overwhelming psychophysical events such as the birth of a child or the death of a loved one.

But what if the initiative to believe is in the Creator’s hands? And therefore, belief is the recalling of prenatal experiences engraved upon the Spirit of each subject. And what if each of us were at Home with our Heavenly Father in that dwelling not made by human hands but eternal in Heaven”?
And what if the act of creating the human race is God’s intention for us to become His co-creators, whereby worldly deficits
are satisfied by people empowered and endowed by God with the required talents and wisdom to satisfy?
Is that not a reasonable explanation for Abraham’s inspiring faith?
Yet, there is more!
Interwoven throughout the Divine’s will to establish His kingdom on earth, God prepares the members of the human race to be His prodigy by the everlasting promise, “Certainly, I will be with you!”
Herein is the eternal pledge to maintain an expected relation with God and thereby fulfil the mission for which each one is born. Abraham’s undaunted insistence that God was intimately involved in his life reveals this life’s most precious reality. Here, the mystery between belief and Righteousness is displayed in the first verse of the Bible, ” In the beginning God.”

Righteousness is the flooding of the human Spirit with the fullness of God, initiated by His grace and includes the capacity to strengthen one’s belief.
As enlightening and grateful as we are for the moving account of Abraham’s faithful experience, We have an even more excellent demonstration of faith and Righteousness. The Eternal’s promise to be always with His chosen Kingdom Builders, is, since Abraham’s day, translated into flesh and has dwelt on earth among us.

“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”   (1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV)

So it is today, amidst the cynic’s eager testimony, that religious institutions have outlived their usefulness and that we have failed in our mission. Then it is time for an encounter with your Righteousness.

Let Him show you again the reason You were sent here to earth. “And God sees you and the void waiting to be filled, and yet He concludes It is still a good match! ” And lo, I am with you always!

       A Prayer To Follow This Meditation

Father, a holy hush falls over us as we search our vocabularies for words to talk to You about the mystery and the majesty of Your Righteousness. That’s because it is a subject more demonstrative of Heaven than of Earth. And to realize that You desire to share that unspeakable gift with us finite beings leaves us awestruck but silent.

At the time of our arrival at our new beginnings here on earth, we were like the tiny mustard seed which Jesus talked about. With Your loving and gentle touch, the smallest of seeds grows into a tree and a home for the songbirds, thus adding to the earth’s symphony of praise.

Righteousness is the mystery of You, our Heavenly Father, sharing Your fullness with us so that one day, we, too, may add to this world’s most beautiful symphony with the harmony of our lives. How precious to us is Your gracious word: “Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
“. Praise God through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn: Joy To The World

https://youtu.be/mRr8ei8u_XM?si=JA0F9SmkW5uequNS

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

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.

         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.

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

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)

https://youtu.be/N7_AU9Fg0gA

oooooooooo

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

         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

 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.