Eternal Echoes

Lifesaving/ giving moments...

Over at revgals Kathyrnjz is talking about life saving or life giving moments... she shares some thoughts and then challenges us to think about:

1) Your lifesaving food/beverage.

I have to say hot tea- I am horrible in the morning without at least two good mugs of tea, a dash of milk and no sugar... once I have had that I can cope with the day...until then, watch out!

2) Your lifesaving article of clothing.

My slippers, I HATE having cold feet, if my feet are cold I am cold, so I can't cope without a comfy pair of slippers!

3) Your lifesaving movie/book/tv show/music.

A prayer by Nicola Slee posted for me by my friend Mike a few years ago now at a time when I needed to be angry with God. It has been something I have returned to again and again.

Rage ricochets off the empty cloister walls,
anger erupts at the altar.
The silence palls.
My serene piety falters and crumbles.
My lips mouth the prayers
but my heart lurches and stumbles
on the edge of this gaping pit
into which my cries have fallen.

I will storm this silence
not with praise but with venom.
I will blast this emptiness
not with patience but with anger.
My mantra is not "mercy"
but a cacophony of curses
hurled headlong at your distance,
spat in the face of your absence.

Show yourself!
Answer me!

I am sick of your silence,
I have had my fill of you hiddenness,
I am faint with the worry of waiting
on your word which never comes.
Have you not seen my pain?
Have you not heard
the anguish of my heart?
How can you stand far off
and watch me writhing and straining for you
with my bleary, tear-filled eyes,
crying for you with my dry and weary throat?

Why do you gloat from afar?
Will you not come?
Will you not show yourself?
Answer me!

 

As for music, there is always Bach... and then there is this:

 

4) Your lifesaving friend.

There are so many, but my best and most consistent life saving friend is my husband Tim, he has saved me from myself again and again!

Tim at Flamborough Head where we walked for hours the weekend my mum died.

5) Your lifesaving moment.

A moment during a communion service where I was assisting. It happened during my training, on a morning when I was about to throw the whole thing in and walk away. I had forgotten that I was assisting until I got there, but as I served my friends from the chalice one of them looked me straight in the eyes, and I knew then that everything would be OK.

It was a life saving and life giving moment, a moment of grace that will always stay with me.

The Scribe ( pondering Mark 12: 28-34)

Hearing the good answer

he pressed for more,

and, drawing love

from love’s lips, he

was answered well again…

…who was this

anonymous scribe?

Was he for love

 or against him?

For although history often

describes him as an opponent,

I wonder

if he was drawn by love

to draw loves

answer….

…either way it was

love that he received.

It is to our shame

that love

is often

so misunderstood…

 

 

 

Intercede for me ( A prayer)

Intercede for me

Holy One,

for I am weak,

and even my

groans

are mis-directed….

.

Intercede for me

Holy One,

and do not

let me

separate myself

from your love…..

.

Intercede for me

Holy One,

that I may

be and become

all that you

have planned

for me…

.

In this moment,

this hour,

this day,

this life….

.

Only intercede

for me….

.

 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes^* with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷And God,^* who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit^* intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.^*

(Romans 6: 26-27)

The Blessed Trinity

by Lance McNeel

The importance of prayer

My good friend Lorna has written a challenging post on worship, she speaks about the longings of her heart, and of her distress at the way that Christian marriages are under pressure, and how ministries are destroyed as leaders succumb to temptation. She puts it passionately:

"Do you know what … I am tired of letting the enemy win -  I am tired of him breaking up marriages between Christian men and women, I’m fed up of Christian leaders taking their eyes off of Jesus and giving in to the lies that we are constantly bombarded with on tv and through music on the radio and all kinds of advertising …we are lost without his anointing and it’s time we – the people of God – stepped up in the power of God -and began praying for one another as if our lives depended on it – because hear me when I say this – our lives do depend on it."

I find myself challenged by her words, I know that I can be easily tempted, and that sometimes my focus on Christ is not what it should be... I ask myself what it might mean to pray as if my life depended on it...

This morning I read back through Mark 9 and 10, I was particularly struck by the healing of the demon possessed boy recorded in in Mark 9: 14-29. Jesus , Peter James and John have just descended the mountain to re-join the others; Peter, James and John are still reeling from what they have witnessed on the mountain ( the transfiguration), they find the other disciples utterly perplexed, a crowd has gathered as they try vainly to cast out the deaf and mute demon from the young man.... His desperate father appeals to Jesus, asking for help even in his unbelief. Jesus casts out the demon, returns the young man to his father and leaves with his disciples...

The disciples cannot hide their amazement; "what just happened ?"they ask, "Why could we not not cast it out?" Jesus answer is simple; "This kind can come out only through prayer."

Although the disciples had been following Jesus and learning from him, they had missed something vital, the need to trust in and rely upon God, and to seek him through prayer. Not too long ago over at The kneeler, Angela Shier Jones reminded Methodist Probationers that the inch and a half of plastic they wear round their necks is no substitute for prayer. Many of us rely upon apparent outward signs of strength or authority. But we must take note of our need for prayer if we are serious about following Jesus.

I wonder if the disciples had forgotten their own need to be reliant upon God, Jesus had commissioned them and invested his authority in them, but that commissioning required that they remembered that they were dependant upon him...in the same way I need to remember my dependence upon him. Some days it is easy to forget to pray, but it shouldn't be.

