Category: Prophetic voices

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture Uncategorized

Being Courageous

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There’s a resonance between the story of Elijah in the first reading and of disciples on the stormy lake in the gospel. They are a call to focus our whole attention on God without allowing ourselves to be distracted by the inevitable storms of life.

Elijah waits attentively in his cave through mighty winds, earthquakes and fire, until he discovers the presence of God in the quiet of a gentle breeze. On the storm tossed lake Jesus invites Peter to walk across the water towards him.

While Peter focuses his whole attention on Jesus everything is fine, but as soon as he is distracted by the force of the wind he begins to sink. As Jesus walked across the water to his disciples he calls out:

“Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”

Both the story of Elijah and of the storm tossed disciples require courage and trust. It takes courage to sit out the storms of life, not letting them blow us off course. It takes trust and faith to keep ourselves focused on Christ when life is challenging, uncertain and frightening.

We live in stormy & uncertain times. In the midst of those Christ calls to us not to be fearful, but to focus on his presence with us. As Julian of Norwich tells us that presence will not remove us from those storms, but it will prevent them from overcoming us.

Where do you need the courage to stay focused on Christ’s presence in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture Transfiguration

A life transfigured

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The Transfiguration is a beautiful feast that both draws us into the glory of God and grounds us in the reality of our daily lives on earth. Peter, James and John are drawn into the mystery and wonder of God’s presence.

In the midst of what started out as an ordinary walk up a mountain they see Jesus transfigured, conversing with Moses and Elijah, and they hear the voice of God speaking from within a cloud:

“This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.”

It must have been a life changing, and life shattering encounter. I can understand their fear, and Peter’s desire to control the situation by building tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

So often when we encounter the reality of God’s mystery we look for ways of taming it, of making manageable and understandable to our human minds. Or, we seek to hang on to the experience, not wanting to leave the place where we have encountered God’s presence.

The Transfiguration moves us beyond both of those natural human responses. It calls us to listen with our whole hearts to the voice of God. It invites us to be open to those moments in our own life when God’s presence breaks through and transfigures our reality.

Yet, even as it allows us to draw strength from such times, it moves us beyond them. It challenges us to listen to Jesus and to allow his presence to transform the ordinariness of our daily lives.

Where is Christ inviting you to allow his presence to transfigure your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture

Change and Growth

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Today’s gospel is an uncomfortable read. Jesus encounter with the Canaanite woman highlights racial tensions between two groups of people who have been at enmity for some time. When the Canaanite woman, stepping out of her comfort zone, asks for help Jesus initially ignores her. Then, when his disciples compel him to respond he brushes her aside saying:

‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’

This is not the sort of response we might expect the Jesus we know as open, loving and accepting of all people. As he is pressed by the women who continues to plead for her daughter his response becomes more negative:

‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’

It almost seems that he is confirming the prejudices of his own people rather than challenging them. The Canaanite woman is courageous or desperate enough to challenge his response saying:

“Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.”

Her persistence & courage touch Jesus’ heart changing his mind and his view of his mission. He moves from seeing this woman as a stranger, and outsider to valuing her as he does his own people:

“Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.”

In these divisive times this gospel challenges us and offers us hope. It challenges us to look again at those we perceive as “other”, actively seek ways of reaching out to welcome them and learn about them. The change we observe in Jesus offers us the hope that encounters across cultures and races can change our minds and expand our hearts with love.

Where is Christ challenging you to allow your mind to be changed today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Come to the water

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Today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah is one of my favourites. It’s depiction of the loving and compassionate care that God lavishes on us both soothes me and fills me with hope. Isaiah writes:

“Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy corn without money, and eat, and, at no cost, wine and milk.”

It reminds me that we are the children of a generous and loving God who knows all our needs. Yet, I have to confess it has a new and disconcerting resonance for me this year as I look at an England ravaged by drought and heat wave. Having been brought up in the damp West Coast of Scotland I never really expected to be concerned about water supplies.

I carry this new resonance forward into the other readings for today. In his letter to the Roman St Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. The gospel brings us back to the generosity of God in meeting our needs as Jesus performs the miracle of the loaves and fishes, ensuring that the crowds following him had everything they needed

In challenging and unsettling times these readings carry a promise and a challenge. The challenge calls us to imitate the generosity Isaiah describes and that Jesus demonstrates. It calls us to be generous towards others, however little we have, even as uncertainty urges us in the opposite direction. The promise is in Isaiah’s vision, reinforced by St Paul:

“For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What are the challenges that Christ calls due to face with courage and generosity today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

A promise fulfilled

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Today’s readings are full of joy, gratitude and promise. In the first reading Zechariah tells the people of Zion to rejoice because the King who promises peace is coming. The gospel begins with Jesus blessing his Father for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom in ways that are open to everyone. He also carries on with the promise saying,

“Come to me, all you who labour, and are overburdened and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn for me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

When life is challenging, difficult and painful it can be very hard for us to find anything to be grateful for. With good reason our burdens overwhelm us to the point where it takes all our strength to get from one day then to the next.

The struggles of daily life can sap our energy so that we lose sight of anything that offers us hope, or anything that we can be grateful for. In those situations we tend to struggle on, relying on our own strength and judging ourselves harshly when it isn’t enough.

These are the times Jesus is speaking about when he tells to bring our burdens to him. He promises that there will be no words of criticism or blame because of all that weighs us down.

