Category: Benedictine Spirituality

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Focussed on Christ

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Today’s gospel brings us to the end of John’s gospel. It covers the very end of Jesus’ conversation with Peter. Once again I find myself touched by Peter’s bluntness. Even in the middle of his intense and intimate conversation with Jesus Peter is distracted enough to wonder about the fate of the beloved disciple. He asks Jesus:

“What about him, Lord?”

I too can be easily distracted even in my most prayerful moments. So Peter’s distraction and his honesty about it are consoling. They make me realise how commonplace distraction in prayer his. His honesty in speaking to Jesus about it are a reminder that we can be open with Jesus when we too are distracted. Jesus’ response brings Peter back, firmly and lovingly from his distraction. He draws him back to the focus of their conversation, saying to him:

“If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.”

Sometimes allowing distractions to flourish in our minds and hearts can blunt the urgency or challenge of Jesus’ call. If we feel challenged, we can shift some of our discomfort by focussing on other things or other people. This last part of Jesus’ conversation with Peter calls us to reflect on that. It calls us to notice our distractions and to bring them to Jesus. Then he can help us to lay them aside so that we, like Peter can give ourselves wholly to our encounter with him.

As we move towards Pentecost where is Christ challenging you to give your full attention to following him?

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Surrendering control.

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Today’s gospel revisits full of challenge and hope. It revisits Peter’s conversation with Jesus after the resurrection it takes place on a beach, after Peter has had a long and frustrating night’s fishing. An apparent stranger on the beach calls to them to try again. The result is that they end up with a record haul of fish, recognising that the stranger is in fact the risen Christ, who invites them to a breakfast that he himself has cooked.

Today’s gospel focuses on the private conversation that Peter and Jesus have after the meal. Having invited Peter to declare his love and commissioning him to “feed my sheep” Jesus takes the conversation in a new direction. He says to Peter:

“I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.”

There is a real challenge in these words for Peter and for us. It’s a reminder that when we commit ourselves to following Christ we surrender control of our lives.

We make that commitment freely and as open heartedly as we can. We might have hopes and dreams of where that will lead us. But the reality is that we can’t know or control what it will actually mean. When Jesus invites us to:

“Follow me.”

he challenges us to step out into the unknown, trusting ourselves to his grace. Moving towards Pentecost it’s worth reflecting on what it means to surrender control to Christ in this way.

Where is the risen Christ challenging you to surrender control of your life to him this Eastertide?

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Held in the heart of Christ.

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The farewell discourse in John’s gospel are full of riches as Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure. Today I’m reflecting on these words:

“I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.”

They take me back to the heart of our Christian call, to dwell in the love of Christ. It’s a call to intimacy and to openness. At heart it’s a call to allow Christ to love us, to be aware of that love in our lives and to relish it. On the surface that can seem obvious, of course we “know” we are held in the heart of Christ’s love.

In practice the knocks and bumps of daily life very quickly overshadowed that deep reality. Then we forget it, and that leaves us feeling far from Christ and his love. It can leave us feeling frustrated, isolated and unloved. It’s so tempting to give into those feelings especially when life is hard and uncertain.

This is one of the reasons I think we cannot hear these words of Jesus, reminding us of how he loves us, often enough. In these hard, frightening and challenging times we need actively put ourselves in the way of hearing that message as often as possible.

We need to find ways of allowing it to sink into our hearts. We need to let it put down roots and to grow within us so that it becomes impossible for us to forget it, whatever challenges we face in our daily lives.

Where is Christ inviting you to allow his love to shape and transform your life this Eastertide?

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Consecrated in truth

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I’m reflecting truth. We live in times where truth seems to have little value. We talk about a “post-truth” society where it is increasingly difficult to discover whether what we are hearing and seeing is actually true.

There are areas where we can live well enough with subjective views of truth that differ radically from each other. However, there are some areas we need a deeper, more grounded truth even if that means we have to let go of some of our personal theories.

