Word in the Hand

Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the Gospels; the oldest and, in many ways, the most down to earth. It doesn’t seem to have the agenda that the Jewish Matthew puts on his or the Gentile Luke on his. It’s an easy Gospel to read – the memories of Peter; a straightforward man. So this End of Days chapter is not really about THE END but it is a bit of a wake up call. Our relationship with Jesus, my relationship with Jesus, is very often guided by the idea of his humanity. That he lives a normal life; that I can imagine the type of person he is; that I can empathise with what he is trying to do – as a man. I often pray to him as a brother - as he tells us to, and feel comfortable with the idea – although, obviously the most ideal of brothers. And that can be a problem – that we forget that Jesus always carries within him that otherness that is God; that is as much him as his humanity. the Incarnation isn’t a body going spare with God in it – he is God made Man. And so his Mission isn’t just...

Reflection It’s funny how some things that the Lord tells us seems to mean more to him than others. Surely, more important to where the Gospel writers are coming from; everything the Lord says must be important you would think? Yet even Jesus seems to have his favourite subjects. Jesus is watching a woman in the Temple; one of the little ones; the poor ones; the ‘don’t really matter’ ones and perhaps, as he is watching her, he is reminded of his own mother. Perhaps he is reminded of the scrimping and saving that she had to do before and after Joseph’s death. After all; there was no likelihood that they were a well-off family. Joseph was no more than an odd-job man and their place in the community is suggested by the comments of those who hear Jesus preach – ‘this is only the carpenter’s son’, ‘only Mary’s son’ – with the veiled addition of ‘who does he think he is?’ Yet it seems that Jesus is certainly brought up to be a good Jew; to know about the traditions of his faith; to know them...

I was one voice, Lord Singing your faithfulness and your compassion A song that repeated my own heart ‘I will love you always’. The heavens caught the air Stars bursting with melody across the skies The metre marking light speed In praise of Love eternal. As above, so below The rhythm of Earth’s lifeblood throbbed. The cadence of the tides Love’s own heartbeat. The compass of the Universe turned Drawing harmony and counterpoint together Creation wove the score in rainbow shades A celestial symphony. Magnificent, but too much I am just one voice in this song of the spheres And all so far above me I have lost my place. Only a sigh, Lord But a remembering of where we first met In the pause between breaths In the rest of a heartbeat. That is where you are, Lord The music refined by the mystery of your Presence Your song to me in the spaces between ‘Always, I will love you’. wordinthehand09

I rest in the Sanctuary of the Lord Knowing that God alone is my refuge. I am deafened by the worlds demands Overwhelmed by its rages and torments The seas swell and the mountains quake The uproar of mans greed echoes through the night Angry voices call out for revenge Broken hearts for rescue. But not here Here is a Holy Place This, my refuge Deep as a mountain pool Hopeful as the dawn sun The home of the Most High Heart’s ease is here Soul’s friend is here Spirit’s food is here My Lord and my God The Lord speaks and the world melts away Be still and know that I am God Be still and know Be still wordinthehand09

Reflection If we ever worry about how well we are, or are not, doing at being a good Christian; at being Christ-like; we should not be too hard on ourselves. Think about the disciples that lived and were taught by Jesus, all those years ago. They had the benefit of weeks, months and years in his company; of understanding the importance of sheep and fish and vineyards; of seeing the mannerisms and nuances that accompanied the parables and the teachings. They had the benefit of ‘being there’. And yet, still they got it wrong; regularly and outstandingly. They saw what Jesus did and still did not always see that they were meant to be like him. Maybe they saw his behaviour as eccentricity to attract the masses or to ridicule the Temple. They were right and (at a push) left hand men; there must have been some authority in their closeness to the Lord; something that marked them out as ‘better’. Surely they were not meant to be poor, persecuted or meek; surely they were not to be servants and...

Reflection Many of us feel that this life is a journey and that the time that we spend here, whether good or bad, are footsteps that lead us towards the Kingdom and towards God. Some of us are fortunate enough to be sure that we are always on the right path; that we are doing our best and that Jesus is with us already as we travel. Our prayers are full of hope and thanks for his company. On the other hand, some of us are less confident about the pathways; less sure that the turns we take are still heading the right way; less optimistic of Jesus’ presence and are struck by the feeling we are struggling to do it on our own. For those of us who feel blinded by our own doubts and fears –prayers have a different meaning. When we pray it is a calling out to the dark; asking for God’s hand, God’s eye, God’s voice. ‘Let me know you are there!’ But not really expecting an answer. And then, suddenly, the dark replies; but it is not dark, it is light; blinding light full of Grace. After all your...

