Category: Meditations

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Meditations

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SEA

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”     John 14:23

 

 
Scripture Reference: 7 7: 19   (Please read Psalm 77 in its entirety}

“Your way was through the waves, You crossed the deep-sea, But Your footprints could not be seen.”(RSV)
This Psalm is for the lethargic of spirit when it seems that God is just beyond the reach of a human’s present experience. It is a Psalm that comes readily to mind when the din of the world is making it impossible to detect the gentle footfall of God. Look, and listen to the confusing wonders, and the constant buzz in this technological world, and you will likely hear an expression of longing for some simpler thoughts. Thoughts that are not unlike those enshrined in the words of the poet, William Blake: ” And Did Those Feet?”
         ” And  did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?” William Blake (2)
Psalm 77 is a lament by one who finds that things are not as they once were. The ‘Glory Days,’ when God was a Presence, walking in a Garden, in the cool of the day, are over. Rigor Mortis of the soul has already set in.  Hints of despair are everywhere and touching almost everyone. Who are they after all but,
“Infants crying in the night,
Infants crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry?” Alfred Lord Tennyson (3)
It is this melancholy mood that triggers the soul to ponder whether or not it is “a kind benevolence” that sits upon the throne of the universe. Hear this poor man’s unrefined utterance of despair: “Will the Lord reject us forever? Will He never show His favor again? Has His unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time?”( v. 7)
But what does one do when there is only a mocking silence from everything that previously served as powerful mantras?
The author of Psalm 77 evokes deep pathos in us by his efforts to find the way back to the vibrant expressions of yesteryear’s faith. There is irrefutable evidence of God’s Omnipotence in the annals of Hebrew history. Would not a visit, at least in thought, to the beaches of the Red Sea, be an antidote against their present doubts? For it was there that God had won, for this man’s forebears, a dramatic victory against the Egyptian enemy.
The appeal to history, on its own, proved insufficient for him. The sound of the natural ebb and flow of the ceaseless tide sounded like a funeral dirge to his expectations. The tell-tale signs that their God had been vindicated, by an epic feat against the Egyptian foe, were altogether absent!  The footprints of the Divine are invisible to the physical eye. All that they have now to remind them of that intervention by God, are the legends told by the Sages and the Prophets.

But what about their more recent incidents of God’s omnipresence?  Where is that irrefutable evidence in answer to their skeptics, who inflicted torment on them with their unrelenting demand to know: Where is your God? No such experiences come immediately to this man’s mind. Those he can recall are now conveyors of painful nostalgia: ” I remembered You, O God, and I groaned, I mused, and my spirit grew faint.”  (v 3-6)

Now memories, as abiding as they may promise to be cannot, by themselves, be depended upon to be a cure for the loss of faith’s vitality. As troubling as this thought may be, it is true that memory may become like footprints in the sea.
Frail memory can never take the place of a living Faith!

It must remain clear in our minds, that the main Character, in this incident from Old Testament Scripture, is living before the advent of the Christian Gospel. The Gospel introduces an entirely new approach to the spiritual quest undertaken by the individual. While there is no overestimating the critical role that this man’s memory of past encounters with the Divine, plays in his spiritual journey, memory itself is now transcended by ‘ A Presence,’ the Presence of the Risen Christ. No more is there an existent danger that His footprints will become completely obliterated from the sands of time.
It is noteworthy that one of the  thieves dying on a cross next to Jesus  makes the request: ” Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Jesus dismisses the ” memory part” of the dying man’s request, and replaces it with absolute positive assurance,” Today you shall be with me in Paradise.” It is the Faith revealed by the dying man’s belief that Jesus could, and would do something for him that enabled Jesus to respond as He did!   ( Luke 23:42)
Earlier, Jesus’ disciples in their battle with a vicious storm, observing  Him walking to them on water, never permit themselves to ponder which physical laws His action is violating.  It is the fact of His loving Presence there with them that completely occupies their consciousness, not whether or not His footprints are marking the waves.  Those footprints, for those disciples, are the starting line of a new Spiritual journey. And the truth remains forever, that because of the Resurrection, no generation will ever discover that the ebb and flow of time will ever obliterate those Footprints that are beside them!
His footprints are the current markings of the Risen Christ who walks beside every journeying pilgrim on the sea of life.
One final observation demands our undivided attention. In time, the ancient Hebrews learned that WORDS were not enough to ensure a relevant, living, pertinent faith in God. The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah foretold it: ” For to us a child is born, to us, a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ( Isaiah 9:6)
It is to our commission, as followers of Jesus, to ensure that”The WORD that became flesh” (John 1: 14) never becomes just a word in the world again! If that happens, Faith slinks away into the shadows, and the Resurrection of Jesus is declared to be null and void.
“And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long ‘
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Hallelujah!
But lo! There breaks a yet more glorious day;
The Saints’ triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way
Hallelujah!
From earth’s wide bounds from oceans farthest coasts,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Hallelujah!       
You are invited to make the following prayer your own
O Christ, You stand in our world in Resurrected Glory.  Behind You there stands Your tomb now emptied of the contents placed within it on Friday; To Your right hand, stark against the skyline, there are three crosses atop of Golgotha! We implore You now, Living Lord, to teach us again the lessons You desire us to bring into the thirsty, broken world that is our home.
Raised from the dead by the Hand of God,
Jesus my Victor,
You desire each one of us to sit at Your wounded feet and learn anew from You, the Wisdom that sets all people free. Free us from the chains of prejudice, greed, hatred, and ignorance. And as God broke the chains of death that held You captive, so may God on our last day liberate us from the grip of death
Behind You, there is Your tomb empty now 
Jesus, my Saviour,
may every burden be lifted from my weary soul; every consuming worry about the future;  every unkind thought that cripples each offer of present happiness, may all these find a place in Your empty tomb, to be sealed away from me forever?
You see people in our midst still carrying their crosses.
Jesus, Cross Bearer of the world,
we see those people too! They still stand as virulent  symbols of “man’s inhumanity to man.” Wherever little children are separated from their parents because of war, or by famine or by the corrupted will of man, there stands a cross. When men and women are persecuted because of the color of their skin, there stands a cross. Wherever anyone is treated as being of lesser value, or as being less deserving than we ourselves, there stands a cross.
Help me, Lord Jesus, never to treat another human being unkindly.
  On the day when  I stand before You, with all those  whom I’ve encountered on my life’s journey,  may I not feel shame when You say to someone I considered undeserving, “Verily, verily I say unto You today you are with Me in Paradise.”Rather, as undeserving as I, myself may be, in Your mercy, and for Your Love’s sake, grant me a place in Your Kingdom. Amen
Hymn: For All The Saints **

