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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture

United Heart and Soul.

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COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY is at the heart of the gospel, and of what it is to be human. We are created to be in relationship with one another, with creation and with God. We can live individualistic and isolated lives, but we thrive best when we live in relationship with others.

It’s hardly surprising then that the resurrection calls Jesus’s followers together after they were scattered. It’s from this regrouping that the early church is born. Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the ideal at the heart of this new community:

“The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for their own use anything that they had, as everything they owned was held in common.”

This ideal still lies at the heart of the Church. It underpins the life of our parishes, and is at the heart our concern for the excluded and the marginalised. It’s was the basis of the life lived by the desert Fathers and Mothers.

It was taken up by the early monastic communities and is one of the main foundations of Benedictine life today. As a Benedictine it’s a principle that’s close to my heart.

Yet, however much we value the principle we often fall short of the ideal. St Benedict gives us a very clear idea of why that is:

“They must compete with one another in obedience. They should not pursue what they judge advantageous for themselves, but rather what benefits others. They must show selfless love to the community.”

Living in community is hard work. It demands that we put love at the heart of our lives in very real and concrete ways every day. It calls us to accept people as they are and to put their needs before our own regardless of whether we agree with them or like them.

Where is the risen Christ calling you to build community this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

Called to Action

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ACTION

ACTION is at the heart of Eastertide. It starts with the women stepping out in the dark to anoint the body of Jesus and carries on to the proclamation of the Good News at Pentecost.

The message is clear Eastertide is a dynamic time, full new discoveries and developments. That can give it a real buzz. It can seem attractive and exciting, with the potential to change the world.

Yet, living in busy, frenetic times likes ours, I’m aware that “action” can be double edged. We know all to well that it can lead to a restless busyiness than can leave us feeling rootless and unfocussed. That is not the “action” that the resurrection calls us to embrace.

The “action” that Eastertide calls us to embrace is grounded in the recognition of the risen Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This action has an inner and outer aspect. The disciples’ actions grew from a whole range of experiences.

They’ve faced the failure of having run away, having cowered in locked rooms, doubted one another and even their own experience. Having faced this mixed bag of experiences Peter and John are able to return to the community from prison. Then having prayed together they are able to see how to act:

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.”

Our world desperately needs us to take action that will bring the light of the risen Christ to the people and situations we encounter. It’s action that needs to be grounded in, but not stop with, prayer.

What action is the risen Christ calling you to this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture

An Eastertide Vocabulary.

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One of the most helpful books I’ve read is “Amazing Grace, a vocabulary of faith.” By Kathleen Norris. She describes it as “an exploration and record of some of the words in the Christian lexicon that most trouble and attract me.”

The book reminded me of an important Benedictine principle, that words matter. They shape us, form us, challenge us and help us grow.

Last year I made a Lent lexicon. This year I’m aiming to make an Eastertide one. I’ve chosen words that attract and sometimes scare me. They also both shape and challenge my experience of Eastertide.

I’m including words that are particularly connected to Eastertide, and words that, though they’re connected to other seasons might have a different resonance in this Eastertide.

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture

Believe and Doubt

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All week we’ve seen the risen Christ appear to the disciples in slightly different way. Each appearance is tailored in some way to touch the heart of a particular disciple, and this gives them their deeply personal and intimate quality. Today’s appearance to Thomas follows the same pattern.

He comes to his encounter with the risen Christ after what I imagine was a hard week. There’s nothing worse than being the one person in a group who missed a significant event.

It must have left Thomas feeling isolated and on the fringes. His directness and honesty prevent him from taking their account on trust. He knows himself well enough to know that he needs to see this for himself, saying to the disciples:

“Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.”

I’m touched by how open and vulnerable Thomas is prepared to be about this need. Jesus’ response when he appears to Thomas is focussed on giving Thomas what he needs.

He doesn’t judge or criticise, instead he invites Thomas to reach out and touch him in exactly the way Thomas said he needed:

“Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer, but believe.”

