Saturday, 30 November 2013

Streaming to the city

Streaming to the city
Advent opens with “all the nations streaming to God’s city.” Jerusalem is the “true pole” of the earth (Ps 48). People head for the city like Brent geese flocking in their thousands to their breeding grounds in northern Canada. Or like the wildebeest that migrate in huge numbers to their summer pastures in the Serengeti. There is a great physical sense of movement which was seen in the Jewish pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the yearly Pasch or as people of the Muslim faith stream to Mecca for the Hajj.
This is the image in Isaiah and for us as we enter Advent it is a spiritual journey of faith, a setting of our compass towards the true pole of our life. Advent means “coming” and of course we are told from our youth that it is a time of preparing for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. But in a sense this is misleading since he has already come and the last thing we want to do is to celebrate some ancient event merely as an excuse for shopping, eating and drinking.
If Jesus has already come – and he has – what are we celebrating?  We are certainly not looking forward to his coming, unless one is thinking of his second coming and there seems to be little point sitting around waiting for that, as Paul pointed out some time ago (2 Thess 3:11). No, he has already come and the gospels all speak of this. For example, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Luke 1:23-24).
So the focus in Advent is not about Jesus’ coming but about our coming. We are called to come to Jerusalem, in other words, to accept totally that he has come into the world and established his reign. It is not a reign of power and police but a gentle reign of invitation and acceptance. It is two thousand years since the definitive and final proclamation of his reign and how does the world look after all that time? There has been terrific progress and I am not just talking about i pods and air travel. The progress is also in the human spirit. People are more free today than they have ever been. People have more chances now than ever to make their own choices about how to use their talents and what profession to follow, and the gospel has been proclaimed, and partly accepted, in every corner of the earth.
But as soon as we say such things we know of the bleak shadow that hangs over us. There are so many for whom these things are not true and there is still so much injustice and pain. We still have a long way to go on our Advent journey before we make our own what we already have; where we embrace the Jesus who has already come. Perhaps it is something like our little corner of the world: Zimbabwe. Many of us remember how we longed for it to come. And we eventually got it. It is a fact. But we still have not owned it. In this sense we too are “advent” people on a journey to unwrap the parcel we already have.     
1 December 2013        Advent 1 A

Isaiah 2:1-5                 Romans 13:11-14                    Matt 24:37-44  

Friday, 29 November 2013

THEY LEFT THEIR NETS

PRAYER MOMENT


Saturday 30 November 2013


THEY LEFT THEIR NETS


Pause.  Be still and recall you are in God’s presence.


Reading. “Peter and Andrew left their nets at once and followed him.” (Matt 4:18-22)


Reflection. The twelve apostles, whose feasts are dotted through the year, remind us that the people of God, the Church, is founded on a group of individuals who responded to the call of Jesus. His proclamation of the reign of God as not totally ignored. There were some, a few, - and that’s the way it still is today – who “left their nets.” They followed him. Today we remember Andrew and it is a moment to remember too the ancient churches of the East where he is especially venerated. In a great act of reconciliation on the feast of the Epiphany in 1964 on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Patriarch Athenagoras gave Pope Paul VI an icon of Peter and Andrew embracing, and the two leaders of the churches of East and West themselves embraced.


Prayer. Lord, teach us to “leave our nets” and follow you wherever you will lead us. We pray for our churches that we may follow the road to reconciliation and unity. Amen.





Thursday, 28 November 2013

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR

PRAYER MOMENT


Friday 29 November 2013


THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR


Pause.  Be still an enter into your own silence within.


Reading. “When you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21: 29-33)


Reflection. Jesus speaks of catastrophic events and a budding fig tree. They are signs of the breaking in of the kingdom. At this time of year more than ever there is an urgency to accept and believe that the reign of God is among us. It is “near” in the sense that we have not yet fully embraced it. But it has “already here” in the sense that Jesus has announced it and, in his own coming, has inaugurated it. God has, as it were, now entered into his inheritance. What remains is for us to welcome it. And, looking around the world, we can say; yes, we have welcomed the Lord in many ways but there is still some way to go. Our daily struggle is to make our own what we already have. It is something like the independence of a country, like Zimbabwe, for example. Yes, we are independent. That is a fact. But we have not yet “owned” that independence.


Prayer. Lord, you have inaugurated the reign of God but we have not fully welcomed this great event. Help us to develop the capacity to fully embrace your rule, your will, which gives freedom and peace. Amen.





Wednesday, 27 November 2013

YOUR LIBERATION IS NEAR

PRAYER MOMENT


Thursday 28 November 2013


YOUR LIBERATION IS NEAR


Pause.  Be still. Enter into your silence within.


