Category: Meditations

 

There Follows the reading of the Parable of ‘The Prodigal Son’ ( ABOVE),  an audio meditation based on the Old Testament Text: Psalm 7:1  O Lord my God, I take refuge in You;  save and deliver me from all who pursue me.

ON THE RUN

 

A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Searching God;
You hold steadfast in Your belief in us.
Day and night, night and day You keep watching the road we would travel on the way home.
You know, that love will finally produce the scene which You so earnestly wait to see! Your love never fails. The triumph of Your love is assured.

Many have already committed themselves to join You in Your unending vigil. Yet there is room for millions more to help. The task of making a straight highway to our God, always requires that we stay close to You. Help us to sight, even at a great distance, someone wandering homeward, who needs our words of encouragement and the assurance of our companionship.

Shield our eyes from the glare of complacency, and the self-absorption that results in nearsightedness.
Forgive us when we let the enticements of the far country sneak even through the church doors from where with You we are supposed to keep that vigil.

It is the Presence of the Risen Christ who equips us for service. For His sake and our own, call a halt to our running around in circles, Help us to find our refuge in the Lord. Then tomorrow we will see a new day dawning. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE LORD BLESS THEE AND KEEP THEE

TRANSCRIPT OF ON THE RUN

(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)

Psalm 7: 1
“LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,” (1)

A person on the run creates an immediate, and intriguing spectacle, and even more so if a pursuer is made visible in the scene. Then,  if more than one spectator is observing the scene, the storyline may change and develop in many different directions simultaneously. This scenario usually presumes an assumption of guilt, but the truth of the matter is, nobody knows. Ordinarily, we would conclude that the people who know the reason for the activity in the scene are the one at the front of the pack, and those in pursuit. The Biblical narrative under present consideration, however, provides for an entirely different review: here, David, the one pursued is uncertain why this action is happening. There is a conscious uncertainty that is making it impossible for him to claim either innocence or guilt. A guilty conscience is a torturing experience. But to be uncertain of innocence or guilt is destructive. It is difficult to imagine the burden of loneliness that David is being forced to carry under such circumstances.

When David was a young man, he was in the employ of Saul, King of Israel. As David became more well known, he became the most popular personage in the land. His fame quickly spread. Consequently, his popularity stirred the wrath of Saul who avails himself of every opportunity to exterminate David. Cush, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, invents a false tale, that it is David who is plotting to kill King Saul. When Cush reports this malicious plot to Saul, the subsequent drama which unfolds finds David fleeing and Cush, a Benjamite,  in hot pursuit.

While our situations are not of the same dramatic vein as David’s, it is by no means unknown to us that individuals often are ‘ on the run.’ Sometimes, both the pursued and the pursuer are known to each other, as is the case between David and Saul and Cush. That situation is often wrought with unrelenting fear, nervous surveillance and possibly a heart-wrenching regret by the pursued.
Quite often the pursuit is between a person and an invisible pursuer. It is also this fact we must consider in the story of David. While David knows his pursuers well, he is also hunted by an unclear conscience: ” Am I guilty or am I not guilty? Did I perpetrate this felony of which I stand accused?

Where does the debate between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviour originate in the first place”?
To feel the urge to define ‘ right’ and ‘wrong’, ‘guilt or innocence is, to begin with, a belief in a divine being, One who is omniscient ( all-knowing). Wherever one wrestles with feelings of ” good or bad,” ” right or wrong,” ” guilt or innocence,” it is indicative of God being already on the scene. Unless there is a God by whom ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ can be reliably assessed, moral judgments can be no more than opinions influenced by upbringing, training, and propaganda. (2)
Unlike the many people who thereby conclude that ‘conscience ‘ is synonymous with God, David provides us with a more dynamic, and I believe, a much healthier understanding of God than that. It is true that God indwells humankind, yet God is not dependent upon human nature when it comes to a fuller revelation of Himself to the world. God can and does act independently of human understanding and belief. The poet, Frederick William Faber expresses it well:

“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s kindness in his justice,
Which is more than liberty.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measures of man’s mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.” (3)

Because it is not within a person’s intellectual ability to understand Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand; or to understand Jesus’ walking upon the water, solely from a reference to our exclusive belief in natural law, it is somewhat presumptuous to conclude that these events are beyond the realm of possibility. Our Biblical knowledge of God must never be adjusted to avoid offending our poor atrophying brain cells. The belief in the everlasting Presence of God must never contain the slightest hint that His Presence depends upon suitable human behaviour.

David, the frightened, guilt-stricken, remorseful individual that he is, seeks to enter into close quarters with God. Without any empirical evidence of personal guilt or innocence, he surrenders himself to the investigation of Who God Is and as a consequence arrives at profound self-knowledge.