https://youtu.be/1OaBgaMcOvM

 

 EDITORIAL NOTES

1.(To gain a complete understanding of the meditation that follows,   a reading of the whole of Psalm 77 will be most helpful in addition to John 20: 24 – 31.

2. William Blake,” AND DID THOSE FEET” .https://hymnary.org/text/and_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time

3.Alfred Lord Tennyson,” IN MEMORIAM”

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45341/in-memoriam-a-h-h-obiit-mdcccxxxiii-54

4.Photo: Michael’s Harbor, Newfoundland – Scene taken from our patio, at “SHALOM ” 2018.

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Meditations

THE EASTER AFTERGLOW

 

Scripture Reading: Acts  2:32 – 47

Scripture Reference  –

Acts 2:43″ Everyone was filled with awe, at the  many wonders
and miraculous signs that were done by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything  in common.”
Here is an eye witness account of His Story which stands to inspire to the end of the ages!
Later historians do not attempt to capture the details of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as St. Luke does. But then, two distinct purposes are seeking expression here.  The reason later historians undertake the writing of the event is to record the natural response to something which they perceive to have had a beginning and an ending. Luke’s concern, on the other hand, is to document the spiritual impact on individuals by heavenly stimuli, which as such, has a  beginning but as yet has no discernible ending!
One can never hope to understand the Easter event by a simple reading of some curt phrase  about ‘ something out of the ordinary that happened.’ By comparison, Luke’s account contains a haunting likelihood that this something may well happen to you, the reader. The Easter event has been carried into every successive generation to be a “Living Presence” in the world. In this unique way, it is unlike any other incident recorded in history. The Easter event has kept breaking out of every tomb which the world assigned to be its final resting place!
Men, who had grown fearful and timid under the threats of a bullying world, squared their shoulders and went out to meet the most horrible deaths in the Roman arenas, defiantly chanting, ” The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, Jesus, the Lord is victorious!” And that became a defining fact to complete the full record of the Easter event!  Herein is found the reason for the sense of awe prevailing everywhere following the pronouncement,” Now is Christ risen from the dead.”
It is detrimental to the future of this once vibrant religion, which once did stir people to be involved in such daring acts, for us to observe how in this modern-day that same religion creeps at snail pace toward its tomb. But yet, it is not enough for us merely to observe the facts of history that are beginning to pave the way to the ending of the Easter Event, which God intends to be Eternal! The need in this hour is for men and women to permit themselves to become caught up in the power of Jesus Christ risen from the dead, and not to be afraid of being seen as participants in the awesomeness that was everywhere in the early church! The present situation demands a response from every single individual. Are you going to permit the Easter Event to be locked in the tomb of ancient history, as something that had a beginning but long since has also had an ending? Or is it your witness that the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is something that happened, and is still happening  (to you), and will go on including your children and their children forever?
The Easter event keeps on happening! Easter, when it is faithfully celebrated still brings a sense of awe everywhere! People’s better selves imprisoned within, burst forth to bless the world; defeated ones overcome by painful memories of what they might have been, awake to welcome the springtime of renewed hope, and become messengers of God’s renewal to the thousands held in the death grip of endless winter!
How different the outcome for our churches, now lumbering forward with leaden steps, if Christians choose to engage, with sincere trust, the Christ Who invites them to share in the Power of His Resurrection!  The world appears dull and grey while waiting for something significant enough to claim its allegiance; youth await someone big enough to demand their full commitment. Can we pretend not to know Him still?
T.S. Eliot’s’  “Murder In The Cathedral” captures for me, in a most compelling way, the power of Christ’s Resurrection, which I long to see emulated in the church of today.
The archbishop, Thomas Becket, following an extremely bitter dispute with King Henry 11, some years previously, now returns from exile to assume his position, as the Archbishop of Canterbury Cathedral. The unforgiving king craftily plans the Archbishop’s assassination soon after his return. When the king’s assailants arrive at the doors of the Cathedral to perform their dastardly deed, the priests, fearing the outcome, bar all the doors to protect their Archbishop.
The following lines are quoted from the above-mentioned drama.
Thomas Becket, the Archbishop, and the Priests:
 “Priests: Bar the door. Bar the door. The door is barred. We are safe. We are safe. The enemy may rage outside, he will tire in vain. They cannot break in. They dare not break in. They cannot break in. They have not the force. We are safe. We are safe.
Thomas: Unbar the doors! throw open the doors! I will not have the house of prayer, the church of Christ, The sanctuary, turned into a fortress. The Church shall protect her own, in her own way, not As oak and stone; stone and oak decay. Give no stay, but the Church shall endure. The church shall be open, even to our enemies. Open the door!
Priest: My Lord! these are not men, these come not as men come, but Like maddened beasts. They come not like men, who Respect the sanctuary, who kneel to the Body of Christ, But like beasts. You would bar the door Against the lion, the leopard, the wolf or the boar. Why not more  Against beasts with the souls of damned men, against men Who would damn themselves to beasts. My Lord! My Lord!