Reading. “For great misery will descend on the land and wrath on this people. …When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.” (Luke 21: 20-28)


Reflection. We like building houses, planting fields, buying a nice car and settling down. We long for peace, order and a settled comfortable life. Good! But how come the readings at the end of the church’s year are full of foreboding, threats of war, vengeance and misery? There will be tsunamis and typhoons, droughts and fires, disease and accidents. And the Son of Man will come and we are to stand erect and hold our heads high. Perhaps two thoughts come: whatever we build here is only provisional; it is no more than a campsite on a journey. And the second thought is that trial is built into human life; it was part of Jesus’ life and it will be part of my life. It is not a disaster; it is part of the great human journey to God.  


Prayer. Lord, how ever much I want to settle down help me to see that everything is provisional and fragile and can change in a moment. But you do not change and you steadily draw me to yourself no matter what the circumstances of my life. Help me to trust. Amen.





Tuesday, 26 November 2013

ENDURANCE

PRAYER MOMENT


Wednesday 27 November 2013


ENDURANCE


Pause.  Enter into your silence within.


Reading. “You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.” (Luke 21: 12-19)


Reflection. Durare is a Latin word meaning to harden. In the Lenten readings on the Passion there are the words of Isaiah that the Suffering Servant “set his face like flint”. In these final days of the Church’s year we have passages about the trials the early Christians were to face.  And we are to see in these words an application to our own times and lives. There is no avoiding the struggle. Most of us may not be betrayed and arrested but in countless ways life makes tough demands and our calling is to patient, even joyful, endurance in the face of adversity. In this way we witness to the great ultimate plan of God for his people.  


Prayer. Lord, help us to answer your call to endure – not in some kind of stoical loveless submission but – in joy and patience, knowing that we tread the same “way to life” that you walked when you “set your face towards Jerusalem.” Amen.





Monday, 25 November 2013

THE END IS NOT SO SOON

PRAYER MOMENT


Tuesday 26 November 2013


THE END IS NOT SO SOON


Pause.  Enter into the silence within.


Reading. “You will hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.” (Luke 21: 5-11)


Reflection. There is sometimes a longing to end it all. As children we long for the end of term. As adults we are curious about the end of the world. There were great expectations in the year 999 and again, in our time, in 1999. Why do people long for the end? Jesus said it is a distraction; it is something to take people’s minds off the present. There are things to be done now in the complexities of our personal, social and political life. To spend time dreaming about the end, or preaching about it, is to avoid the thing in hand. The end of the world will take care of itself if we do our work now.  


Prayer. Lord, teach us to concentrate on the tings at hand; the things we can create, influence or improve. Do not let us be distracted by fantasies and false promises. Amen.





Sunday, 24 November 2013

MORE THAN ANY

PRAYER MOMENT


Monday 25 November 2013


MORE THAN ANY


Pause.  “It is in silence that we shall hear a voice deep within.” (Basil Hume)


Reading. “I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21: 1-4)


Reflection. The poor widow in the temple did not contribute more money than the others but she contributed more of herself. And that is what touches the heart of Jesus. Some would call it reckless; what was she going to do now? She would have to beg from others. But others would recognise the quality of unconditional generosity: giving without counting the cost. She does something wild, like Francis Xavier setting out for India with no real preparation. And we see her trust, that if she gives everything to God he will take care of her needs, Even that is not a calculation for to really trust is no make no calculation at all!


Prayer. Lord, teach us to be generous; to give without counting the cost. Teach us to trust without calculating the outcome. Teach us to love without attaching conditions. Amen.





A broad perspective

A broad perspective
The murky world of crime and punishment is inhabited by people who can also rise to greatness and holiness. When Jesus was dying on the cross the general mood of the bystanders was one of jeering and mockery. “After all his claims, now look at him!” But there was one man who found it within himself to break with the mood and make an independent stand; “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 
The gospel preserves this amazing act of defiance against the trend. Here was a man willing to stand out, and he was a criminal. We know Jesus’ answer, “indeed, today you will be with me in paradise.” There were crowds of people who welcomed Jesus with palm branches into Jerusalem the week before but there was only one now, and he a criminal.
The Church’s year ends today – next week will be Advent – and it does so with a bang. Not only do we have this amazing confession from a criminal but we have words that seem very far removed from the abandoned figure dying on a cross. It is astonishing how quickly the Church came to see this crucified Jesus of Nazareth as the Lord of all history.  “In him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible … before anything was created he existed and he holds all things in unity … God wanted all things to be reconcile through him …” (Col 1: 15-20).
This breadth of vision – this seeing the Lord of all in a crucified man – carries over into seeing the dignity and destiny of all our brothers and sisters. There are no exceptions. There is news today of an agreement between the Iranians and six other countries about its nuclear enrichment programme. For more than thirty years Iran has been isolated and distrusted. The one word the media keeps coming up with is ‘trust’.
For all this time there has been no trust but now there is a beginning of trust. Just a little bit of trust can be something to build on, whether it is in a marriage going through difficulties or relations between states. It is a risky step to trust someone. Some feel more secure if they can build walls and fences and have armed guards. Then you don’t have to make the effort to trust.  But to trust is to say, “Wait a minute, these people are no different from us. They have the same basic needs and hopes as us. ‘Look we are your own flesh and blood.’” (2 Sam 5:1).
Maybe I am wrong, but as far as I know this is the first ever agreement negotiated by a Muslim state and a group of states marked by Christian origins that has ever be negotiated on the basis of equals. It is progress.  
24 November 2013     Christ the King C
2 Sam 5:1-3                 Col 1:11-20                 Luke 23:35-43   