‘The Hound Of Heaven’ is the deeply moving autobiography of the poet, Francis Thompson.
As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer ‘ with unhurrying chase, And unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Grace. Thompson makes every effort to avoid God. He hides in art, in science, and in deeply demanding emotional experiences. But the unrelenting chase continues, with the inevitable encounter approaching closer and closer. And then,
“That Voice is round me like a bursting sea;” he confesses,
” Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?”
” Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,” God responds,
” I am He whom thou sleekest,
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.” (3)

Is “The Hound Of Heaven” hidden somewhere in your restlessness, or in the never-ending marathon in which you are engaged? ‘Is your gloom, after all, the shade of His hand outstretched caressingly’? That was the learned experience of David that permits him to pray: “Lord, my God, I take refuge in You.” And is that not at the very center of the story that Jesus once told of a “Prodigal Son, who having been on the run for years, finally “came to his senses ” I will arise and go to my father,” he decides I will tell him: father I have sinned against Heaven and I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me one of your hired servants.” And when he is still a great way off his father sees him. He runs out to meet him. He throws his arms around him and kisses him. Thereupon the son begins his halting  soliloquy: ” Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and I am not worthy……” The father interrupts his rehearsed soliloquy and addresses his servants.  Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger  and sandals on his feet” Bring the fatted calf and kill it and let us celebrate,  for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Amen.

A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Searching God;
You hold steadfast in Your belief in us.
Day and night, night and day You keep watching the road we would travel on the way home.
You know, that love will finally produce the scene which You so earnestly wait to see! Your love never fails. The triumph of Your love is assured.

Many have already committed themselves to join You in Your unending vigil. Yet there is room for millions more to help. The task of making a straight highway to our God, always requires that we stay close to You. Help us to spot, even at a great distance, someone wandering homeward, who needs our words of encouragement and the assurance of our companionship.

Shield our eyes from the glare of complacency, and the self-absorption that results in nearsightedness.
Forgive us when we let the enticements of the far country sneak even through the church doors, from where with You we are commissioned to keep that vigil.

It is the Presence of the Risen Christ who equips us for service. For His sake and our own, call a halt to our running around in circles. Help us to find our refuge in You. Then tomorrow we will see a new day dawning. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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. An indirect reference to the thought expressed by J.B.
Phillips in his book: Your God Is Too Small.

          3.William Faber. There’s A wideness In God’s Mercy

Fredhttps://believersportal.com/theres-a-wideness-in-gods-mercy-hymn-lyrics/erick

4. Francis Thompson. THE HOUND OF HEAVEN.
https://www.easyenglish.bible/psalms/psalm007-taw.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hound_of_Heaven

        5.  Photo : Valley Pond, Newfoundland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A  PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS READING

What language shall I borrow to speak to You of Love, O God? It will have to be the language of Heaven to capture the unspeakable beauty of such a gift. Please grant it to me now!

Love are the eyes that see the good in everything and especially in everyone, coupled with gentle and beautiful ways of expressing it to the world.

Love are the ears that hear the faint melodic bird songs of hope in the souls of others, despite bellowing expressions of hate filling the air.

Love beats one’s own heart in perfect rhythm with another person’s heart, who feels alone in unwelcome places.

Love is a sensitive response that lets that person secretly know that you saw their swift motion to brush aside a tear when no one else noticed.

Love is so much more than all of this:

Love is a Cross; Love is A Resurrection, Love is the ” I will never leave you  nor forsake you.” Thank You, God, for YOU are LOVE.

Amen

Hymn: Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring

 

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

The Scripture is 1 Corinthians  13:1 – 13. KJV. I have substituted the word CHARITY used in this translation for the more familiar word, LOVE, common in other translations.

Photo: Vera reflecting the many happy memories of her childhood spent swimming here at Crescent Lake, Robert’s Arm, Newfoundland.

(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)

Luke 2: 41 – 51

Lule 2:49-51 ” Why were you searching for me? Didn’t
you know I had to be in my Father’s
house?” (1)

The stirring to life of the spirit is by far the most auspicious event in our development as human personalities. Before that happens, one is little more than one of the inanimate objects that surround him.

Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening “ brings some enlightenment to this truth.

“Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”(2)

The poet becomes an integral part of the rustic wintery scene. The picture would be incomplete without the presence of the one who deliberately stops and becomes completely integrated into it.To a degree, he is indistinguishable from the frozen lake, the snow-covered trees, and every day, occurrences of a winter’s artistry. It is the sound of the warning bells on the horse’s harness that resurrects the memory of his purpose for travel and warns him of a responsibility awaiting his fulfillment.

