BORN FROM ABOVE

PRAYER MOMENT 

Tuesday 14 April 2015

BORN FROM ABOVE

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Do not be surprised when I say: ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes form or where it is going. That is how it is with all those born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-15).

Reflection. In these forty days of Easter we go back to the early chapters of John and retrace his steps. John speaks of a new world ‘from above’ which we now read in the light of our remembrance of the Passion where it clashed with the world ‘from below.’ It is one year today since the girls were abducted in NE Nigeria. What kind of thinking was it to abduct them in the first place and hold them against their will? What right do their captors have to interfere in their lives and possibly ruin them permanently?  This is a dramatic instance but we know the line between ‘from above’ and ‘from below’ runs right through society and right through each of us. We are darkness and light. Our prayer in the Easter season is for the light to overcome the dark.

Prayer. Lord, we rejoice in sharing in your birth ‘from above.’ May it become ever more real in our lives. Amen.

davidharoldbarry@hotmail.com  

WHY THIS USELESS MURMURING?

PRAYER MOMENT 

Monday 13 April 2015

WHY THIS USELESS MURMURING?

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Why this tumult among the nations, among the peoples this useless murmuring? They arise, the kings of the earth, princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.” (Psalm 2).

Reflection. The early Christians (Acts 4: 23ff) reflect on the reaction of the Jewish leaders to Peter and John’s cure of a cripple. They become acutely aware of the futility of the leaders’ efforts to block the plan of God – first in the time of Jesus and now in their time. So they quote psalm 8 – “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” They may face all sorts of difficulties and persecutions but the work of God will succeed. The grace of Easter is to recognise that we are part of this work. Just a day or two ago I met a woman I know who is astonished how God is working through her. In the face of enormous difficulties she just shrugs, “This is his work.” She is always cheerful and I think this realisation is the reason. We tend to torture ourselves with worry sometimes. There is no need to do this.

Prayer. Lord, give us the bold confidence that you are with us. ‘The wind blows where it will.’ Help us to listen attentively to your word in other people and in our hearts. Amen.

davidharoldbarry@hotmail.com  

THE HESITATION OF THOMAS

THE HESITATION OF THOMAS

Thomas is an interesting character in the gospel. He seems so impulsive and speaks his mind spontaneously. As the Americans say, ‘what you see is what you get.’ When a threat hangs over the plan of going to visit Lazarus Thomas says, ‘Let’s all go and die with him (Jesus)!’ We admire such enthusiasm and like it when we find it in ourselves.

But the trouble is it didn’t go very deep. When the crunch came all of them, including Thomas, fled and left Jesus alone.  And when the news came that he had risen from the dead and been seen by several people, Thomas was having none of it.

Then the moment comes when Jesus gently chides him and says, ‘put your finger here and see my hands and my side.’ Thomas is overwhelmed by this and has a profound moment of belief and understanding. Our eyes turn to Jesus and we note the gentle way he rebuilds his friends. They were all scattered, physically and mentally, and now he gathers them into a new community. They felt a new unity so strongly that they started to share everything they had.

We pause for a moment to wonder if we, in our time and in our politics, could also have this new moment? Is it possible for us to put our finger into the suffering wounds of people today, to touch the pain of people who are struggling? The first person we want to ‘touch’ is ourselves. One of the key people in the Easter story was Peter who had touched his own miserable, as he sensed it, weakness and denied ever knowing Jesus. He went down into the pit of his own personal psyche and there he met the eyes of Jesus, who ‘turned and looked at him.’ This moment sparked something new in Peter and we next hear of him ‘standing up’ and announced the good news to the people without fear.

Today there are many people who have done this. They stop and allow the pain others suffer to enter into them. Dorothy Day, who died not so long ago, was one such. She was touched by homeless people in New York and their misery during the Great Depression.  She opened a house of welcome for some of the worst victims and over the years her work spread. She used to write about the condition of the workers and went to prison several times for protesting about the immorality of developing nuclear weapons when there was so much poverty and inequality in the world.

She put her finger into the wounds of Jesus.

12 April 2015                         Easter Sunday 2 B

Acts 4:32-35                           1 John 5:1-6                            John 20:19-31   

WE CANNOT DENY IT

PRAYER MOMENT 

Easter Saturday 11 April 2015

WE CANNOT DENY IT

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “What are we going to  do with these men?” they asked. “It is obvious to every one in Jersualam that a miracle has been worked through them in public, and we cannot deny it. But to stop the whole thing spreading any further …” (Acts 4:13-21).

Reflection. The early Christian writers seemed intent on describing how difficult it was for their contemptaries to believe Jesus had risen from the dead. The Jewish leaders in the Acts behave towards the apostles as they did towards Jesus. They don’t deny the miracles they just close their minds to the implications. But even his disciples have a hard time opening their minds and hearts to the new reality. Mark, the earliest gospel, is insistant on their incredulity and we are invited to think about this. Is it really so easy to believe in the resurrection? Should we not allow our hearts the astonishment and reluctance to believe of those early ancestors of ours in the faith? It is so easy to sing alleluia. The reality of what happened is something else.      

Prayer. Lord, let us believe slowly and deeply about how you have transformed the world and our lives. Do not allow us to live by slogans and easy words. May your word penetrate deep into our being. Amen.

davidharoldbarry@hotmail.com  

I’M GOING FISHING

PRAYER MOMENT 

Easter Friday 10 April 2015

I’M GOING FISHING

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: It happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” They replied; “We’ll come with you.” (John 21:1-14).

Reflection. What are we to make of John chapter 21? It is ‘tacked on’ to the gospel which had already been concluded. It looks like the disciples had gone back to their old life. Had they abandoned their mission? The fact that they were still together gives us a clue. They had not given up hope. Perhaps they were waiting for clarity about what to do next? What strikes me was that they were getting on with their ordinary tasks and it was in the midst of these that Jesus comes to them and confirms them in their mission. They seem to have been expecting him to come and were overjoyed when he did. As the days of Easter go by we are invited to ponder what it all means and notice Jesus coming to us in our ordinary lives.  

Prayer. Lord, you come to us in the midst of our tasks. Help us to recognise you – ‘it is the Lord.’ Help us to be sensitive to your coming. Amen.

davidharoldbarry@hotmail.com  

WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?

PRAYER MOMENT 

Easter Thursday 9 April 2015

WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: When Peter saw the people he addressed them, “why are you so surprised at this? Why are you staring at us as if we had made this man walk by our own  power or holiness?”. (Acts 3:11-26).

Reflection. Jesus himself seemed surprised at the disciples’ reaction when he appeared to them. “Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts?” (Luke 24:37). We are not surprised that they “could not believe it” and were “dumbfounded.” The whole Easter event was astonishing to them and to us. Yet it opened up a whole new space in their lives and does so in ours too. Peter’s speech summarises the history of Israel and gives meaning to the events the people were winessing. Easter is a call to us to welcome the opening up in our lives of the space for the new life the ancient promises announced, promises that were made for us.

Prayer. Lord, help us to welcome the new horizon, the new life, opened up for us by your resurrection. Amen.

davidharoldbarry@hotmail.com  

JUMPING AND PRAISING GOD

PRAYER MOMENT 

Easter Wednesday 8 April 2015

JUMPING AND PRAISING GOD

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he junped up, stood, and began to walk and be went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping and praising God. (Acts 3:1-10).

Reflection. It seems everyone has their story about how the resurrection touched their lives. Here we have a cripple from birth, who never knew the joy of walking and running. Peter and John ‘looked straight at him’ and healed him. Jesus had ‘looked at Peter’ when the cock crew and ‘healed him.’ Two disciples, giving up on Jesus, headed for Emmaus. Jesus caught up with them and their hearts ‘burned within them.’ All these instances involve a connection, a relationship. The healing depends on a response. Our experience of the resurrection calls on us to ‘look.’ ‘This generation looks for signs and signs will not be given to them.’ Jesus looks for relationship and that is what gives life.

Prayer. Lord, help us to open our eyes and see you risen from the dead and coming towards us to give us healing, hope and joy. Amen.

davidharoldbarry@hotmail.com