Thomas: Unbar the door! You think me reckless, desperate and mad. You argue by results, as this world does. To settle if an act is good or bad. You defer to the fact. For every life and every act Consequence of good and evil can be shown. And as in time results of many deeds are blended So good and evil in the end become confounded. It is not in time that my death shall be known; It is out of time that my decision is taken If you call that decision To which my whole being gives entire consent. I give my life To the Law of God above the Law of Man. Unbar the door! unbar the door! We are not here to triumph by fighting, by stratagem, or by resistance. Not to fight with beasts as men. We have fought the beast  And have conquered. We have only to conquer Now, by suffering. This is an easier victory. Now is the triumph of the Cross, now Open the door! I command it. open the door! ( 2)

Now it is your turn to open the door and to pass into a new experience of ” the triumph of the Cross”, and let your church, and by extension, the world attest to a renewed sense of awe everywhere!
A Prayer Which You Are Invited To Make Your Own
The whole creation heralds this Dawn! Church bells pealing their melodious invitation seem to strengthen the bonds between heaven and earth, this morning ;  trees are bursting  in anticipation of finding new leaves to rustle out their enchanting tunes; the mighty St.John River flashes in the sun, having been set free from its icy prison ; the blanket of snow, now through the touch of Your hand, moistens the lips of tiny seeds, encouraging them once again to burst into bloom.
Knowing this dawn to be different from all others, I feel the compulsion to surrender to the empowering mystery of this hour.
Thank You, Gracious Lord for tapping upon the door of my consciousness, and for inviting me to join with all creation in the Easter Celebration of New Life!
Jesus, I remember how on Good Friday, one of Your final acts from Your Cross was to make sure that Your Mother had a place to call home here on earth. You made sure that John, Your beloved friend, would discharge that sacred duty. You said to him, son, behold your mother. I desire now to fulfill my sacred duty anew, and on this present Easter morning, I offer You, my heart and my spirit to be Your Home here on earth! Grant me the Grace to fulfill this, my sacred duty! Amen
Hymn: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
:https://youtu.be/kgDLuK_4MV4
Editorial Notes
1. The Scripture quotations are from the New International
     Version.
2. T.S. Eliot. Murder in the Cathedral.
        http://www.supersummary.com/murder-in-the-
        cathedral/summary/
3 .Photo: The Arches National Park, Utah, USA.
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Meditations

The Passion Of Jesus – ( Various Gospel Accounts)2019

The account of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Passion as it is recorded by the various Gospel writers.  ( Click on the link )

 

A Prayer To Be Said By All Following This Reading

Father, my heart reaches for words that quickly vanish into vapour. I want to run from the scene, yet my feet, of their own accord, forces me closer to the Cross. I want to look into the face of Jesus, but my eyes melt, and my vision becomes blurred by the stark portrayal of His amazing Love for me! At that moment, I see beyond what I am to what He yet wants me to be!

My lips, abandoned by sound, form the words
” Thank You.”  I notice then that His eyes turn away from me and turn towards the city, where from His Cross, He observes still the many cruel crosses, weighted with human burdens, that are being thrust into the heart of the earth. My gaze follows His. Then the challenge falls upon me, like molten lead dripping on a naked brain, ” Whom shall I send, and who will go for Me?” I seem to hear Him say.” A response, scarcely above a whisper, escapes my lips. But in my heart, the sound of a thousand silver trumpets announces my response,
”  Here I am Lord, send me. Your Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. Father, into Thy hands, I commend my spirit, Jesus teaches me to pray.” Amen.