The Birth of Jesus at Christmas Time is God’s poignant reminder of the urgent need for everyone to continue the essential journey, and embrace the responsibility that we own as humans. Only to the degree that our spirits are fully awake can we fulfill the mission for which we are born. St Irenaeus of the early second century identified the mission in this way:” The Glory of God, is man fully alive.”
The wisdom of ” the Wisemen” might have faded into the background of their own culture, as nothing worthy of note, if their spirits had not stirred within them the responsibility to search for the New Born King.

The shepherds returned to the lowly responsibility of caring for their sheep but now were more fully alive with an acute consciousness of God.

Twelve years later Jesus is in attendance with his parents in Jerusalem for the ” Feast of the Passover.” On the return journey home, Jesus becomes separated from his devout parents who begin a frantic search among the many pilgrims. That journey ends back in Jerusalem in the Temple. In response to his parent’s anxious inquiry, Jesus responds: ” Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

In reality, this story mirrors God’s chosen destiny for each of His children, that they may dwell all the days of their life in ” The Father’s House.”It was David, the Psalm writer, of the Old Testament, who embraced that vision as his destiny.
” One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that is what I seek:
That I may dwell in the House of the Lord
all the days of my life” ( Ps. 27:4)

In our Father’s House, we share His permeating presence and learn that His House is not reserved as our’s to inherit after death, but is also a present reality.

In our Father’s House, we develop the way of faith.

In our Father’s House, we view the world with Him, in the way He intended this world to be.

God deposits a “Baby” on the world’s doorstep on that first Christmas Day so that our spirits, being stirred to live fully, will choose to give that Baby a place to live in our hearts. In this way, the world will be rescued from its present erratic journeying. Together let us journey to find that place anew, where Heaven and earth embrace. Then, as the Gospel record bears witness concerning the shepherds in the Christmas Story, we will return to our responsibilities glorifying and praising God.

1″ Come, let us anew our journey pursue,
Roll round with the year,
Roll round with the year,
And never stand still till the Master appear.

2.His adorable will let us gladly fulfill,
And our talents improve,
And our talents improve,
By the patience of hope, and the labor of love.

3.Our life is a dream, our time, as a stream,
Glides swiftly away,
Glides swiftly away,
And the fugitive moment refuses to stay”

3 O that each on the day of His coming may say,
“I have fought my way through,
I have fought my way through;
I have finished the work thou didst give me to do!”(3)

A Prayer to Follow This Meditation

Father, here on earth the necessity for Your people to journey forth into unchartered territory, is often met with two distinct attitudes. There  is an uncertain reluctance, and there is an optimistic commitment.
Forgiveness we ask of You for the first, and unfettered praise we offer You for the second! The first is ours and is due to our lack of faith; the second is Yours and due to Your unconditional Love!
You responded to Moses’ reluctance to lead the journeying Israelites out of Egypt, with the heartwarming embrace:
” Certainly, I will be with you.”

When the disciples of Jesus were being overwhelmed with the prospect of being left to carry on Jesus’ Mission without their beloved Companion, He spoke with absolute certainty: Don’t be afraid, lo, I am with you always unto the end of the journey.

O Blessed Lord, another journey awaits us. No longer is the way unchartered because You have traveled the Way ahead of us. It is not easy to be a Christian now, and it never was. We make far too many compromises, and the milk and water version of our religion is no match for the militant forces of evil around us still. You understand our reluctance and our fears. Nevertheless, clear the eyes of faith, that we shall see. Open, our ears, that we may hear, ” Certainly, I will be with you all the way.” Open our hearts that we receive the Love as strong as steel, and determine to journey with You. Asking for no reward only to know we do Your Will. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

EDITORIAL NOTES:

1. All quotations of Scripture are from The NIV. The New
International Version of The Holy Bible; unless
otherwise noted in the text.

2. Robert Frost. ” Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy
Evening
“https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42891/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening

3.Hymn: Come, Let Us Anew, The Journey Pursue
Source: Songs of Faith and Triumph 1, 2 and 3
https://hymnary.org/text/come_let_us_anew_our_journey_pursue_roll

Prayer: Franklin Curtis

Photo:  “Caplin Seining” Leading Tickles, Newfoundland                                               Summer 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Prayer To Follow This Post
Father we are filled with inexpressible hope as we stand on the threshold of the New Year. You have made to us the most heart-warming of all promises : “Behold I make all things new.” A new beginning, to replace all our failed efforts to make this world a more peaceful and beautiful place for all? Another new hope springing up within our souls that we may reach out in love to embrace our sisters and brothers of every nation, creed and color? A renewed hope that human hands may form a solid chain of respect and love around the world, so that each person may feel the hug of God and be comforted and never be afraid again?

Father , on this cold frosty morning , we experience the warmth of Your loving embrace  and we know that You are replacing all of our broken promises to You, with a greater ; effort to do better ; all of our missed opportunities, with Your consuming love; all of our lethargy, with renewed passion!
O God You are the author of ever experience of love that we know in life. We now give a new expression to the greatest blessing we own: Our love to You.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Amen.

Editorial Notes

Old Testament Reading from The Holy Bible. KJV. Ecclesiastes  3:1-8  and  1 Corinthians 5:17

“The Gate Of The Year”  is an excerpt  from a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gate_of_the_Year

Prayer to follow this reading by Franklin D. Curtis

 

 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

 

Suggested Scripture Reading ; Isaiah  11; 1 – 9

New Living Translation – Isaiah 11:6

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.

 

One, Two, Three (1)

By Henry Cuyler Bunner

It was and old, old, old, old lady
And a boy that was half-past three,
And the way that they played together
Was beautiful to see.
She couldn’t go romping and jumping,
And the boy, no more could he;
For he was a thin little fellow,
With a thin little twisted knee.
They sat in the yellow sunlight,
Out under the maple tree,
And the game that they played I’ll tell you,
Just as it was told to me.
It was hide-and-go-seek they were playing,
Though you’d never have known it to be–
With an old, old, old, old lady
And a boy with a twisted knee.
The boy would bend his face down
On his little sound right knee,
And he guessed where she was hiding
In guesses One, Two, Three.
“You are in the china closet!”
He would cry, and laugh with glee–
It wasn’t the china closet,
But he still has Two and Three.
“You are up in papa’s big bedroom,
In the chest with the queer old key,”
And she said: “You are warm and warmer;
But you are not quite right, “said she.

“It can’t be the little cupboard
Where mama’s things used to be–
So it must be in the clothes press, Gran’ma,”
And he found her with his Three.
Then she covered her face with her fingers,
That were wrinkled and white and wee,
And she guessed where the boy was hiding,
With a One and a Two and a Three.
And they never had stirred from their places
Right under the maple tree–
This old, old, old, old lady
And the boy with the lame little knee–
This dear, dear, dear old lady
And the boy who was half-past three.

A Prayer To Follow This Reading (3))

Father,  Thank You for directing the gaze of our world towards the face of a Baby. How  refreshing it is to turn away for a time from the  many overbearing ,self- aggrandizing individuals who profess  to possess the knowledge of all that is best for the human race. What a jolt of surprise it was on the first Christmas morning:

‘They all were looking for a king
To slay their foes, and lift them high:
Thou cam’st a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.”(2)

Give us Grace once more we implore You , to look into the face of innocence .We need to learn anew the genesis of Human trust in You our God. It is here before us that the only Hope for this world is wrapped, and lying in the manger in Bethlehem. Give us the humility of spirit to confess the limitation of our knowledge, but also give us the trust in You to realize that where the first on-lookers saw a Baby, You could see the Savior of the World.

Every new born Baby brings Your renewed hope into this world, O God. And where the seeds of trust and love are permitted to germinate in the soil of the child’s birth , there is found Your dream of a brighter and more beautiful tomorrow. Open our eyes to see You, our hearts to love You; and our souls to trust You. Through Jesus, Joy Of our desiring . Amen

Editorial Note

(1)  Poem:  Henry Cuyler Bunner,    “One, Two, Three”

(2)  Poem:  George MacDonald, “That Holy Thing”

(3) Prayer: Franklin D. Curtis

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

(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 . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vespers  – A.A. Milne

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.

HYMN:                Now The Day Is Over

https://youtu.be/sWR2vVXZE5A

 

                           EDITORIAL NOTES

1. VESPERS Poem, by A.A. Milne

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8518995-Vespers-by-A.A.-Milne

2. Prayer   Franklin D. Curtis

3.Photo   unknown 

 

 

(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

Hymn:                He Hideth My Soul

https://youtu.be/GbhzH41V49c

 

                                      <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/cO_JM-QaDf8″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Editorial Notes
1. Here and throughout the text of this meditation, the quotations from the Holy Bible are from The New International Translation.

2. Don’t Fence Me In
http://www.metrolyrics.com/dont-fence-me-in-lyrics-bing-crosby.htmlng: “Don’t Fence Me In”

3 “ Something Beautiful For God
MotherTeresa: Of Calcutta”
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/something-beautiful-for-god-malcolm-muggeridge/1110870854

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/850617.Something_Beautiful_for_God

4. Photo:  Brigus, Conception Bay. Newfoundland.