Reflection Recently, we have been talking about becoming less – less of who and what we want to be; less of what the world expects; less involved in ambition or climbing social ladders. As we give away more and more; how should becoming less and less make us feel? As we give up more, we become poorer, and what does that mean? What it should mean, and certainly why anyone would want to do it, is that we become happier and more centred in who we are. Once we have turned the idea of less being a negative we can start to appreciate what it is we are doing. We all know that there are ways where ‘less’ turns what seems a negative into a positive; we can lose weight; we can become less stressed; we can de-clutter our houses and our lives. Once we start discarding what we don’t really want we can start to focus on what we do really need. Like martial arts practitioners, climbers or even fishermen we can pay attention to what is important, to what the goal is. I wonder if that is why Jesus star...

Reflection One of us I was told on good authority this week that there are now over 60,000 ‘Christian’ denominations in the world all claiming to know the Truth. Only a few years ago it was 30.000; what is happening to the Truth? It seems that, like beauty, Truth is in the eye of the beholder and if you don’t agree, then you are not one of the chosen; not one of us. People are being exiled or founding new churches on the strength of a translation, an idea, a tradition, a taste in music or prayer. As had been mentioned recently we are in danger of becoming church-ians. How dreadful; how human. Jesus warned us that our faith would mean that we would be criticised and persecuted; that our faith would set brother against brother but did he mean within the faith itself? Surely not? What happened to the communities of the early church who lived wonderfully together? When did being a Christian mean judging other Christians? It seems since forever; as the disciples did it; Paul’s communities ...

Reflection Turning the World upside down When you look at the world that we live in and then read or hear about the world God wants us to live in; It’s really no wonder that God had to send his Son to us to teach us God’s way. There is really no time in our lives that we are taught that it is ok to be last, some of us have problems with being second! In our lives we are meant to progress and even that doesn’t mean climbing over others on the way to the top – it certainly means making sure that your own needs and desires are considered as important as everyone else’s. And isn’t that right? Isn’t that what equality is all about? And didn’t God make us all equal? So, if we are all equal, how can it be right that we be last? Amazing how good we get at arguing our case. Jesus came into the world in the most un-godly way – born of a woman of no account, in the worst of conditions and most unremarkable of places. The world would almost accept it if this pathetic start then soared into astoni...

Reflection Who said it would be easy? I have said it before – I am a plain man. I know what I know - fish, tides, sail. The calling I could not deny. There is something to him that reminds of the stories told by the seafarers – of sirens who sing across the oceans. When he speaks there is nothing to do but listen; when he looks at you – you never want him to look away. There is some truth of that in why I am here, I admit it, yet I am a plain man. And sometimes that is how he seems – a plain man - he asks a plain question – and the answer is clear – love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness. But the answer is not what you have been living; as though he has called some truth out of you that did not fit the world. The answer complicates your simple life by showing that it is wrong; a simple truth that reveals a life of lies. When he asked ‘who do you say I am?’ why didn’t I just go with the others? I wanted to; I wanted him just to be a man; to be my friend and companion; to be my teache...

Reflection Can you hear me? What I like most about the healing miracles is that the Lord almost always makes contact with the sufferer; he touches them with his hands; he makes mud out of dirt and spit, or just spit. It is as though the creator in him just has to make a few minor adjustments that quality control didn’t catch when they were first made. Of course, that’s not true – God sees all of us as perfect and our imperfections are usually judgements that we make on ourselves and on others. But if that is the case then why heal them – why should the Lord enter into the same judgement space as us? We end up looking at the argument around suffering – if God can stop it (so easily) then why doesn’t he? But maybe the miracles aren’t meant to deal with the physical bodily healing – impressive to the onlookers but easily dismissed or explained away now. Maybe they are there to give us another message It may well be that the blind and the dumb man were actually no ‘better’ once they were h...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. James 1:22 ‘keep oneself unstained by the world’ Reflection ‘Dirty Old Town?’ It is easy to see all that is wrong with the world. You have only to turn on the television to see terrifying pictures of what is going on all around us. And even the so-called entertainment often seems cruel and demeaning. The radio, the internet, the newspapers have the same focus – we question the decency and behaviour of others. We ask ourselves ‘what is the world coming to?’ Just reading that paragraph makes me feel old. I remember being young enough to be able to laugh off such comments, to wonder why anyone would spend their time worrying about things that did not concern them and that they could do nothing about. Because my life was fine, the lives of those around me were fine. My world was very small. If you had said to me then ‘keep yourself unstained by the world’, I would have said ‘I do. I don’t get i...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. St Paul to the Ephesians 5:21 ‘give way to one another in obedience to Christ’ Reflection ‘Who do you belong to?’ When the feminist movement got off the ground in the 20th century; one of their first actions was to remove the vow to ‘obey’ from the marriage vows. St Paul was derided as sexist and as someone who hated women; no-one would read him. Yet Paul’s writings refer over and over again to his admiration and reliance on women in their nurturing of the early church. But Paul is infamous for his ability to produce ‘soundbites’ - nuggets of a phrase that stick in the mind and can be used like virtual weapons in a discussion. Please don’t read Paul in ‘soundbites’; his letters answer important questions that we don’t even know; yet hold enough in them to talk to us now. But never mind obeying our husbands; as a society we don’t much like obeying anyone; unless we can see the sense in it. ...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Luke 1:45 Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! Reflection ‘Who do you trust?’ You would imagine that for God to decide to come to us as a human being, He must have had something in mind; must have had a Grand Plan. Yet, when you consider the circumstances of Jesus’ arrival; surely, even now, we must wonder why God decided to do it this way. Why such a people? How long had Israel belonged to God yet look how low they had come – had He not been paying attention? Why such a place? The Galilee was a place you ‘overlooked’ if you had any sense. Perhaps He hadn’t been paying attention. Why such a person? To have had less rank in the community would have been difficult, although Mary managed that by her ‘questionable’ condition. You’d imagine He didn’t want the attention. Even though the writings are there, the archaeologists; the cultural histor...

"Totally love Him, Who gave Himself totally for your love." Assisi Undeniably, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Medieval buildings of pink granite, turned golden in the sun. Hot red geraniums, bold against the dark blue of a Northern Italian sky: the scent of olive groves, rosemary and lavender, and good coffee. Magical, an inspired setting for the romance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. And if you had only a passing awareness of Saints Francis and Chiara you would well imagine a romantic union between them; two young noble people in love. And they were; but not with each other; or rather, yes, with each other, but with the vision of Christ that they saw in each other’s eyes. A love for a Christ who is both Romeo and Juliet. Whose love is so all-consuming that he would sacrifice his life rather than live without us. A love for a Christ whose love is undeniable and eternal. Chiara and Francis, lovesick in their desire to live in the shadow of that love. St Chiara died 800 hun...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Kings 19:4 ‘I have had enough’ Reflection Enough This is one of those two-tone phrases that you can read so much into. You imagine that to have enough is to be satisfied – to be without need – a good thing; but not always. When I was a child - ‘I have had enough’ told me and my brothers that we had overstepped the mark. It is the phrase my nan and my mum would shout out as the final straw descended. As children we knew it was time to grow up a bit, and to try to make ourselves as invisible as possible! It was a phrase that could make my nan actually physically, truly, disappear. My nan, had the minuted routine of the woman of the fifties – Monday – Washing; tidying; shops – Tuesday- ironing; beds and upstairs carpets. Everything done by hand and on foot and woe betide anything or anyone that got in her way – until ‘I have had enough’. Then carpet slippers changed for court shoes, the wrap...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Ephesians 4:20 ‘Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution’ Reflection Ambition is a wonderful thing they say. To be more than you are – to have a vision of something more – and to want to achieve that vision. We are encouraged to be this way. In worldly ambition we are meant to be on an uphill journey; and to be confident of success we follow the mountaineers rule of safety – maintaining the ‘three points of contact’. So, when climbing the ‘ladder of success’ we keep one foot on the lower rung; our experience; the job we’ve already got; the places we already know; everything that we are happy and secure about. Then we reach out, knowing the we have the support network in place; both hands holding on to friends; co-workers and supporters; knowing they will be there for us in our climb. Only then do we reach the other foot towards the next rung; confident that it will be there; in ex...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. John 6:12 ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted’. Reflection ‘Pick up the pieces’ It was a foolish thing to do; to walk knowingly into the hills without food or water. We should have all known better. Yet listening to the Rabbi we became entranced - by his vision; by his words; by his promises. This kingdom of his was where we wanted to be; It was a vision that we did not want to walk away from; knowing the life that waited for us back in the cities and towns. Knowing that there - there would be no honour in being meek, sad or downtrodden. We may have trusted him but we had lived in a different world. So we followed; like some great flock of sheep pushing to stay in sight of their shepherd. And like sheep sitting in the meadow grass of the early spring and suddenly realising that our spirits were full but our bellies were empty. Then wondering if this had all been a trick...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul.I am listening. St Paul to the Ephesians 2: 14 ‘he is our peace, who made both one’ Reflection It has become clearer that, the simpler the words, the more challenging the message. Paul, the champion of the gentiles, is telling his people that they are no longer left out – they probably didn’t even know they were left out - living as they had been, obliviously outside the Judaic bubble of promise. But when the invitation comes they grasp it with both hands and hang on for dear life despite the protests of their ‘older brother’, who consider themselves ‘there first!’ But in time, for many, two became one, as Paul loves to put it, in Christ. There is no difference – all of us can, if we wish, live happily in the knowledge that Christ’s peace is our promise too. But Paul’s writings aren’t just Paul’s words –like the rest of the New Testament, God has had a guiding hand. That’s why these words are still so relevan...