Hymn: O Sacred Head Now Wounded

https://youtu.be/wRvMx8uWaX4

 

 

 

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Meditations

THE STORY THAT HAS NO END

 

 

Suggested Scripture Reading: Ephesians 6: 10 – 20

Scripture Emphasis           Luke 4:41 “When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them”.
Dr. Viktor Frankl, world famous neurologist and psychiatrist, as well as a Holocaust survivor, in his book ” The Doctor And The Soul,” issues a thought-provoking edict.” The greatest realities for all of us to find are in what we consider as passed! ” Things and experiences that have been, are secure from the uncertainties of the future, and the incompleteness of the present. They have been, and nothing can change that”! Dr. Frankl draws liberally from the horrors of experiences in several  Nazi death camps to introduce to the world a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as logotheraphy. (1`)
Every person, according to Frankl, is in the process of writing a unique story. In the progression of any person’s life, there is nothing that happens in vain. The content of one’s life-story is somewhere preserved and saved, even though it may not be in an immediate recall to consciousness.
Applying this premise to the unfolding of people’s experience with Jesus, the Master of Life, let us consider the lasting effects upon character building which this affords.
There was never a greater need than that which is our own, to remember ‘The Rock from whence we are hewn. (Isaiah 51: 1 – 3).  Recall again now the whispers of God coming from as far away as earliest childhood. Recall the day when you saw, for the first time, the picture of Jesus surrounded by children wanting to climb into His arms. Capture again your feeling of being right there and waiting your turn! The poet William Wordsworth reminds us that during early childhood years,  Heaven is close at hand.
Present day challenges are not meeting their match in some stained glass image of the Christ that used to be! NO experience is ever forgotten nor does it happen in vain! When there throbs throughout our lives, the vitality of a living union with Jesus Christ, then the dark, demonic forces of the age are overcome. Therefore it is of critical importance that each one of us takes care to record their daily involvement with Him in the present tense.

For our present purpose, I choose Luke’s record of a people’s experience of the compassionate Christ, in the healing of their sick and troubled.  ( Luke 4: 38 – 41)
Luke’s record of the healing that occurred in Capernaum one evening at sunset, is now our focus.

The first captivating feature in the story is the arrival of
‘ the Mercy Crew’ at Simon Peter’s door, bearing the sick and the helpless ones. There was an essential communications effort launched in the community to inform the family and friends of the afflicted, that Jesus was in town, and that He was at the home of Simon Peter. The initiative for undertaking the action that follows has to be a previous knowledge of the ability, the willingness and the compassion of Jesus to make a difference. There was something akin to a phantom-like Presence that refused to permit pity to be the single response to human suffering.  Somewhere internally, there is hidden in each participant of the “Mercy Crew” the wisdom that this Man, Jesus, would make a difference, not only to their friends’ debilitating dilemmas but He would as well, introduce them to the source of new beginnings. Nothing that happens in any person’s life ever happens in vain! Whatever other personal details in the life’s story of the ‘Mercy Crew’  may be in the permanent record, the records will show any and all encounters with Christ that inspired their present activity.

The next captivating focus in Luke’s record involves a group collectively identified as having” various kinds of sickness.” But let it be stressed again, that each person there is daily recording his own story. Reminiscent of Viktor Frankl’s experience, some will recall the pain, deprivation, and desperate loneliness resulting from their imprisonment by their disease. Others in the company will remember the fellowship discovered in suffering. But if it is true that nothing which happens to an individual is ever meaningless, or in vain; what meaning or value can human suffering possibly have? If there are details that we could choose not to appear in the story of our lives, destined to last forever, let it be the memory of pain and brokenness!
But Wait! This story is just beginning! The main feature of the story captures the most significant revelation of all! Luke’s record announces a breathtaking possibility: there is a way to rewrite your personal story from a different perspective. The fact of individual sufferings and their indelible mark on the psyche, and even the body may remain in the permanent record somewhere preserved. To know the Presence of the Living God in your life, however, is synonymous with having the Company of the greatest Story Teller in the world beside you, helping with the rewriting of your life’s mission!  In His Company, scars can tell a life-changing story of Love; and disfiguring thorns, which He can weave into a crown of glory. They can shed new light upon adverse situations that are causing pain to others even yet.
Somewhere there is recorded an account of a mother whose face, hands and arms bore disfiguring scars. One evening, as part of a nightly routine, she is holding her increasingly inquisitive child close, as she finishes a bed-time story, that spoke about loving people. ” Mommy,” the child interjects, ” I love you so very, very much! But Mommy, I don’t love the way your face, and hands and arms look! They almost make me afraid.”
It was time now; the mother realized, to do what she had been thinking of doing for some time. Taking a deep breath, she began: ” When you were a very tiny baby sleeping in your crib upstairs, one evening  the horrifying cry, ” fire, fire,” rang throughout our house.” God helped me through the smoke and flames and, He put you in my arms, and brought us out to safety. But ever since that night I have looked like this. In hushed tones, the little one whispered:
” Mommy, I love you so very, very much, but I love your beautiful face, your hands, and your arms most of all. Mommy let’s say thank -you to God, all over again”.
Write the next chapter of your life’s story with Christ present, then will it count forever as” a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” ( John Keats)
A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
Merciful Father, You created us to bear striking resemblance to Yourself and therefore, made each of us hold endless quantities of love, pity, mercy, and grace, within our being. In Jesus Christ our Lord, You demonstrated how exactly the flood gates to such resources are to be opened, in order to permit its contents to surge into the world with re-creating force.
It takes real courage to strip away the veil that hides our identity as bearing any resemblance to ‘God.’ Give us courage; give us steadfast confidence to let others see God in us, we ask You.
It takes Love to treat people as they might yet become, rather than what they appear to be when we meet them for the first time. Open wide the gates of our Love, and never let us delay to first consider a person’s worthiness, based upon their creed or their color or condition.
It takes human lips, ” moving at the impulse of God’s love,” to give expression to the expanses of God’s mercy and pity! The overflowing reservoir of gifts within a person is never for one’s own satisfaction! It is never enough to be moved to tears at the sight of another’s misfortunes, when within us there dwells the Christ who never remains silent and does nothing in the face of injustice and suffering! Lord, show mercy upon us all; we humbly beseech You!
Open our eyes to see You, Our hearts to love You, and our minds to comprehend You; that by seeing you, our faith may grow, our hearts may bring Your victory to the world; our minds may firmly establish You above the darkness of doubt and fears, among the people of this world. We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
HYMN: When I Survey The Wondrous Cross( click on the link)
https://youtu.be/Z9eCUqz_x5A
EDITORIAL NOTES
1. The Scripture references in this meditation are taken from the NIV ( New International Version) of Scripture.
2.”The Doctor And The Soul” by Viktor Frankl .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctor_and_the_Soul
3. PHOTO: from General Stock Images For Lent
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Meditations

INTEGRATION AND AUTHORITY

  Mark 1: 21-22; 27 – 28 “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching -and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him. News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.”
I am not at all surprised that word about Jesus spread quickly following this incident under our consideration here.
The performance of miracles is, beyond dispute, a recognizable drawing card for multitudes who embraced the infant Christian faith. Tragically we have over time, and more critically at present, permitted the erosion of Christian faith. Multitudes have become content  with owning ” a wooden Christ upon a wooden cross.” Whenever people today take Jesus Christ with real seriousness, miracles happen as they did 2000 years ago. “The person who does not believe in such miracles, cannot pray. We fail to take the promises of God seriously.” (1)
The miracle that occurs in this incident must not be fixated upon a cursory observation of the reparation of a personal ailment, as essential and as possible as that healing remains for anyone even today. This incident, taken in its entirety, addresses more than that. It reveals how, in Jesus Christ, body, mind, and spirit are integrated. On the occasion of being asked, “Of all the commandments which is the most important?” Jesus’ response is: “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Jesus’ answer, thus involves the whole self in response.
The occasion of this incident is the hour of Sabbath worship in the city of Capernaum.  In Worship, the desire is to produce integration within the individual worshipper. The environmental mantra in the spoken word, in singing and contemplation, instills a sense of God’s Presence which evokes the essence of the first and greatest commandment. This required surrender to Presence allows God to access every phase of a person’s self, thereby initiating a complete integration.
Approaching worship with that expectation would change completely our ‘ church going’ experience! For without the integrated self we remain the divided, ineffective, indecisive beings, and something less than God’s prescription for His Kingdom builders.
There was a compelling milieu in the Capernaum Synagogue on that Sabbath Day, bringing many of the worshippers present, to the very doorstep of admission into ‘the higher self.’ The people present had no difficulty identifying what was different about the moment. It was the authority in the way Jesus presented both Himself and subsequently the message He delivered! The secret they quickly and rightly observed came from a wholly integrated self. They witnessed in Jesus the example par excellence of the fulfillment of the greatest Commandment: “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The daunting expectation inside the synagogue became almost palpable! The longing for personal integration was showing itself everywhere. To be like Him, knit together; to have a  single focus; to be ONE instead of owning the name Legion, was captivating beyond words! There was little doubt that Heaven had ‘ come down their souls to greet.”
Then that sacred moment is intercepted by the disturbing evidence of human disintegration. The stark evidence of human brokenness could wait no longer to present itself.
“Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!” ( Mark 1: 23 – 24)
Notice the symptoms of this poor fellows’ disintegration. In the first instance, something inside of him recommends to him the fellowship of believers. And as wanting as his understanding of why this is, Hope remains. Tucked away in his mind there are memories of religious affiliations and perceptions as incomplete as they are. He vocalized theological concepts wich some of the more pious attendees did not embrace: ” I know who you are – the Holy One Of God.”  ( Mark 1:24)
  While there are many positive attributes present here, they are but individual building blocks, waiting to formed into a temple of the Living God. There are words here longing to find expression with authority. It remains true to this present moment that now is the right time, this, the right place, and the right Person is present to perform the miracle of integration, and He waits to authenticate one more builder of the Father’s Kingdom!

PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

Holy God,                                                                                                                                             You hovered over the formless void at creation until the earth appeared in the Cosmos, as something that brought rejoicing to Your heart of Love.

Let your Holy Spirit hover over me,                                                            Until I am the creation of Your desire, thereby bringing You honor and glory.