Friday, 22 November 2013

WELL PUT!

PRAYER MOMENT


Saturday 23 November 2013


WELL PUT!


Pause.  “It is in silence that we shall hear a voice deep within.” (Basil Hume)


Reading. “Now, he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men and women are in fact alive. Some scribes then spoke up. ‘Well put, Master,’ they said.” (Luke 20: 27-40)


Reflection. Jesus’ adversaries often tried to catch him out by posing dilemmas or impossible cases for him to solve. They wanted to reassert their influence with the people by proving this new prophet was confused and did not know the law. Jesus sidesteps them and raises the exchange to a higher level. God is a God of the living: whether they are dead or not to him they are alive. Sometimes we are uncomfortable when challenged and we try hard to retreat to some solid ground – usually ‘custom’ or ‘tradition’ – where we feel secure. The gospel constantly calls us beyond our ‘securities’ to a higher level of being and living.



Prayer. Lord, help me to move beyond the comfort of my position, the ways in which I feel secure. Help me to respond to your call. Amen.





Thursday, 21 November 2013

YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DAY

PRAYER MOMENT


Friday 22 November 2013


YOU DO NOT KNOW THE DAY


Pause.  “It is in silence that we shall hear a voice deep within us speaking to our nobler selves, calling us to high ideals and generous instincts.” (Basil Hume)


Reading. “So stay awake, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matt25: 1-13)


Reflection. I have yet to meet anyone who cannot remember exactly where they were when they heard the news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on this day 50 years ago. I was a student and we were at supper and I can tell you the table and the chair I sat on. We were totally shocked, numbed. How could this happen? Across the world people were inspired by him no matter what their political differences. His violent removal seemed to make each of us poorer, even orphans. We had placed so much hope in someone we thought would make the world a better place. And now he was gone and no one could do a thing about it. With all our technology and information which we think can control just about everything we discovered our limits. And it was painful.


Prayer. Lord Jesus, give us a deep sense of our fragility and our need to always have you as part of our perspective. In times of tragedy let is not despair but know that you are there. Amen.





Wednesday, 20 November 2013

MARY

PRAYER MOMENT


Thursday 21 November 2013


MARY


Pause.  “It is in silence that we shall hear a voice deep within us speaking to our nobler selves, calling us to high ideals and generous instincts.” (Basil Hume)


Reading. “Everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:15-19)


Reflection. In the year 431 the Church held a Council at Ephesus which is noted for its declaration that it is correct and good to call Mary, “Mother of God.” Some were shocked but soon there was universal acceptance of the title and celebrations were held and churches built in her honour. Today honours her Presentation as a young girl in the temple and recalls that she herself was the living temple of the Child that was to be born into our world. She “pondered in her heart” all the events she had witnessed and her own part in them. She shows us how to penetrate into these astonishing events and allow them to open up our own hearts to receive the Word and become “living temples.” Those of us who live in Zimbabwe celebrate with the Presentation sisters today especially in that their founder, Nano Nagle, has just been honoured by the Church with the title of “Venerable.”  


Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us to ponder “these things” with your Mother Mary and so become imbued with your life giving Spirit.  Amen.





Tuesday, 19 November 2013

UNTIL I GET BACK

PRAYER MOMENT


Wednesday 20 November 2013


UNTIL I GET BACK


Pause.  Enter into your own stillness in the presence of the Lord.


Reading. “A man of noble birth went to a distant country. (Before he left he gave his servants ten pounds each and said), “do business with these until I get back.” (Luke 19:11-28)


Reflection. “The people imagined the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there.” How the people of Jesus’ time longed for a solution to their problems! They kept hoping Jesus would solve them “then and there.” So he tells them a parable: he is going away and they are the ones to do his work in the meantime. He is not abandoning them but he is giving them the means to solve the problems and to build a better world. He would be with them. He was still in charge and he would return and enter into a reckoning with them. Those who did good would be rewarded. Those who did bad … well, there would be consequences. The awesome power to change the world is handed over to us. Jesus will not – cannot – do the work on his own. He is “away” and it is up to us.    