Jesus’ acceptance of Thomas with all his doubts and uncertainties leads him to the light of truth, freeing him to make his profession of faith, acknowledging Jesus as the Christ:

“My Lord and my God!”

What would help you to recognise the presence of the risen Christ in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Good News for dark times

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Mark’s account of the resurrection is quite stark; it’s always left me feeling uneasy. There’s little joy of celebration in it, rather it seems full of doubt and recrimination.

With very few details he describes Jesus’ appearance first to Mary Magdalene who rushed to tell the disciples only to be disbelieved. Later, the disciples who encountered Jesus on their way to Emmaus bring the same news and are also met with incredulity.

The response is understandable, these first disciples don’t have our gift of hindsight or two thousand years of belief and theology to fall back on. Even with all Jesus told them before his death, the idea of resurrection would have seemed completely incredible.

When Jesus does appear to to eleven he berated them for their incredulity and then immediately sends them out to proclaim the good news to the world, saying to them:

“Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation.”

Mark’s account challenges us to look honestly at the doubts we harbour about resurrection. He compels us to look at those dark corners of our lives and our world that feel beyond redemption, those places that we suspect new life will never reach, never transform.

He calls us to allow the light of the risen Christ to shine on those dark corners, offering the possibility of new life. Even in the presence of those dark corners of doubt he challenges us to proclaim the Good News to the world in whatever way we can.

How is the risen Christ challenging you to share the Good News of resurrection today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

An invitation

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There’s a lot to ponder on in today’s gospel. Peter’s decision to go fishing, returning to the safe and familiar in times that are disturbing and unsettling. Or the lack of a catch as they fish through the night.

Or Jesus’ calling to them from the shore, telling them to try another direction, and the amazing catch that results from that. The dawning recognition of the who the stranger on the shore is. Or Peter’s impulsive dive into the sea in his eagerness to get to Jesus.

Yet every year the image that most draws me is of Jesus preparing breakfast for them while they are fishing. I imagine him gathering driftwood and lighting the fire, laying out the bread and preparing the fish, and then calling out his invitation to the cold, tired disciples:

“Come and have breakfast…”

These simple, ordinary actions are the life affirming, life giving acts of love of Christ, the servant King. They ground me in the messy and material reality of human life, the only place where we can encounter the risen Christ. They are an invitation to love and new life.

In a world full of injustice and misery the image of the servant King has new power and a deeper resonance. We are called to imitate the simple and straightforward service of the risen Christ, to help those around us with acts that can lighten burdens, bring hope and open hearts and minds.

What is the Risen Christ inviting you to this Eastertide?

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The gift of peace

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Listening to today’s gospel I’m struck by the alarm and fright that the disciples feel when the risen Christ appears among them I sympathise with their feelings.

Unlike us, they don’t have the experience of hindsight, tradition and faith telling them that the resurrection is already a reality. I’m touched by Jesus’ response to their reactions. His first greeting to them is:

“Peace be with you.”

From that moment, for the rest of his time with them his concern is to calm and reassure them, explaining how the Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets refer to him and opening their hearts to understand his teaching.

There’s much in life today that can leave us fearful. The wars that are threatening our world order, the growing uncertainty in areas that we thought were certain can all engender fear even before we begin to think about more personal situations.

Our fear can leave us feeling just as locked in as the disciples were in those first few days after the resurrection. We think of Eastertide as a time of rejoicing, that can leave us feeling guilty if our response is less than joyful.

The Easter Gospels remind us that Jesus doesn’t criticise his disciples for their fearful response to his appearance. Instead he calms their fears, reassures them and sets them free to embrace the new life of resurrection. Whatever we face he offers us that same reassurance and freedom.

Where do you need the risen Christ to reassure you and calm your fears this Eastertide?

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With hearts aflame.

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING LUKE 24: 13-35

Mary is the wife of Cleopas. A follower of Jesus, she witnessed his death. After the crucifixion, she sets out with her husband to return to Emmaus. They feel so heartbroken and hopeless that they can barely drag themselves along the road.