Let Your love hold my thought processes captive until my heart refuses to germinate the seeds of hatred, scorn, and segregation towards anyone.

Burden my mind with the understanding of how quickly and how easily, the slightest expression of hatred, spreads on social media throughout the world; and further, to remember the sub-human consequences that often follow our” INNOCENT” expressions of so-called”Free Speech.”

Knit me together once more, entirely, from start to finish, not using the materials of worldly ambition, over-powering political jargon, and with that unhealthy portion of suspicion of everyone else and everything. But rather, knit me together from the materials that outlast all generations namely, from, Faith, Hope, and Love.

Father, forgive us for breaking the world and for reducing it to a mass of Lego-like blocks! We cannot put it back together on our own, because it’s our own disintegration and loss of our God-given authority that has produced this present state. This undertaking depends upon Integrated people, authenticated byYour power in Jesus Christ. Here I am Lord, I hear You calling in the night! I will go and You will lead me!  For the sake of You Love in Jesus Christ we pray.Amen.

Hymn: Nearer, My God To Thee

https://youtu.be/v1mQT1u_45I

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

It will be helpful to the reader in understanding the Meditation in this post if the suggested Scripture be read in advance.All Scripture references throughout are from The New International Translation.

  1. This is not a direct quote but a reflection of a thought expressed by Emil Brunner in OUR FAITH. https://www.christianbook.com/our-faith-emil-brunner/9780334047490/pd/047493
  2. Hymn: Nearer My God To Thee     https://www.doovi.com/video/andre-rieu-nearer-my-god-to-thee-live/v1mQT1u_45I
  3. Photo: under the auspices of my friend William Tibbo  of Grand Bank. Many thanks for this magnificent photo, my friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Meditations

IMPRISONED SPLENDOR

 

 

Suggested Scripture Readings: Numbers 20: 1-20;
John 14: 1 – 14
Scripture Reference: NUMBERS 20: 11  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.  (1)
This rock appears to be quite ordinary in every respect. It was just another large chunk of lifeless granite. It offered no relief, whatsoever, from the monotonous stretches of desert aridity, as far as the eye could see in every direction.
The landscape prompted a somewhat menacing suggestion of the Creator, who, having wearied of sharing lifelessness more uniformly throughout creation, had just left rocks and burning sand everywhere on this desert floor. Could this landscape veil an even more ominous fact?  Following unwittingly their self-acclaimed leader,  Moses, from Egypt to some ever-receding destiny, would not these travelers leave their fossilized remains on the desert floor, as one more stark reminder of the reward of foolhardiness?
It is not an entirely unknown phenomenon that humans often bear revealing evidence of the surroundings they experience, and the fortunes or misfortunes that reward them. Deprivation, here in this text, is the hallmark of the Hebrews’ present experience. Food and water are in dangerously short supply, and the daily vision of the lifeless desert does nothing to quench their thirst; to lessen their pangs of hunger or to provide an appropriate setting to talk about God! The ubiquitous whispers of death creep through their souls!
 I have observed the evidence of the environmental phenomenon on the faces of some of the residents of a large fishing community which I once served. Several sea disasters had left many families bereft of their loved ones. The pathos that follows such a disaster is captured forcefully in a poem by E.J. Pratt, a Newfoundland poet.
                    ”   Erosion” (1931)
“It took the sea a thousand years,
A thousand years to trace
The granite features of this cliff,
In crag and scarp and base.
It took the sea an hour one night,
An hour of storm to place
The sculpture of these granite seams
Upon a woman’s face.” (2)
Neither is it hard to imagine how vulnerable those Hebrews felt! What human resources can be mustered to meet the stark prospect of certain death, made visible by the stark nothingness of the desert!  Fearfully they turn to Moses, the leader of this expedition. ” Why did you not leave us alone, in Egypt?  Slaves, indeed we were there, but we were slaves who had food and water! There we had life, but here, there is nothing for us but certain death! You and your glib talk about ‘ God’ and a land of hope and promise somewhere ahead! What can even God do in the face of desert dryness? Tell us, Moses,  Can He reverse the onward march of death, towards us?”
Let’s face it with them! There are times when we do feel vulnerable, when we lift our eyes and behold the vast armies set to take us down, by mocking all the dreams that have kept us ardent in our search for our promise land. Then to “Talk” about God seems like adding insult to injury! The time for mere talk about God is past! Now the demand is, ” Show us the Father, and that alone will satisfy us, nothing less will do!”
In this day and age, we may be depending too much upon
‘ words’ alone.  It is why God decided,long ago, that Words are never enough!  And so ” THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US.” If words are not enough, and religious language fails to relieve the human dilemma, then what’s left? “From whence cometh our help?”
Continuing with the narrative of Moses and his Hebrew followers through the threatening desert of Zin, it bears witness to something reassuring, as well as to something awe-inspiring, in and of itself.
Further theologizing and philosophizing in answer to persistent arguments, are under ban by the Great Silencer, God Himself. Without further commentary, He commands,  ” Strike the rock, there in front of you, with the rod you have in your hand, which symbolizes My presence with you all!” Moses obeys. Forthwith there gushes life-saving water, as well as the gripping evidence that God’s resources are available to the obedient. Resources are available, even though the senses strenuously deny that possibility!
Do not ever suppose that God’s imprisoned splendor shown in this inanimate object, ends with this incident in ancient history. Even more relevant for us are the words of Jesus, in the New Testament, ” Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he also do; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” ( John 14: 12).  Words and deeds must never be divorced from the reality of the ” Imprisoned Splendor” of the Holy Spirit in the souls of those who call Him Lord. Be not surprised at the life-giving stream that results from a renewed connection to the “Imprisoned Splendor” in your life, waiting to flow forth, to bless the world. The only retardant to that life-giving flow is unbelief.  All attempts to do anything less, than wait upon the Lord for the fulfillment of His promise to produce through us His Life-giving water, are like pointing to a mirage in the death-ridden desert, as a way to satisfy the thirst of a dying person!
“For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.”(3)
PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION
O God, of our awe-struck wonder,
Come ever closer to us now as, in this solitude, we seek to focus our shot-spanned attention upon ‘The Wonder Of It All”, as it pertains to You.
We wonder how it is possible that those same hands that formed the complex intricacies of this magnificent universe, took the time to create a baby’s smile, that fills a mother’s soul with love.
How is it possible that the clod of earth from which we are formed develops a personality and bears the likeness of God?
How is it possible that Your hands worked upon that same clod of earth turning it into ” A Temple Of The Living God?”
How can it possibly be, that even when the influences of this world turn that clod of earth into a heartless stone, You make sure that within there is a hidden splendor that will one day burst forth?
We praise You, O God, that with the tenderness and the patience that forever characterizes our Heavenly Father, You make Jesus available to be present with us. We experience all kinds of wonders. We are somewhat like children returning home from kindergarten after our first real encounter with life.  Keep us wondering and keep us curious to the end of our journey. Keep our faith in Jesus strong, for to such belong the Kingdom of God. Amen.
HYMN:  The Wonder Of It All  ( Click)
EDITORIAL NOTES
1. It is strongly recommended that a reading of both scriptures prior to the reading of the meditation be undertaken since  the story will enhance one’s understanding of the meditation
2. EROSION. poem by E.J. Pratt
      E.J. Pratt: Complete Poems. ed. Sandra Djwa and R.G. Moyles.     Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1989.
3.’Idylls of the King’ (1842-85) ‘The Passing of Arthur’ (1869) l. 414
4. PHOTO: MUSKRAT FALLS, Newfoundland And Labrador
Categories
Meditations

FOR WHOM DOES THE BELL TOLL?

 

Suggested Scripture: Luke 16:19 – 31.  It is strongly recommended that you read this portion of Scripture in its entirety to gain a clearer image of the meditation that follows.
SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Luke 16:19-21: There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

This story told by Jesus may well offend our refined and carefully polished sensitivities. We never take well to lines of demarcation so rigidly drawn as to reveal our social differences. Jesus considers it essential to emphasize it in His day, and God knows the message demands amplification in this our day!
It was a social custom, in the town of my childhood, that when a person died, a particular church bell would toll the age of the deceased. I distinctly remember being sent to inquire ” for whom the bell tolls.” This custom was undoubtedly a tradition brought by our English ancestors. It is the subject of a moving poem by the English poet, John Donne: ” Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls, It Tolls For Thee.”

“No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.”(2)

In the penetrating story of ” The Rich Man And Lazarus” told by Jesus, He means for us to hear the somber funeral bells toll.

On the first occasion, the bell’s tolling announces the death of a town’s resident, whose name is Lazarus. Imagine this scene on that day when a resident arrives to make the inquiry, ” For Whom Does The Bell Toll?” ” Lazarus,” comes the response. ” Who?” replies the inquirer. “Lazarus,” comes the cold, detached response. ” Never heard of him! Who is he?” Oh, he is that old beggar, who was always around town begging for a bite to eat. I suppose he finally  starved to death!”
It is NOT INCONSEQUENTIAL that Jesus gives him the name LAZARUS, meaning, ” God Has Helped.” Lazarus never owned much of this world’s goods. But Jesus recognizes him as a human being whom He graces with a name, and thereby identifies the humanity that they share; Jesus, the Saviour, and Lazarus, the beggar!

The funeral bell sounds throughout the town once again. Scarcely is it heard above the din in the streets! The expressions of sorrow are profuse. The town’s ‘rich man ‘ is dead! Indeed, if there is anyone in this story deserving of a name, is it not the’ rich man’? But, Jesus suggests that by this man’s failure to recognize the common humanity he shares with all, unwittingly he gives eloquent expression to his desire to be an island unto himself. It is not his wealth that lies at the root of his undoing. It is his attitude towards himself, towards others, and most especially towards God! Looking through the windows of his mansion, all that the rich man can see on his border is a bothersome bump with no name; a blip that is marring his landscape. He does not see a fellow human being; a child of God’s creation. Empathy towards the beggar does not stir him in the least, to remember that ” But for the grace of God, the roles could have been reversed, as one day they are destined to be.

The more somber tones of the funeral bell, on the occasion of ‘the rich man’s demise, are but echoes of the bell tolling earlier in heaven for the death, of an immortal soul. I suspect that the bell previously sounded many years before.

I am deeply troubled at present by the rampant wholesale-condemnation of immigrants, that is reaching epidemic proportions worldwide, and is finding such virulent expression in our social media.

Many of these immigrants wear different style clothing from ours and hold to different ideologies from ours, and can tell of hardships we can never even imagine. Whether you like what you see or not, or whether you understand their religious expressions or not, they are not undeserving of respect and pity. They are not to be treated as unwelcome blips on our borders; they are not islands unto themselves. They are God’s Children, and just like you, they have souls that hope and dream. It’s time to make the tolling bells cease, and it’s time to bid the bells of Heaven and earth ring out in songs of jubilation. Let us build bridges, not walls! Let us strive to connect the many Islands that are fragmenting God’s beautiful earth! Believe that God will fulfill His promise to make one of all nations. The Book of Revelation unveils God’s vision of ‘The New Heaven and The New Earth:” Between the city street and the river was the tree of life. It produced twelve kinds of fruit, each month having its own fruit. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him.”Amen, So let it be!              (Rev.22:2-3)

 

A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS MEDITATION

O God of compassion,
make our hearts acutely sensitive to understand what Your feeling of Compassion towards us humans, demanded of You! ” God so loved the world, that He sent His Only Begotten Son.”Forgive our willful blindness and our lack of faith, that dares us to accept a new definition of ” the world,” into which You unleashed the Power of Your love to redeem. Forgive the tamed reality of our love, now appearing like a domesticated pet that is led around where it feels comfortable. Teach us to know that our limited understanding of ‘love’ will never change anything, but before the ” Cross Of Christ,” nothing remains unchanged!
Save us, in this day from becoming so accustomed to the sound of bells tolling out other people’s pain and sorrow, that we are thankful that we are separated from the actual event, as though we lived like an island, disconnected from it all! “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin,”  (1 John 1:7-10).

” May the Christ who walks on wounded feet, walk with you to the end of your road;
May the Christ who serves with wounded hands, teach you to serve each other;
May the Christ who loves with a wounded heart, help you to love each other;
When you go out, may you see the face of Jesus in everyone you meet, and may everyone you meet see the face of Jesus in you.” Amen. (3)

HYMN: When I Needed A Neighbor!https://youtu.be/y0AVOs-V_BE

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

1. The Scripture references in this post are found in the New International Translation, (NIV)

2.For whom the bell tolls a poem
(No man is an island) by John Donne                                                                    http://www.famousliteraryworks.com/donne_for_whom_the_bell_tolls.htm

3. The italicized portion of the Prayer is a traditional Celtic prayer.

4.PHOTO: ” Row Houses” in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

 

 

Categories
Meditations

WHEN FRUSTRATION KNOCKS

 

 

Suggested Scripture Reading: John 9: 1 -41

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HYMN:  AMAZING GRACE                         Andrea Bocelli

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

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

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

 

Categories
Meditations

THE FAITH THAT INSPIRES

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hymn: My Faith Looks Up To Thee

https://youtu.be/oGKLmThF2to

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

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

 

Categories
Meditations Save draft

A READING OF E. J. PRATT’S POEM ” EROSION”

 A PRAYER TO FOLLOW THIS READING

O Christ of tender compassion, come again to us amid our life’s storms, as once You came to your beloved disciples, who were caught in the fearful throes of a vicious storm on Galilee. It was Your love for them and the surge of human helplessness that often paralyzes the members of the human family that resulted in this memorable encounter with humankind. You thereby demonstrate, to all humans, what our Saviour’s Love can accomplish. By walking on water, the day of Your defiance of the natural law reveals the propulsive power of love for Your dear friends is far removed from this day of shrunken faith and artificial intelligence. But we are never removed from Your Love for us or from our helplessness and need for Your victories.

We cannot deny that the marred visages of starving people and the bitter vitriol of uncontrolled tongues are as terrifying as the boisterous waves of an angry sea.
It is Love, Your Love, coming to possess our lives that will bring calm to our troubled sea and restore hope for those who sit and wait and pray.
Please, Lord, make us brave enough to refute the so-called wisdom of scholars who seek to produce the catalysis that shrinks our faith and gives us half-baked beliefs. Help us to reclaim the simple principles which enable children to be such beautiful lights to shine upon the road that leads us into the Kingdom Of Our God. Lord, You chose twelve people to help You change the course of history. But, unfortunately, today’s diluted mixture of shrunken faith and half-hearted, personally selected beliefs is no match for the vicious sea of dark demonic forces. Even so, Lord Jesus, Come to us again.
We pray for all through Your love’s sake. Amen.

HYMN: Eternal Father, Strong To Save

https://binged.it/2F6Zxs9

 

EDITORIAL NOTES

1   ‘ EROSION” .https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/pratt/poem1.htm                          Poem by Newfoundland poet, E. J. Pratt

2 Prayer: Franklin D. Curtis

3 Hymn, ” Eternal Father, Strong To Save.”