Prayer. Lord Jesus, help me to see the opportunity you give me each day to “shake the universe”. It may be in small ways but everything counts. Help me not to miss opportunities open the way for your reign on earth. Amen.





Monday, 18 November 2013

HE WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE

PRAYER MOMENT


Tuesday 19 November 2013


HE WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE


Pause.  Be still in the presence iof the Lord.


Reading. “He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran a head and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way.”(Luke 19:1-19)


Reflection. Zacchaeus was curious. St Augustine used to praise curiosity as a great virtue. It was curiosity that got Vasco de Gama round the Cape. It is curiosity that leads to every step of human progress. When Jesus came to announce the reign of God his whole mission hung in the balance. Would people be curious? Would they be anxious to see, like the shepherds who rushed to Bethlehem? Or would they make excuses and continue in their own half life? The invitation of God looks for a response. Every scene of meeting in the gospel shows this. Jesus passes by, he stops at a well, he goes for a meal to someone’s house. Some people are curious. For others the seed has no roots. Jesus longs to share his life, his joy, but how do we respond?.   


Prayer. Lord Jesus, you come into our lives in so many way; you pass by our way. But sometimes my eyes are cloudy and I do not see. Arouse in me that desire to seek and find, to knock and enter. Amen.





Sunday, 17 November 2013

HE SHOUTED ALL THE LOUDER

PRAYER MOMENT


Monday 18 November 2013


HE SHOUTED ALL THE LOUDER


Pause.  Be still and enter into the quietness of your heart.


Reading. “The people in front scolded hm and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have pity on me.”(Luke 18:35-43)


Reflection. Luke gives us pictures of people who made decisions to embrace Jesus’ message with all their heart; the “woman who was a sinner”, Zacchaeus and – here - the blind man of Jericho. They are all people who brave the scorn of those present to go to Jesus openly. In this way they illustrate one of the themes that Luke gives us in his gospel: what it is to be a disciple of Jesus. It means not to be afraid to decide to follow Jesus in whatever particular circumstances I am in; and that decision is also a witness to those present that the Lord is indeed asking for a decision. The gift of being human is to be able to decide, to choose. And the gift of grace is to be able to choose life, life in its fullness. There is a cost, the cost of discipleship, but paying that cost brings a person into an intimate communion with God.  


Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us to follow you and not to count the cost: to examine my life and see those areas where I have to choose. Help me to choose generously. Amen.





Saturday, 16 November 2013

A burning furnace

A burning furnace
“When Sachin Tendulkar walks out to the crease for the final time in Mumbai, he will bring to an end a career that has earned him god-like status in India.” So ran a news report this week on the retirement of a famous Indian cricketer. Cricket does not feature highly in Zimbabwe’s consciousness though it has its devotees. But Tendulkar can serve for now as yet another model of an outstanding sportsman who has won the admiration, even adulation, of millions.
Cricket takes place in a set space and the whole object of the game is to hit the ball beyond the boundaries of that space. And spectators go wild if you can get the ball over the boundary without it even touching the ground. We love sportspeople because they go beyond the boundaries, the frontiers. Deep within us is a longing to break out and do the same.
The Typhoon in the Philippines, which has dominated the news all week, has destroyed cities and killed more than 3000 people. The scale of the suffering is beyond description and it seems the whole world is trying to help. Everyone wants things to “get back to normal.” In the midst of such suffering it may seem inappropriate to suggest some reflections but such a tragedy must pose some questions.
We can leave aside the questions already being asked, about how prepared the government was and what precautions the people took, and move on to the question of why these disasters happen at all. Is it just a chance act of nature or is it due to human foolishness in messing around with our climate? Maybe we ask why God allows it to happen? To this last question a similar answer can be given as to the question once asked, “where was God when millions of Jews were deliberately killed in the Second World War?” The answer I always remember is “He was with them there in the gas chambers.” God is with us, Emmanuel. Having given us freedom he does interfere with us.  
In November each year the Church hammers us with readings about crises and disasters and “burning furnaces.” She wants us to know that there is no “going back to normal.” ‘Crisis’ is the name of the game. The word comes from the Greek word krino, meaning ‘to decide.’ Even though we long for “normality” it is not good for us. We are made to go “over the boundaries” and we pack football stadiums and cricket grounds because we know it, and if we can’t get beyond the normal ourselves we can at least watch others do it.
Yet the appeal has to be to each one of us: decide to go beyond the boundaries. Don’t settle into the comfortable and normal. Our decisions are making the world for better or for worse – and everyone counts.  
17 November 2013                Sunday 33 C

Mal 3:19-20                            2 Thess 3:7-12            Lk 21:5-19

Friday, 15 November 2013

SHE KEEPS PESTERING ME

PRAYER MOMENT


Saturday 16 November 2013


SHE KEEPS PESTERING ME


Pause.  Be still and enter into the quietness of your heart.