In the first reading St Paul reminds the church at Ephesus to be wary of some of the things that are presented to them as truth:

“Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them.”

It’s easy and tempting to take things at face value, assuming because we’ve been told it, or read it, or see it on the Internet that it must be true. St Paul’s words remind us that it’s not always easy to discover the truth of things, and that we can be easily led astray. The gospel adds weight to St Paul’s concern with truth as Jesus prays for his disciples:

“Consecrate them in the truth…”

Even in these “post-truth” times we are called to be people of truth. To discover the truth requires some hard work on our part. We have to pay attention to what is going on around us and to the effects it has. We have to listen to what we are being told and to our own instincts. It requires the hard work of learning discernment.

Where is Christ calling you to learn and practice discernment this Eastertide?

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Discovering Glory.

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Beginning with Jesus’ prayer for his disciples the word “glorify” repeats again and again throughout today’s gospel:

“Jesus said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your son may glorify you; and, through the power over all humankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.’”

In an age that sees itself as egalitarian his words seem baffling or even downright uncomfortable. We’ve seen too many misinterpretations of glorification to be comfortable with it. But John’s Gospel is not speaking of the human glory that we’ve seen misused and abused in so many areas.

The glory of the gospel is discovering the reality of divine presence in the midst of ordinary life. We’ve seen that unfold in Jesus’ in miracles and life transforming encounters. Now Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure and the coming of the Spirit. His prayer for them is that the presence of God will continue to break through into their lives.

That presence won’t remove the challenges, difficulties and dangers they face. Instead the presence of God with them will transform them, giving them courage to move forward in hope and trust. In our own challenging and uncertain times that presence still has the power to break through and transform our lives.

It is unlikely (though not impossible) that we will see it in grand gestures and actions. It’s more likely to be apparent in glimpses and glimmers in the midst of the most ordinary and mundane activities of life. If we are attentive and alert it will come to us in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Where is God calling you to be attentive to the presence of God’s glory in your life?

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Living in love.

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I’m reflecting on the first letter of St John. We’ve been listening to it throughout Eastertide, now as we move towards Pentecost its message has a particular resonance. St John takes us to the very heart of the gospel, to the relationship of love that both calls and sustains us wherever life leads us. He writes:

“My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and God will be complete in us.”

He makes a very clear connection between God’s love for us and our love for one another. The love he speaks of is life changing, life enhancing and challenging. It’s not a love of fine sentiments. It asks us to imitate the faithful love God lavishes on us. It requires commitment and sacrifice. It’s a love that doesn’t give up when it’s hard or painful.

As St Benedict reminds us this love calls us to consider first what is best for the other rather than for ourselves. We have to recommit ourselves daily to this love. Sometimes that proves easier in the big challenges we face than in the small interactions of daily life which can feel so mundane and irritating.

It can feel like such love is beyond our human capacity, and in many ways it is. It is only when we are able to know and accept ourselves as truly and unconditionally loved by God that we find the qualities we need to reach out and offer love to those around us.

As we move towards Pentecost it’s worth remembering that our capacity to love relies on us abiding in God’s love so that we can carry it with us to a world in need.

How are you being called to live in and share God’s love this Eastertide?

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The call to unity.

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As we celebrate the seventh Sunday of Eastertide Jesus calls his disciples to unity. It’s a call that’s always been necessary for the church and for the world. It has particular resonance in these times. It seems that in every area we are becoming more aware of our fragmentation and brokenness. Wherever we look we see the very real human cost of those divisions.

The reality is that we are called to live with others, and human life flourishes best when we can live together in some sort of community. When those communities break down, whatever the cause, life becomes harder, more impoverished and sometimes impossible for all of us.

So Jesus’ call to unity has an even greater urgency today that may have had at other times. As he prays for his disciples he says:

“May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me, and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.”

His words are a deeper call than human unity, important as that is. He invites us into union with himself and the Father. This deeper union in Christ is the foundation stone of the human unity that our fractured world needs so desperately. Healing fractured relationships and rebuilding communities is hard work.

