Category: Discernment

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In Christ’s Presence

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A post from our archives for the feast of Corpus Christi. As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi I’m reflecting on the nature of Eucharist. The Scripture that comes to mind is the Emmaus story. Although it’s not part of the feast’s liturgy it seems to me to capture something of its essence.

It acknowledges the despair and hopelessness of the disciples as they trudged home disappointed and unsettled by all that has happened. We can identify so strongly with those feelings in our own lives that we almost feel the weight of it all as they pour out their story to Jesus. They remind me that Eucharist offers us an opportunity to bring our brokenness, hurt and disappointment into the presence of Christ.

Jesus responds to their despair by taking them through the Scriptures already know, reminding them of the passages that speak about the Messiah. As he does this their hearts are ignited, and through their sadness they glimpse something so good that they don’t want to let it go, so they invite him to stay with them. Full recognition only dawns as they sit down to eat together and:

“He took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him…”

It seems to me that the essence of the Eucharist is an invitation rediscover the reality of Christ’s presence in every part of our lives, in our liturgies, in our communities, in all our relationships and activities.

As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi where do you recognise the reality of Christ’s presence in your life?

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A step into the unkown

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Today’s gospel finds Jesus disputing with the Sadducees. They come to him with a series of hard questions, hoping to trap him into speaking out against the Law. Jesus knows what they are up to and takes the conversation beyond those arguments to a new level.

Their arguments are based on the assumption that life after resurrection will be in some way a continuation of the life we already know. We have to admit that there is a certain amount of appeal in that assumption, even as we face the unknown we hope that there will be something familiar to cling onto.

Jesus however takes them beyond that assumption, reminding them that life after resurrection will not be a copy of life on earth. Yet, even as he removes that assurance he offers them a deeper, truer hope, reminding them of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush:

“God spoke to him, and said: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’” God is God, not of the dead, but of the living.”

It seems to me that his words are a call for us to leave behind all that would prevent us from embracing the new life offered by the resurrection. He invites us to let go of the ways that would hold us bound.

His invitation echoes that of Deuteronomy when God calls the people to choose life. If we are to be free to choose the new life Christ offers us we have to be prepared to let go, and to step out into the unknown.

Where is Christ calling you to step into the unknown today?

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Attentive to Christ’s Call

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ATTENTIVENESS

Today’s Eastertide word is ATTENTIVENESS. Today’s gospel 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 is.

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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Surrender

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SURRENDER

Today’s Eastertide word is SURRENDER.

The call to SURRENDER ourselves to Christ is the challenge and hope at the heart of today’s gospel. 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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Coming to know Christ

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KNOW

Today’s Eastertide word is KNOW.

The farewell discourse in John’s gospel are full of riches as Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure he seems he does everything he can to make himself known to them in the fullest possible way:

“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.”

His words remind me that we our Christian call is to an intimate relationship with Christ. We are called to get to know him as well as we would know our best friends.

To do that we have to spend time with him, listening to his teaching, watching his actions, learning what matters most to him.

It’s not only are called to come to know Christ. The call to friendship is never one way so it’s also a call to allow Christ to know as. Christ opens himself to us in the Gospels, showing himself as he truly is.

He calls us to open ourselves to him in the same way, allowing him to see us truly are. It’s a beautiful idea, one that really touches our hearts and the depth of our longing. Yet the reality is it can be quite hard to be open ourselves to the love and friendship that Christ offers.


The knocks and bumps of daily life very quickly overshadow that longing. Our relationships and their experiences leave us wounded and hurt. Often we feel frustrated, isolated and unloved. It’s so tempting to give into those feelings and then it becomes very hard to allow ourselves to be known by Christ.

How is Christ inviting you to get to know him this Eastertide?

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Learning to Ask.

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ASK

The mood of Eastertide changes after Ascension. It becomes quieter and more reflective as the disciples come to terms with Jesus returning to the Father, and await the coming of the Holy Spirit.

It’s still a time of rejoicing in the resurrection. It’s also a time of waiting and hoping, and both of those carry a certain amount of uncertainty with them. As St Paul tells us, we only hope for what we don’t have.

As the disciples waiting this time Jesus encourages them to be bold in acknowledging their needs. He says to them:

“I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.”

So today my Eastertide word is ASK. On one level that seems very straightforward, Jesus tells his disciples, and us, that if we ask it in his name, we will receive what we need. It becomes more challenging when we begin to think about our attitudes to asking.

We live in times that greatly value independence. We are supposed to be able to support ourselves entirely independently. There is an expectation we will be able to meet our needs ourselves without help or support from anyone else. This makes it very hard for us to be vulnerable, to admit that we have needs that we can’t meet ourselves.

Once again Jesus points us in a different direction. In this time between Ascension and Pentecost he invites and challenges us to become vulnerable and humble in admitting our neediness in God’s presence.

Where is the risen Christ inviting you to ask for what you need this Eastertide?

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Time for Reflection.

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REFLECTION

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 to reflect this Eastertide?

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Ascension

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ASCENSION

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 also 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?

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A Spirit of truth and discernment.

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DISCERNMENT

In the lead up to Ascension Jesus is preparing his disciples for change. Once again they face a departure that will require them to let go of everything they thought they understood. Jesus says to them:

“I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes you will be led to the complete truth…”

His words touch on something that we both desire and fear, the complete truth. We are surrounded by voices telling us they have the truth that we need.

In today’s “post-truth” world it can be especially challenging to DISCERN the truth. We know our need for truth in order to be able to live well and with integrity, yet we struggle to know where we should turn to find it.

Jesus answers that for us, telling us he will send the Spirit of truth who will lead us this truth that we can rely on and trust. But to discover it we need to be open to and prepared.

The truth that the Spirit brings us will not necessarily appear obviously and easily. It will require us to be attentive to all that is going on in our lives and our times.

We need to be prepared to do the hard work of listening and discerning its presence in the midst of the myriad of voices that make up our daily lives. To do that we have to be prepared to let go of everything we thought we understood in order to be open to the new possibilities the Spirit brings.

As we move towards Ascension where is Christ calling you to discern the truth the Spirit is offering you?

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Remembering…

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REMEMBER

Today gospel is full of challenge. Jesus reminds us disciples that they will face persecution because of him. It’s a dark gospel for Eastertide which we think on as a time of joy and celebration.

While that is true it doesn’t wipe out the suffering that makes up any life. So today my Eastertide word is REMEMBER. Jesus tells his disciples:

“Remember the words I said to you…”

He reminds them that they can draw comfort, support and strength for the sufferings they face from his teaching. He knows that they won’t remember everything, even from their own intimate experiences with him.

He makes allowances for that. He tells them elsewhere in John’s gospel that the Holy Spirit will come and “remind” them of all he has taught him. His words remind me of the importance of memory for our faith journey.

It’s important for us as a Christian community to remember all that God has worked in the life of the church, even when the church has been broken and sinful.

t’s important each of us to remember where we have known the presence of God and the working of the spirit in our own lives, even when those lives have been full of struggle and pain.

Eastertide calls us to actively remind ourselves of the times when we’ve been aware of Christ’s presence so that we can draw strength from them to face the hardships of these challenging times we’re living through.

What is the Risen Christ inviting you to remember this Eastertide?