Reading. “Maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worrying me to death.” (Luke 18:1-8)


Reflection. A parable is a way of saying something important in a way that is not immediately obvious. If it is too obvious people will become familiar with the words and not penetrate their meaning. The words will be like passing traffic. So Jesus uses parables to slightly hide his meaning so that people are forced to ponder his words and so make the message their own. Like here for example, in the story of the persistent widow. She concentrates on her goal and does not give up. It is a simple lesson about life but Jesus here is especially meaning prayer. We are so familiar with this word but what is it for me? Is it words? Is it going to Church? It is all these things but above all it is a persistent effort to be attentive to the Spirit of God working in my heart.  


Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us to pray as you taught your disciples through simple words and parables. Help us to go deeper than our words alone and give them relish through our listening to your Spirit. Amen.





Wednesday, 13 November 2013

THE KINGDOM AMONG YOU

PRAYER MOMENT


Thursday 14 November 2013


THE KINGDOM AMONG YOU


Pause.  Enter into your own silence within.


Reading. “The kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, ‘look here! Look there!’ For you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.” (Luke 17:2-25)


Reflection. The kingdom of God, the reign of God, is among you and within you. Churches, whatever the church, can be very human organisations. Take off your hat, take off your shoes. Sit on a bench, sit on the floor. There is the priest, there is the prophet. Here are the women, here are the men. It can be all very structural and have hidden agendas of power and precedent. No wonder some churches, like the Society of Friends (Quakers) who do not even call themselves a “church”, have done away with all the structures and just try to enter within. They remind us of the essential, what Jesus told Martha, the reign of God has already come. “It is among you”, visible to those with “rinsed eyes”, clear in those who show love and compassion for others, who forgive and are deeply concerned about others as Jesus was. The kingdom of God is among you.


Prayer. Lord, teach us to recognise the presence of your reign everywhere among us. And help us to proclaim your kingdom by our actions and words, our love and compassion. Amen.




Tuesday, 12 November 2013

THE OTHER NINE

PRAYER MOMENT


Wednesday 13 November 2013


THE OTHER NINE


Pause.  Rest in the presence of the Lord


Reading. “Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? (Luke 17:11-19)


Reflection. To serve, to do things for people, is to enter into a relationship with them somehow. But if they don’t notice it becomes rather one sided. Jesus felt this when he cured the ten lepers: only one came back to say thank you. By doing so this Samaritan responded to the offer of relationship to Jesus which was far more important than the healing. Jesus did not heal many people. His healings were only signs. What was really important was the relationship with his Father. In the end the Church found a word to express its “thank you” to the Father, not just for the signs Jesus worked, but for the gift of the fullness of life that the father gives us in Jesus. The word is “Eucharist”. The Eucharist is our enduring thank you to God and it forges and deepens our relationship with the Father through Jesus in the Holy Spirit. 


Prayer. As we say each time in the Eucharist so now we pray, “through him, with him and in him,. In the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.




Monday, 11 November 2013

MERELY SERVANTS

PRAYER MOMENT


Tuesday 12 November 2013


MERELY SERVANTS


Pause.  Come into the presence of the Lord


Reading. “When you have done all you have been told to do, say; ‘we are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.’” (Luke 17:7-10)


Reflection. Looking back we can see mistakes made in the history of our country, in the story of the Church and in our own lives. If such and such a decision had only been made we would have been so much better off now. There is an article in a recent number of The Tablet about Bishop Dowling of Rustenberg, South Africa, describing his sustained effort over more than twenty years to respond to the AIDS/HIV scourge and to struggle with the other challenges facing his country today.  He is an example for me of someone who lives that saying “we are only servants.” We are asked to do the best we can. That is all we can do. We cannot solve all the problems. At the end of the day we may have little to show for our efforts. But we are “merely servants”. The issues are far bigger than we are. We just make our contribution with joy and faith. And our little efforts, our five loaves and two fish, really count.


Prayer. Lord, “let me not see the distant shore, one step enough for me,” as Cardinal Newman prayed. Let me really do what I can in my small circumstances and leave the rest to you. Amen.




Sunday, 10 November 2013

TO LOVE TENDERLY

PRAYER MOMENT


Monday 11 November 2013


TO LOVE TENDERLY


Pause.  Be stll in the presence of God.