Lorna reminded us of our need for spiritual armour (Ephesians 6), she quoted The Message which reminds us to be prepared and to take all the help we can get, it goes on to remind us of the importance of prayer..
 

Pray in the Spirit, pray constantly, pray on all occasions, only through prayer are we able to remain firm in our faith, prayer is our strength and our shield, through prayer we are able to take our stand.

 

 

Pondering Bartimaeus; Mark 10: 46-52

I have enjoyed the journey through Mark 10 over the last few weeks, grappling with the disciples as they attempt to follow Jesus and so frequently miss the point. So often they have been blinded by their understandings of power and authority. They've struggled to see Jesus as the Lord who serves, and been perplexed by his call to come as little children and by his astonishing attitude to wealth...

...as I read the account of Bartimaeus sat at the roadside I am struck by how like him we are, or should I say we should be. Like the disciples we are often blind to the ways of God amongst us, like the disciples I suspect that we often struggle ( I certainly do) with the way that Jesus sweeps in and turns our world upside down...

...although I don't like to admit it I am as blind as Bartimaeus in so many ways, but I am perhaps not so bold, for I can hide my blindness and like to appear strong. ButI am not strong, and so often I need a fresh touch from Jesus, so I hope that as he passes by today that I will have the courage to join Bartimaeus at the side of the road, so that my cry will mingle with his;

"Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me..."

And I hope that I will hear Jesus reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"

My response is simple; "Lord, I want to see".

Rest....

I have the weekend off, I booked it in July before I began work in the Snaith and Selby Circuit, and although I have taken some compassionate leave over the last couple of weeks I resolved not to feel guilty and to take the holiday. So far it hbeen a lovely weekend. Yesterday Tim and I collected Chris from Cliff College, he has a bit of a cold and decided to come home for reading week. As Chris was OK we stopped at Ladybower Resevoir on the way home to enjoy the Autumn Colours.

Today has been relaxing, some friends from Norfolk visited and we chatted and walked together. It has been good knowing that I am not expected to preach tomorrow, and even better is the thought of a lovely lie in because of the change to GMT.  My eldest daughter Emma has now arrived as she is sailing with Tim tomorrow... as for me I am deciding whether I will simply chill out at home or go and watch the sailing... I have the choice and that is good.

Rest is part of God's plan for us... and that is good....

A feast for the eyes

All creation cries glory!!!

 
 
 

Friday Five, our favourite music....

Over at revgals Songbird says: "let's talk about music. Share with us five pieces of music that draw you closer to the Divine, that elevate your mood or take you to your happy place. They might be sung or instrumental, ancient or modern, sacred or popular...whatever touches you."

Like Songbird I love music, and different pieces for different occasions, it is hard to single out five pieces but I give it a shot...

Plenty of you-tube from now on!!!!

1. One piece that I have posted before is the Bach Double Violin Concerto. I love the way this music weaves a dance in my soul lifting me to a place where I feel that I can touch heaven. There is no other way of explaining it... I like the whole piece, but have chosen to post the third movement:
 

2. Music that stirs me was introduced to me by my friend Mike, when I first heard it my initial thought was that it was horrible, but it has grown on me... and now it I really enjoy the challenge it brings!

3. And now as they say for something completely different, Kate Rusbys "Underneath the stars"... I cannot put into words why, but I love it:

4. and this is truly music for my soul.... I always find myself closer to God at the beach....

5. And finally a hymn- Just as I am- and who better to sing it that Mahalia Jackson???

Thank you Songbird this did my heart good!

....on waiting...

Carrying on from yesterdays post on consumerism...

This morning I made a baptism visit, and then spent the afternoon working on a series of Advent and Christmas reflections. These will be used at the beginning of worship across the circuit every week during Advent, through Christmas and on to Epiphany. I began by focusing on the beauty and necessity of waiting. As I reflected on waiting I became conscious that we are very bad at doing so. The excitement of anticipation has been replaced by a rush from one thing to another. In the western world today we have become uncomfortable with waiting...

Just look at the shops, autumn fashions appeared in early summer and today the shops are decked with party wear for Christmas. I am already tired of Christmas adverts and the pressure to spend. All of the supermarkets are enticing us to buy now, we needn't wait because they are offering bargains..

Even in the green grocery section the seasons become blurred, we eat salads all year long, we don't wait for anything because everything is on sale all of the time with no thought to the carbon footprint...

We must change, we must learn to wait again, and through the waiting I wonder if we will learn to trust God (again).

Picture from the Morteza Katouzian Exhibition.

 

...watching and waiting,

she knew

that

there was

no quick

fix,

but she trusted,

keeping

faith

she waited,

and

watched,

watching

and waiting,

keeping faith,

and by

faith

she received

strength

to

wait...

A call to be planted, (meditating on Psalm 1)

You say:

 

Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread….

 

But it is not always easy

to discern who the wicked are,

and sometimes sheep's clothing

fits wolves really well….

 

You say:

 

I should "delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and ….. meditate day and night."

 

I ask you, how I can meditate

when all the world

clamours for my attention, 

when  e-mail and  net work sites

 stream information to

my desktop

second after second...

 

You say:

 

I am" to be like a tree
   planted by streams of water,
yielding fruit in its season,
with leaves that do not wither."

 

I pray that you

would help me to find

space,

peace, and

and strength

in this rootless world

to be rooted

firmly

in you.

 

Photo by Ian Britton

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