The Beatitudes Gospel of Matthew And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The Beatitudes are one of the most well known of Jesus...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Mark 6:8 ‘take nothing for the journey’ Reflection On the road again Christianity is made up of journeys. There is very little opportunity to ever sit still (which is why we need some meditation and reflection time now and again). If we are not journeying in our hearts and minds, then it is a physical , practical journey that calls us to go out and make a difference. Jesus has been preparing the apostles hearts and minds, he has been showing them the other Way, the alternative to the life they understand. And they have been living it, gathered from the outskirts, seeing others welcomed from even further away; outcasts and foreigners. Jesus’ Way is open house – all are welcome. But Jesus has the restrictions of his humanity to deal with – he cannot be everywhere. So he sends the apostles and does spend time preparing them. But how is this preparing them? Palestine is not a safe place to live...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul.I am listening. Isaiah 55:55 ‘I don’t think the way you think’ Reflection How do I think? I think if I was God then I know what I would do – and it wouldn’t be what God does. I would be like one of those beauty pageant queens who wishes for world peace, an end to starvation and suffering, a reversal in global warming. I think I would make it so that everyone would love each other, greed would vanish, there would be no illness, sadness or suffering. Even natural disasters would not happen – the earth would be quiet and content. I think that I would make sure that there was real justice – that only bad things happened to bad people. And if I am being really magnanimous – that there would be no bad people. Everyone would have enough, everyone would have what they needed. At first it sounds idyllic, but on second thoughts where does this thinking take us as people? This may be a vision of the ideal – but is it ...

Depending on where you are in the world you will have celebrated this feastday yesterday or today - so whichever - happy feast day. Peter and Paul - the brains and the brawn of the church, and they would probably say that themselves. Two people who were so very sure of themselves and who they were until Jesus came along, threw one out of his boat and another into a ditch. Only then did they find out who they really were. They may have been as opposite in culture, status and religious attitude as it was possible to be; as dogmatic within their own beliefs as many are even today but once Christ caught their eye, they came together in love. Not that they ever personally got on; chalk and cheese, as I say. But both in love with the same person; our Saviour, our Lord. It is astonishing how God works with people. Peter and Paul are just two examples of turning your life around but the Gospels are full of people who do it; and no two are the same. Every person, made by God - therefore unique...

O pening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Matthew 22:21 ‘give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his’ Reflection How much do you give to God? I only ask because I know that all of us have a busy life, a really busy life. My life is so full of priorities that when I am advised to list them from 1 to 10 they are all a one, I don’t even have time to think about the 2’s, 3’s and 4’s. Can’t imagine what a 10 would be – washing my hair? And then what am I supposed to do? Except dash from one to the other and spend the last minutes before sleep trying to plan a tomorrow that will get it all done. Trying to keep everyone happy. Trying to live in this world. Trying to give Ceasar what is his. And where is God? Sitting at home like a maiden aunt who is always forgotten in the Christmas visits, looking at photos of us and reading old letters. Of course we make time to visit on Sundays and maybe when He can do us a fovour but otherwise…...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Acts 2:14 ‘Then Peter stood up’ Reflection The crowd thought we had been drinking - it was an easy mistake to make- in fact it wouldn’t have been totally out of the question. It was festival after all. We had been cooped up in hiding for so long a drink would have been welcome; and we did have a reputation for drinking and enjoying ourselves even when the Lord was with us. And Peter was always in the thick of that. And that’s it really – that’s what gives it away – Peter was thick. Not stupid, just one of those practical men who talks with his hands – wants to do stuff not talk about it - puts his foot in it when he does. Fishermen don’t do too much talking, don’t go to Temple, don’t know scripture - don’t like crowds or people much. And Peter was still like that, never liked the Lord being surrounded by the crowds, couldn’t cope with miracles and had barely forgiven himself for what had hap...