Reading. “What is good has been explained to you; this is what Yahweh asks of you; only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:6-8)


Reflection. We are in the twenty first century but in the fourth – the 300s – St Martin, whose feast we keep today, was active as a missionary in France. The faith had travelled the Roman roads and reached the Roman towns, as it did in Paul’s day in Ephesus, Philippi and Corinth. But it did not reach the rural areas. Martin and his followers reached out to them. Our gospel today, the Last Judgement from Matthew 25, tells us “insofar as you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters you did it to me.” The worst storm ever recorded has hit the Philippines and more than 10,000 have lost their lives. People are reaching out to help from all over the world. We too can reach out in compassion and prayer for them.       



Prayer. Lord, we remember we are all your family and and when one suffers we all suffer. We beg your mercy for the people of the Philippines; help them in their agony as countless families lose their relatives and their livelihoods. Amen.




Saturday, 9 November 2013

A place in the other world

A place in the other world
Towards the end of each year the church puts before us readings and thoughts about the future. What will it be like? Is this life all there is? It seems the Sadducees thought so and maybe many of our contemporaries share their pessimism. We have “memorial” services which recount the life and deeds of the our dead and this is clearly a good thing to do. But there is another dimension to death and that is the future. Sometimes people are so weighed down with sorrow that they can only give a nod in the direction of the resurrection.
The rainy season gives way to the cold dry season and then the rains come round again. “Vanity of vanities,” the preacher says, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Maybe we feel like that at times. The year ends; there is much talk of Christmas and then we start all over again. But people have always sought for meaning and have constructed different ways of making sense of the yearning they find in their hearts. Every person and every society has had “intimations of immortality” where something in their experience – a child’s first smile or a sunset – sets off thoughts that are not satisfied by the verdict, “this is it: this is all there is.”
Our ancestors’ outlook on life was based on a construction of belief that we are part of a community that reaches beyond this life: there are the living and there are the living dead. The latter have some power over us so that if we stray we may have to face consequences from their anger. This system of belief made people think before they inflicted some injury or committed some injustice. It was a powerful system and you overstepped the mark at your peril.
Today we have anaesthetised this world view with the Bible which replaces a system of fear (law) with a message of freedom (the Spirit). But we are not the first generation to have gone on to also anaesthetise this new message for our own purposes. You can “tame” the bible so that it can mean virtually anything you want. The “shouts” of the psalmist and the “scourges” of the prophets are drowned out by our desire to find comfort in and confirmation for our way of life in the holy pages.
Part of the attraction of “fundamentalism”, that desire to go back to the raw sources of Christianity or Islam, is the clarity and challenge it gives. We have always had Zealots among us: those aroused to horror and protest, often violent, against the perceived compromises of our religions. But this cannot be the answer. It replaces one system of fear with another.
No, we are called to move towards a healthy and “holy” fear or the great mystery of which we sense we are part. There are areas of my life in which I am in control. But there are vast influences that touch me of which I have no control. One of these is the moment and manner of my death. We may not feel like Ignatius of Antioch who “longed for death with all the passion of a lover” but a healthy sense of judgement/assessment/evaluation of my life at some time in the future and a great sense of trust, in faith, that if I have really tried to live a moral life I will be acquitted, can be helpful antidotes to the anaesthetising of religious systems.    
10 November 2013  Sunday 31 C

2 Mac 7:1…14         2 Thess 2:16 – 3:5   Lk 20: 27-38           

Friday, 8 November 2013

A STREAM FLOWED

PRAYER MOMENT


Saturday 9 November 2013


A STREAM FLOWED


Pause.  Be in the presence of God.


Reading. “A stream flowed eastwards from under the Temple threshold.” (Ezekiel 47:1…12)


Reflection. Tradition can be either enslaving or inspiring. There are many examples of the former in the gospels, especially in attitudes towards the Sabbath. But today we have the latter: the commemoration of the building of the first church (320) in Rome, the Lateran, after the age of persecution. A building is nothing in itself and the Church managed without “churches” until that time. But they soon became the norm and while the Reformation changed much about the interior fittings of churches they continued to use buildings.  Buildings are “out there”, reference points for our faith and reminders of our family and community histories. My parents are buried in the grounds of the church six thousand miles from here where we prayed as a family sixty years ago. But the reading from Ezekiel also reminds us that the church is “in here.” The church is the body of Christ and we are the members of that body.     


Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in the tradition that you give us in all that we see and hear in your Church. But help us to go deeper and find our place in the heart of your body, the community of your people. Amen.




A STREAM FLOWED

PRAYER MOMENT


Saturday 9 November 2013


A STREAM FLOWED


Pause.  Be in the presence of God.


Reading. “A stream flowed eastwards from under the Temple threshold.” (Ezekiel 47:1…12)


Reflection. Tradition can be either enslaving or inspiring. There are many examples of the former in the gospels, especially in attitudes towards the Sabbath. But today we have the latter: the commemoration of the building of the first church (320) in Rome, the Lateran, after the age of persecution. A building is nothing in itself and the Church managed without “churches” until that time. But they soon became the norm and while the Reformation changed much about the interior fittings of churches they continued to use buildings.  Buildings are “out there”, reference points for our faith and reminders of our family and community histories. My parents are buried in the grounds of the church six thousand miles from here where we prayed as a family sixty years ago. But the reading from Ezekiel also reminds us that the church is “in here.” The church is the body of Christ and we are the members of that body.     


Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in the tradition that you give us in all that we see and hear in your Church. But help us to go deeper and find our place in the heart of your body, the community of your people. Amen.




A STREAM FLOWED

PRAYER MOMENT


Saturday 9 November 2013


A STREAM FLOWED


Pause.  Be in the presence of God.


Reading. “A stream flowed eastwards from under the Temple threshold.” (Ezekiel 47:1…12)


Reflection. Tradition can be either enslaving or inspiring. There are many examples of the former in the gospels, especially in attitudes towards the Sabbath. But today we have the latter: the commemoration of the building of the first church (320) in Rome, the Lateran, after the age of persecution. A building is nothing in itself and the Church managed without “churches” until that time. But they soon became the norm and while the Reformation changed much about the interior fittings of churches they continued to use buildings.  Buildings are “out there”, reference points for our faith and reminders of our family and community histories. My parents are buried in the grounds of the church six thousand miles from here where we prayed as a family sixty years ago. But the reading from Ezekiel also reminds us that the church is “in here.” The church is the body of Christ and we are the members of that body.     


Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in the tradition that you give us in all that we see and hear in your Church. But help us to go deeper and find our place in the heart of your body, the community of your people. Amen.




Thursday, 7 November 2013

CHILDREN OF LIGHT

PRAYER MOMENT


Friday, 8 November 2013


CHILDREN OF LIGHT


Pause.  Place yourself in the presence of God.


Reading. “For the children of this world are more astute  in dealing with their own kind than the children of light.” (Luke 16:1-8)


Reflection. It is easier to deal with the things that we can manage than to deal with things that are not clear, that stretch us and where the outcome is uncertain. Our reading from Luke today speaks of a “dishonest” manager who “fixes the books” before he loses his job so that he doesn’t end up destitute when he is out of work. In the story he is “praised” for his foresight and the conclusion is as above, “ people of this world are more astute…” For me the passage speaks about  the challenge of living the gospel. “The children of this world” calculate, take risks, focus their energies of their goals and often come out well. But the “children of light” are often fuzzy, compromised, not clear about what the gospel calls them to  and don’t take risky decisions.   


Prayer. Lord, help us to see where the challenge to our faith lies and give us the light of your Spirit  and courage to respond. Amen.




Wednesday, 6 November 2013

REJOICE WITH ME

PRAYER MOMENT


Thursday, 7 November 2013


REJOICE WITH ME


Pause.  Rememeber, you are in the presence of God.


Reading. And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders, and then, when he got home, call his friends and neighbours and say, “Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost.” (Luke 15:1-10)


Reflection. Luke’s gospel is full of expressions of joy. The angels told the shepherds in Bethlehem of “a joy to be shared by the whole people” (2:10) and the last words of the gospel have the apostles returning to Jerusalem after the Ascension “full of joy” (24:52). And here in the middle of the gospel are three stories of rejoicing “that what was lost is found.” The lost is, of course, the sinner. “We had all gone astray like sheep” (Isaiah 53:6). But now the great work of calling the sinner back to God has begun. “Repent (change your way of thinking) and believe” (Mark 1:15). With regard to sin and conversion sorrow and joy are hard to separate. Yes, there is a deep sorrow for offences committed, but the joy of being forgiven rushes in and sits together with the sorrow so that you don’t know which is which. 


Prayer. Lord Jesus, we know how you long to forgive and bring joy to the sinner. Teach us to go into ourselves and acknowledge that we are sinners and there we will find the joy of forgiveness and new life. Amen.




Tuesday, 5 November 2013

HATING YOUR FATHER

PRAYER MOMENT


Wednesday, 6 November 2013


HATING YOUR FATHER


Pause.  Be still in the presence of God.


Reading. Great crowds accompanied Jesus and he spoke to them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25-33)


Reflection. Jesus was not fooled by the huge crowds that followed him. He knew they could evaporate in a moment and even turn on him and shout, “Crucify him!” They were easily manipulated. And that is why he used strong – even shocking - language to try to penetrate the armour of fear and selfishness that prevented people from really receiving his message.  “You must hate your father, mother, wife, children  and your own life too.” Did he really mean “hate” as we understand it? Of course, not. But he did mean taking a radical decision of following him even if it meant putting family and one’s own life in second place. There is a popular song we sing, “Jesus is number one!” But is he ?


Prayer. Lord Jesus, we know and you know how weak we are you. We are afraid and can easily deny you like Peter. Strengthen us with your Spirit to stand for truth and love one another   Amen.




Monday, 4 November 2013

THE FEAST IN THE KINGDOM

PRAYER MOMENT


Tuesday,  5 November 2013


THE FEAST IN THE KINGDOM


Pause.  Be in the presence of God.


Reading. “Happy the one who will be at the feast in the kingdom  of God.” (Luke 14:15-24)


Reflection. Jesus often uses the picture of a feast or a banquet to describe heaven and the life with God. There was no way he could explain what heaven is really like; we just don’t have the capacity to take it in. You cannot explain rocket science to a rural farmer whose whole life centres on growing crops and raising cattle. He just does not have the capacity to understand. So the only thing to do is talk about a feast, a special meal where there is lots of good food and drink and good company. That is the way we celebrate and so it gives some tiny indication of what Jesus is talking of. But the passage is loaded with sadness and frustration because his hearers are just not interested. They make all sorts of excuses for ignoring the invitation.  And so it is today. God’s invitation is ignored. People have all sorts of good reasons and excuses.


Prayer. Lord, you constantly wait at our door and knock. You invite us at each moment to share in your way, your life. Open my eyes to notice your invitation.  Amen.




Sunday, 3 November 2013

INVITE THE POOR

PRAYER MOMENT


Monday,  4 November 2013


INVITE THE POOR


Pause.  Enter into the silence within.


Reading. “When you have a party invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate.” (Luke 14:12-14)


Reflection. Jesus is calling us out of our selves. We may think, if I do something what will I get in return? But Jesus is saying, “invite the poor, the crippled, the blind.” They cannot repay you. But you will be blessed. You will discover that they too have gifts, especially of the heart. A poor person, a handicapped person can break down barriers. Once, in Rome, people were gathered with their intellectually handicapped family members waiting for the pope. A little boy looked at the pope’s beautiful empty chair and wondered why no one sat on it. So he decided he would. I suspect that is the event those people remember about that “audience.”  The “poor” draw out of us things we did not know we had. They break down the barriers and lead us to places we “would rather not go” (John 21:18).  “A man’s stretch should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for.” So wrote the poet Robert Browning.


Prayer. Lord Jesus, you invite us to move out of our set patterns and comfortable ways to discover new paths that lead to life. Help us to set out on this way trusting in you who always accompanies us.  Amen.




Saturday, 2 November 2013

The pure in heart

The pure in heart
History loses our interest if we sense it is being used to programme us in the present. The past is not allowed to stand on its own feet; it is reduced to being an appendage of a present agenda. But if we can take a past event for a moment “in itself,” it can throw its own light on the present. Take, for instance, an event that has no conceivable bearing on our situation. About seventy years ago the Germans sent the biggest battleship ever built, Bismarck, into the Atlantic to hunt down enemy merchant and warships. When the British learnt of it they sent the biggest ships they had to confront the giant on the ocean. The British battleship, Hood, was no match for Bismarck and was blown to pieces and 1400 lost their lives. There were three survivors.    
These are the facts. They do not speak of the feelings of the sailors who faced each other that terrible day. Both sides knew that it was either them or us. There was no escape. Before the war the British and the Germans visited each other’s countries, socialised together and intermarried. Now they were locked in a conflict where you either killed or were killed. If we have never been in such a situation can we begin to imagine the feelings of terror and the effort needed overcome these feelings and “do one’s duty.” It is the worst of situations and yet strangely it brings out the best and most noble in human nature. Everything is stripped away and you are left with only life or death.
When Jesus talks of the “poor in spirit who will inherit heaven” and the “pure in heart who will see God” he is talking of those who strip away everything that gets in the way of their relationship with God. When you are staring at the barrel of a huge gun aimed in your direction I suspect it clarifies one’s thoughts. It is a peak human experience but peaks only exist because they are the most visible part of the mountain. Peak or intense experiences are the high points of a multitude of other more ordinary ones.
In November each year there is a moment when we remember all those who have died; those who have reached the presence of God and those who – in some mysterious way we don’t understand – are still on the way. But whatever their state they certainly have clarity. Now they know. Now they see. As we remember them and pray for them and with them we recall that we are the same as them. We have had similar experiences – peaks and troughs. In the midst of our many feelings and experiences we search for clarity. If we search for a purity that enables us to see, we are blessed.
3 November 2013       Feast of All Saints and All Souls
Rev 7:2-4, 9-14           1 John 3:1-3                Matt 5: 1-12