Instead his promise is that there will warm, gentle and loving welcome into a place where we can find peace and rest. When life is challenging it can take more courage to trust and accept that promise than it does to struggle on alone.

What gives you courage to trust the promise Christ offers you today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture Uncategorized

Treasures, new and old.

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We are fascinated by novelty. There is a particular attraction in something new, something we’ve never come across before. Novelty is often captivating and exciting. Without it so much of human development and flourishing would have been impossible.

However, there is another side to this that is particularly pertinent in this age of ever-increasing technological development. Sometimes as we are caught up whatever the next new thing is we lose sight of the value of what we already have. We seem to think that something new invalidates all that went before. In today’s gospel Jesus warned his disciples against this very attitude:

“Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.”

In the excitement of listening to Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom it would be easy to think that the Law and the Prophets, are no longer relevant. Instead, Jesus tells them that his kingdom is built on the teaching of the Law and the Prophets that they already know and love. It’s not either/or, it’s both/and.

It can be hard to hold those two together. It’s so much more exciting to abandon the old and rush forward to embrace the new. That is not the way of the Kingdom. It requires a slower approach, one that allows us to reflect on what can be let go of because it no longer serves us well and what we need to carry forward as we embrace the challenges of our present age.

What part of our faith heritage do you most need to to help you embrace the challenges of the present?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Communion Corpus Christi Eucharist Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture

United in love.

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Corpus Christi being celebrated on two different days gives me another opportunity to revisit its rich readings.

“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

His words are full of hope, speaking to the unity we all desire. It’s a unity that has two dimensions. There is the personal union with Christ that we are all called to, but desirable as that is it is not enough. So alongside that there is a call to unity with our sisters and brothers.

The call to follow Christ, while it is deeply personal, is not individual. It’s a call to community. As Benedict reminds us we go to Christ “altogether”.

In a world where we are all too aware of our disagreements and divisions, both in society and in the church,St Paul’s words can seem impossibly idealistic. When we look at the divisions between our churches his vision can seem like an unachievable dream.

With this in mind I turned to the readings for the 10 Sunday of ordinary time. I found that they laid out a pathway to the unity St Paul speaks of. In the first reading the Prophet Hosea reminds the people that God calls them to be people of love:

“What I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.”

This gives me a deeper understanding the unity at the heart of Corpus Christi. It is first a call to build a community of love that is inclusive and welcoming to all who seek God.

As we celebrate Corpus Christi how are you being called to help build the church into a community of love?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Resurrection Scripture Truth

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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Ascension Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Pentecost Prayer Prophetic voices Resurrection Scripture Uncategorized

The abundant generosity of the Holy Spirit.

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ABUNDANCE

My final Eastertide word is ABUNDANCE. All of Eastertide expresses the overflowing abundance of God’s love for us. That’s especially true as we celebrate the ABUNDANCE of gifts the Holy Spirit showers on us at Pentecost.

This comes to mind when I reflect on our Pentecost tapestry and how it highlights the themes of the feast, listing our hopes for the coming of the Spirit into our lives:

“Come, cleanse, renew, heal, guide, fill, strengthen.”

I often find myself thinking that it seems a little bit crowded. The words seem to be jostling for space, almost overflowing the narrow hanging. This thought was in my mind as I read the first reading from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. He tells us:

“There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them.”

In the light of his words I it seems hardly surprising that the words on the tapestry seem to burst out of the available space. Pentecost is a feast overflowing with a generosity and energy that are impossible to contain. The variety of gifts God pours out at Pentecost cannot be contained.

They overflow, just like the words on our tapestry, insisting that we use them in all sorts of different ways to help, support and nurture the people of our times.

Just as the disciples were compelled to reach out to the world by wind and fire the Spirit demands that we burst out of whatever upper room imprisons us to share her gifts generously with our needy world.

What gift of the Spirit do you want to overflow in your heart this Pentecost?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Resurrection Scripture Uncategorized

Out of the shadows.

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SHADOW

Today’s Eastertide word is: SHADOW. It doesn’t comfortably sit with Eastertide, the season of light and new life. Yet, there are plenty of shadowy moments in the Easter gospel, the Acts of the Apostles and our own Eastertide experiences. The light of the risen Christ can make as even more aware of our shadows.

Today is the feast of St Joseph the worker. In many ways it’s hard to imagine a more shadowy figure. He is always in the background, supporting Mary and the child Jesus, bringing stability and respectability to difficult situation.

Yet, if we look beyond that image we find a different story. I’m reflecting on these words from a hymn for his feast:

“His love was humble, flame of God’s own fire,
A light to guide the path he trod alone;
Like Abraham, like Moses he believed,
And went in faith to find a land unknown.”

They speak of a man of great faith who is not afraid of the shadows. He allows them to guide him into God’s light following in the footsteps of his ancestors, leaving everything to follow God into the unknown. It can’t have been an easy choice, it will have required both humility and courage.

It’s impossible to think of this without reflecting on the ever-darkening shadows that overwhelm our world today. In such shadowy times St Joseph can be a valuable role model for us.

In this challenging Eastertide St Joseph reminds us that however dark shadows seem the risen will be with us, leading us into new life by the light of his love.

What are the shadows that you need the risen Christ to dispel in your life this Eastertide?