It is only through our grounding in the love of Christ and the Father that we are able to commit ourselves to reaching out to those who are different from us, who disagree with us, who scare us or who have hurt us.

Where do you hear Christ’s call to unity in your life today?

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

In the joy of God’s presence

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Some thoughts from the archives for the feast of the Visitation. As we celebrate this lovely feast I’m being drawn to these words from the prophet Zephaniah:

“The Lord your God is in your midst… He will exalt with joy over you, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.”

I was a little surprised that these were the words that drew me. The quickest of glances at the daily news brings a sharp reminder that whatever direction we look in there is little to inspire joy or hope. So I turned to the gospel. The beautiful encounter of Elizabeth and Mary as they delighted in the discovery of God’s presence deep within them echoed Zephaniah’s words.

Their joy and delight were real and transforming, yet that did not mean their circumstances were easy, comfortable or safe. They both knew suffering, individually and as part of a persecuted community. They both had lives that could be precarious, uncertain and even dangerous. Yet, they could still recognise and respond to the transforming, renewing love of God.

It seems to me that to respond to God’s love in uncertain times is both an act of courage and of faith. Even if we can’t feel it, or see it, God’s love is with us, renewing us whatever we face. Even when joy and hope seem impossible God rejoices in each one of us.

Where is God asking you to allow yourself to be renewed by God’s love today?

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Discovering joy

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The Eastertide gospels are very dynamic and active as the disciples struggle to come to terms with all that has happened. The gospels are full of movement, running, traveling, fishing, hiding. With Ascension the mood changes, it’s a quieter, more reflective time.

Jesus, who has been with the disciples in a new and very concrete way since the resurrection, has returned to the Father. This means the disciples have to adjust to another leaving, another loss and another new reality. They have to take time to reflect on all they have experienced, and they have to wait for whatever the Spirit will bring.

In this time we revisit the farewell discourses, reminding ourselves of the things Jesus has promised us. Today’s gospel acknowledges the suffering of life, the sorrow and the pain we all face. But it doesn’t stop there, having acknowledged the pain Jesus reveals another level of reality. He says to them:

“I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.”

He reminds them that no amount of suffering can destroy the joy he offers or take it away. As I look around our world today, at the wars and conflicts, the poverty, inequality and exclusion that cause so much suffering it’s hard to find sources of joy.

Yet it’s in these challenging time that Jesus promises us his joy. This time allows us the opportunity to reflect, and to acknowledge our suffering, and to open our hearts to the joy he promises.

Where are you being called to take time discover joy this Eastertide?

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Living up to Christ’s standards.

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Ascension is one of the feasts I find most difficult for a variety of reasons. It’s very easy to see it as otherworldly, focussed more on eternity than on the nitty-gritty of human life. It also has an element of letting go. Once again, we see Jesus leaving the disciples to face an unknown and uncertain future. This compels us to recognise the reality of our own uncertain and unknown future.

In my struggles to ground the feast in the reality of daily life I looked at the Scripture readings. I found two things that helped me. The first was from Matthew’s Gospel. He tells us that when the disciples saw Jesus:

“They fell down before him, though some hesitated.”

So it seems like some of those first disciples were were ambivalent about what was going on. I find consolation in that, and in Jesus’ response to it. He doesn’t criticise them or turn them away. Instead he sends them out with their ambivalence and uncertainty to spread the Good News of salvation.

The second helpful thing was in last night’s vigil reading from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

“Be humble, gentle and patient always. Show your love by being helpful to one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives, by the peace that binds you together.”

His words call us to strive to live up to the standard God sets not in terms of a future heavenly kingdom, but in very practical ways that we can all practice. If we can find ways of being kind and helpful to those around us we will be able to make the Good News of the kingdom a reality in our lives and the lives of those we encounter.

Where is Christ calling you to live up to his standards in your daily life?