Before they felt they’d heard the other women’s story of the empty tomb. Initially it rekindled Mary’s hope, but it died again when they saw nothing had changed in the world around them.

As they walk along, Mary reflects on how her expectations of Jesus turned out to be so different to what happened. As she argues with Clopas about all that has happened a stranger joins them and asks what they are talking about.

They pour their hearts out to him, sharing their pain and disappointment. His response begins to heal their hearts, allowing hope to be rekindled:

“He told my story – all my hopes and my dreams – in the words of scripture. My heart leapt and burnt within me.”

As they approach their village and the stranger makes to leave them, Mary realises that she wants him to stay:

“All of a sudden, I couldn’t bear the thought that this stranger might leave us. It seemed that Cleopas felt the same, and so we begged and cajoled, pleaded and persuaded him to eat with him.”

When he takes the bread and blesses it, as he’d done day in day out on their travels, she recognises him and her world is transformed.

The sadness and hopelessness vanish. Their tiredness disappears, and they practically fly back to Jerusalem to share this great news with the others.

However hopeless life might feel the risen Christ walks alongside us. He is always looking for an opening to help us discover our own story in the scriptures.

Where are you aware of the risen Christ walking alongside you this Eastertide?

You can listen to Mary’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Easter Sunday Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture

Space for Christ

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By Easter Tuesday the mixture of adrenalin and energy that carried me through the Easter Vigil is waning, and I start to feel the need to slow things down. It’s rightly an energetic season, full of rejoicing, celebration and proclamation. While that delights me, I’m also aware that I need space in the midst of it all to pause and reflect.

In Christmastide we have the example of Virgin Mary taking space to ponder the events in her heart. She reminds us that we too need time to reflect on our encounters with God. We need a similar model in Eastertide, someone who will remind us to slow down, to allow the momentous event that is resurrection to really sink in.

Listening to today’s gospel, the appearance to Mary Magdalene, I noticed a stillness in the account that I’ve missed on other occasions. After her journey through the dark and the rush to find the disciples Mary is left alone. She stops and is still, waiting in her grief for something she can’t possibly understand. It is in this moment of stillness that she encounters the risen Christ. It brings to mind part of my favourite hymn:

“She awaits a new creation in the shadow of the tomb. Hope and trust and expectation, from it will a vision come.”

Pondering this I realise that I too need a still, quiet moment to encounter the risen Christ as she did in the garden, remaining alone and quiet in his presence, allowing the new creation to take root in my heart.

Where are you finding space to encounter the risen Christ in the depth of your heart?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Easter Sunday Easter Vigil Eastertide Good Shepherd Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture

Called And Named

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING JOHN 20: 1-18
AND JOHN 10 1-6

Mary’s story is about being lost and found. She met Jesus when she was completely lost. “Possessed by evil spirits” she was wandering the countryside, too disturbed to be still.

When she heard Jesus teaching by the lake, a wave of peace washed over her. he became his follower. She sat at his feet with the other disciples, listening, learning and being changed by his words.

The crucifixion was another overwhelming loss. She tried to get the disciples to come and anoint Jesus’ body, but found them too devasted and scared to leave their rooms.

She gathered the other women to help her instead. When they arrived at the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and a young man waiting inside. They dropped everything and ran away.

Mary went back to the other disciples, telling them that, on top of everything else, Jesus’ body had been taken. Peter and John ran with her to the tomb to see for themselves. She arrived after they left, and stood weeping by the empty tomb, overwhelmed again by the loss.

Initially mistaking him for the gardener she recognised Jesus when he called her by name. It’s a moment that takes her back to the first story she heard him tell, the good shepherd:

“The good shepherd had called my name, and I knew his voice with every fibre of my being.”

In our lost times we too need to hear the risen Christ, calling us home to live in the light of his love.

Where do you hear the risen Christ calling you to live in his love this Easter morning?

You can hear Mary’s story here: