Day Twenty Four - Anticipation

 

Ethiopian manuscript in the British Library

I have been thinking what to say about this one for some time.  

The picture follows the birth of Christ, as his family's first act is to become asylum seekers in Egypt.  

So if beginnings are so important in the development of security in the infant, here is child with lots of vulnerability markers against them.  They even drop below the radar of the State (sometimes preferable).

"Out of the strong came forth sweetness."  Out of instability came forth something which holds the world together.

The most fragile of stories.  About to be crushed at every turn.  And yet, like re-watching a old disaster movie, we are privileged to know how it will end.

Here is a verse from John's first letter which anticipates a future event; one where the ending has not yet been revealed.

We know that we are dearly loved because we are called ‘children’. 

Many do not realise this. What is more, when Jesus returns we will see him clearly and be made like him. Let us be pure now, just as he is pure.

PRAYER: The only thing we know for certain is that you have said that you will never leave us.

Day Twenty Three - Joy

 

Joyful by Paresh Nrshinga, graduate of DMU in 1986 
Degree Art website

As with snow, there are many types of joy.  The richest joy is one that comes from deep within and can not be shaken.  It is the joy of knowing that I am deeply loved, and that I am free to love.  This is the joy that remains, even in depression.  Surely this is a miracle, because depression crushes joy.  Somehow this joy stands a part and is not harmed.

Psalm 51 verses 8 to 17

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.

14

Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

PRAYER:  Thank you for the joy that is rooted in my heart and can never be quenched.

Day Twenty Two - Pathos

 

Aristotle, Roman copy of bronze bust by Lysippos (330 BC)

Pathos, I love this word.  It is part of a trilogy, Pathos, Ethos and Logos.  Each one equality important.

Pathos- passion.  This must be genuine.  Ethos, the morality of the argument, and Logos, the logic, the message.

I believe it, I understand it, and I express it.  This is being truly who I am.  

This is the problem with 'sitting on the fence'.  Some issues in life are binary, you are either for, or against.  Abstentions do not exist.  No reacting to bullying homophobia or racism is to condone it.

Also with the way I live my life.  I 'dive in' or I sit on the bank and watch.

This is what John records in chapter 12.

Andrew - "What about Greek? Do we do Greek?"

Jesus - "Who's asking?"

Andrew - "Philips's asking, he's chatting to some Greek tourists."

Jesus - "Does Philip speak Greek?"

Andrew - "I should think so, he's got a Greek name."

Jesus - "Yes, then he can translate. This is for everyone."

The people listened intently, knitted brows and concentrating hard.

"I am now standing on the edge. I can stay back, or step forward."

"Just one grain of wheat must be buried in the ground and 'die' in order for it to become a plant to provide a 100 grains, and feed many."

"The paradox - If you love your life so much that you grasp hold of it to keep it - it will be crushed, and you will lose it. If you hold it lightly, willing for it to be of benefit to all, you receive the priceless gift of life eternal. Are you willing to 'step' with me?"

"Yes, I feel this is terrifying- not easy. But there is no going back. I am committed to glorifying my father."

{And then everyone heard a loud, powerful voice saying "I have done so, and I will again."}

People there were astonished. 

“I think it's an angel helping him to be strong”, said one.

"Not for me, but for you - right now, you need strength."

"This is when evil will be driven out; my body will be lifted up, exalted"

He looked across the crowd. "The Greeks understood that they were included. They understood the double meaning - the paradox."

"Hang on" someone shouted out, "you can't be the 'Messenger for all time', and also the one whose 'body is exalted'? The Bible does not allow it."

{Audible sigh} - "Now is when all this stuff is clear and plain to sort out. Soon you will have to figure it out on your own."

He left us with all these bewildered people. I recall that we've been warned that despite making it 'barn door' obvious, 'people coming alive' for instance, many will not put two-and-two together. I could see that quite a number had been affected however, even those with considerable power and influence, although there is no way they would admit it.

'For goodness sake' - he made it blindingly obvious what he meant. Any fool could

understand him it they were so inclined.

PRAYER:  I Jump in, and trust that you are with me.  Make everything clear to me.

Day Twenty One - Intrigue

 

The Intrigue By James Ensor,
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

What is all this about?  Intrigue is often the start.  As Oscar Wilde famously said-

"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about" (in The Picture of Dorian Gray).  

The story of advent should be one of intrigue.  Apathy is the damp blanket that snuff this out.  What is it that gives advent intrigue?  

For me it is the following questions-

1. Why doesn't anyone say anything bad about Jesus?  
2. How does this story retain it's stickability over 1000's of years?
3. Here is a story that is not Eurocentric.  It's from the east.  So what's it doing here?
4. Can one person be so significant for us, and the whole world?

Let us become more intriguing.

I like the saying of Agur (in Proverbs Chapter 30)

Three things that are never satisfied (or rather four),

 The grave,

 A barren womb,

 A thirsty dessert,

 A raging fire.

Three things that amaze me (or rather four),

 How the eagle glides through the sky,

 How the snake slithers over the rocks,

 How a ship navigates across a wide ocean,

 How people fall in love.

There are three things that shake the order of the world (or rather four),

 When a slave rises to become a king,

 When a ridiculous fool prospers,

 When a bitter person finds someone who loves them,

 When a servant girl becomes her mistress.

There are four things that are insignificant, but truly wise,

 The ant, tiny and week, but creates vast food stores,

 The Hyrax, a small animal that lives amongst desert rocks,

 Locusts, that have no leader, but march in great formation.

 Lizards, that are easy to catch, but you will find them in a king’s palace.

Three things that walk with a stately stride (no make that four),

 The Lion- purposeful, unflinching,

 The strutting Cockerill,

 The billy goat,

 The king at the head of an army.

The Hyrax

PRAYER: Everything about you is fascinating.  May my joy in you cause intrigue!

Day Twenty - Curiosity

 

Curiosity by Zin Vaitiekunas
Saatchi Art

Curious, questioning, How much do we know?  Isaac Newton, when asked this question replied

"What we know is a drop.  What we don't know is an ocean.  Newton died aged 84 in 1727.  How much more do we know now?  How much have we forgotten?

I believe this world has deliberately been created to be full of paradoxes.  To quote Kant, "Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made."  So much is not neat, clean, explained...

This called for Ecclesiastes Chapter Nine

I’ve noticed some strange things.

 The fastest don’t always win the race.

 The strongest doesn’t always win the battle.

 The wise somethings go hungry.

 The skilful are not always wealthy.

 The educated sometimes lead disastrous lives.

These things are not predicable. Fate takes its turn.

PRAYER: With you I can question and explore without any risk of going astray.

Day Nineteen - Disappointement

 

'Christina's World' by Andrew Wyeth

This is a remarkable picture of a young woman in 1947 who chose to get about her area by shuffling on the ground.  The artist viewed her and was inspired to paint.  We do not know whether consent was obtained.  As you can see, this is a very rural part of America.  

What is disappointment?  A young person can not walk.  Many older people can not walk, but we tend to accept this.  A young person is free to get about as she wishes, but would she do this in down town New York?  How might my disappointment affect this young person?  How does it affect me.

We read in the gospels of Jesus' own close friends expressing their disappointment about Jesus.  How wrong they were.

Luke 24 18-26

One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;  but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning  but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.  Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”

PRAYER:  Help me to recognise my disappointment and discuss it with you.

Day Eighteen - Courage

I'm thinking about courageous women in the biblical account. In the bible we have Rahab (the prostitute as she is called). Rehab helped the Jewish spies even though they were from a different culture and religion.  

Female bravery often involves acts that risk retribution, or actually taking advantage of men's complacency about their power.  Famous examples are Jael with the smashing incident of the tent peg and Sisera's forehead (Judges 4:21), or the account of Judith cutting off the head off Holofernes (in the deuterocanonical  book of Judith) inspiration for many shocking classical paintings.

Another example of bravery is  when a young Jewish woman learnt that she was pregnant, and that the baby she was to carry would have immense significant.  Giving birth requires courage.  Many babies (and mothers) die without the support of modern medicine.  Sometimes things happen, and courage comes as part of the package.  

Another brave woman was Ruth, who chose to remain poor, and stay with her mother-in-law, traveling to a foreign land, were she knew she would stand out.  Here is her story.

From the book of Ruth:

Naomi got wind that things were looking up for Israel; she might be safer with her own family. She

spoke with Oprah and Ruth and suggested they might like to return to their families. They had good

prospects and could start their lives afresh. Naomi knew that her future would continue to be

tough. Oprah agreed to separate, but Ruth was not so sure. Ruth loved Naomi, and respected her.

She made it clear that now she was committed to Naomi and her fortunes. Ruth assured Naomi

saying:

“Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people. The one you worship, I will worship. And

when I die, I will be buried next to you. My life will be much worse if I was to be separated from you.”

Naomi was impressed, and remonstrated no more. The two women journeyed to Bethlehem. As

they entered the town, many old people recognised Naomi, and were overjoyed to see her.

“Naomi!” They exclaimed. “Call me Bitter“, she replied, “for my life has not worked out well.”

PRAYER:  May I have the courage to put my love for you before all things.  

Day Seventeen - Change

 

By Jill Pelto, on PBS website

Rapid change, or dramatic change, is loaded with risk.  Loose weight (if that's what you want) but do it gently and gradually.  The same if you need the opposite.  

When the story about terrorist acts come to the fore, we often hear that some change has happened.  They have converted to a new religion, or they have changed their lifestyle in some way.

Of course lots of changes are for the considerable better, but change does involve risk.  When one party in a couple chooses to use counselling, there is a risk that they might change in some way, and this might put new stresses on their relationship.  

There are some changes which are inevitable.  All things have a beginning, middle and end.  The birth of a baby, the death of a loved one; both spell deep and impacting change.  

The Hegelian shift is when a concept of practice moves from one orientation to a significantly different one, and all things are changed and affected by the shift.  An example of this was women's (and universal) suffrage, which spread to encompass the globe.  It is difficult to conceive of a reverse.  Another was the shift from steam power to internal combustion engine. Another is upon us as we are faced with the price of excessive abuse to the planet.  

A famous example of this shift occurred when Rabbi Saul faced his demon- and gave in.  He became Paul the apostle, and his life moved from powerful and wealthy to 'living on a knife edge', eventually being murdered by a gang.  Great move?  Here is what it says in Act Chapter Nine.

Meanwhile the young man Saul was organising systematic percussion of all followers of Jesus. He went to the authorities and was given official permission to take an armed patrol and bring reprobates back to the city. As his convoy approach Damascus, Saul was blinded by a strong light.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking

“what are you doing to me?” 

“Who’s that?” He asked. 

“I am Jesus, the one you are hurting.” 

The people with Saul were speechless. They could see and hear nothing. Saul discovered that he was blind. He was taken into the city of Damascus and lodged with a friend called Judas.
There was a believer in Damascus called Ananias. The Creator spoke to him and told him to go and find Judas on Straight Street. He was to meet up with a man call Saul (from Tarsus). Ananias knew him and his fearsome reputation. 

“He’s a bad piece of work. Nothing good will come of this”, he reasoned. 

“Don’t be afraid Anaisas. This man is my chosen instrument to take the message to non-
believers and even rulers. He understands how much this will cost,” reassured the Creator.
So Ananias visited Saul and introduced himself saying, 

“I have been sent by Jesus to meet you so that you might be able to regain your sight and be filled with the Creator’s Spirit.” 

In that instant something that looked like scales fell from Saul’s eye. He could see, and was filled with the Spirit of the Creator. After this Saul ate some food and got his strength back.

PRAYER: Change me Lord, so that the people around me notice.

Day Sixteen - Contentment

 

Walking (1958) by Charles Alston
Smithsonian National Museum of
African American History and Culture, Washington DC.

Be content.  It's a challenge when discrimination and inequality surround us.  But being content is not about closing eyes to injustice.  Inner contentment comes from security; from feeling safe.  

The greatest gift is a secure and happy home in which to be born, and grow.  Pregnancy, birth, the first three months, six months, year, three years, five years.  These are the invisible foundation on which we stand.

Am I content with my abilities, my body, my family, my friends, my community?  Paul tells us a lot about living in contentment; like here in Hebrews chapter 12.  

Being surrounded by those with the same vision,

I’m spurred on to lighten my load of anything that would hold me back.

I am running this endurance race

with my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, confident that we will finish in style.

Jesus knew that enduring suffering would be only for a while, and that a great prize awaited him.

The Creator’s love for us is that of a parent, who knows what is good for us.

‘Tough love’ is a sign that we truly matter to our maker.

We would question our worth without it.

Discipline is often not pleasant, but it is necessary to bring about the fruits of peace.

So rally yourselves with tired hands and weak knees,

Follow the straight path to Jesus and become strong.

We want to live in goodness and peace with everyone.

This is the way we are designed to live.

Anything else leads to destruction!

Look out and care for each other.

Be careful not to allow the poison of bitterness damage what you have.

PRAYER: I live by you, and in you and through you - the only sure foundation.

Day Fifteen - Misery

 

Human Misery by Paul Gauguin
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 

If 'horror' is short and sharp, misery is long and drawn out.  Misery grinds.  The only way to cope with misery is to have a plan.  In South America the liberation theologians had a plan.  They noted that as the 'jack-boot' of the system pressed their heads into the dust, they were able to release themselves from their bodies an float like birds in the skies above their oppressors.

Now the old testament has a lot to say about this subject!  My rendition reduces the misery of reading long chapters, by take the liberty of wielding the editor's knife.

Lamentations Chapter 4

Precious gold is now as useful as mud.

Our children were our gold, and now they are clay.

Even the jackal feeds it’s young, but not our infants.

Once spoilt princes called for ‘this and that’.

Now they search through rubbish dumps; faces covered in soot.

Those slaughtered by the sword are better off that the living dead.

Terrible acts of depravity are seen as the siege continues.

The fire of the Creator’s anger is being quenched. There is nothing left that is flammable.

No one assumed that Jerusalem could be destroyed; only those who knew it came of her own wrong-doing.

PRAYER: The steadfast love of the Creator never fails. The Creator’s mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning!

Day Fourteen - Embarrassment

 

Embarrassment
By Nora Block
Saatchi Art

Embarrassment; the lighter form of shame. How much to I hold back because I fear making a fool of myself?  I guess I don't and proceed to do so.  But how much does it really matter? The essence, or ethos of intention is the key.  

Here is a message from Jesus as recorded by John.

"Look, if you follow me you are likely to bump into a lot of people who are traveling in the opposite direction, and they are not going to like it! That's what happened to me, so don't be surprised. The worker follows what his/her boss says, so don't take it personally. If others travel with you, then they are following me also, though they may not realise it.

Those who know me should know how serious this is. They know that this is part of the creator's design. Now choosing not to follow when you have seen wonders; that's unforgivable. It's sad, but we were warned, 'They hated me for no reason*'.

Remember, my presence is going to be in you, so the way of truth will be clear. Your actions will reveal my presence."

*Quote from the book of Psalms chapter 35, verse 19. Repeated in chapter 69, verse 4 of Psalms

PRAYER: What does it matter to embarrass myself when I genuinely want to please you?  Please guard me and help my intentions give honour to you.

Day Thirteen - Boredom

 

By Virag Lappints on Pixels

Only boring people get bored?  Have you heard that before?  Many societies across the world and time do not have any of the stuff of our culture that occupies our time so much.  I think of people living by the seaside on remote islands, gazing out to sea for hours on end.  Or farm labourers coming in from a long day's toil in the fields.  A few people are able to use their creativity.  What about John Clare, inventing poems as he wandered his familiar field lines?  Many masterpieces will have been lost this way due to lack of paper.  But people need each other.  Entertainment is something created together.  

Isaac Newton wrote “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”  

I say "The wonder and creativity of a community is dependent on a history of shoulders ."  

This is what Solomon is reputed to have said in Ecclesiastes Two.

The futility of Pleasure

I desired pleasure, to relax and enjoy an easy life,

With wine and good food, verdant gardens, comfortable houses, and beautiful friends.

People looked after me. I hired gifted musicians.

I enjoyed working hard to make it happen.

And I looked at all I had accomplished and thought ‘is this it?’

Of Wisdom and Foolishness

I thought ‘wisdom’ is the answer.

Wisdom is light, illuminating my way.

Foolishness is darkness, tumbling in ignorance.

But I discovered there is very little between them; they sit side by side.

So I came to hate life, and it’s conundrums that taunt me.

The futility of Work

I began to hate my work and to find it futile.

All I try to achieve is handed over to others;

I have no idea whether to the wise or fools.

All I’ve strived for may easily be lost.

So I value good food and drink,

I find fulfilment in the moment.

Simple pleasures, I realise, are a gift from the Creator;

Wisdom, knowledge, joy.

Apart from the Creator we have nothing.

Ignorant of this, people become wealthy;

And their wealth is taken from them.

This is inevitable.

PRAYER: May every day be meaningful.  May joy be with me today.  May all I meet share something of this meaning.

Day Twelve - Pride

ICON  by Keith Haring
Rhodes Contemporary Art, London

Pride is a positive word as well as negative.  Keith Haring is listed on ART Rabbit website and one of the 10 most influential LGBTQ+ contemporary artists.  Pride stands for community esteem.  But pride also means arrogance, and Proverbs talks quite a bit about about this.

Proverbs Chapter Six

If you’re in a financial pickle, even if it is not your fault, 

Be honest. Explain the problem.

Even animals show wisdom.

The deer flees danger at a moment’s notice.

Ants work hard as a community.

They do it naturally. We learn diligence from them.

There are six, (or maybe seven) things your creator hates.

1) Puffed up pride

2) A tongue quick to lie

3) Disregard for the innocent

4) A heart that schemes up evil plots

5) The desire to be wicked

6) Bearing false witness

7) Someone who upsets their family deliberately.

Hold onto the truth you have been given.

It will light your way in the darkness.

It will keep you safe from wandering into a pit of vipers.

We are just human and will get hurt- no question.

They may be excuses to choosing wrong.

But you still have to pay the consequences, whatever the reason.

PRAYER:  I am proud of they way you have created a diverse world.  But I turn my back on divisive pride.

Day Eleven - Jealousy

 

"Charity and Envy" by Giotto
in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

See what jealousy and envy do to you!  There is a difference between standing up for what is just and right.  Jealousy is a consuming passion.  

I like what George Eliot writes:

Anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love.

To me, the passions cannot be directed from the head.  Passion is like someone caught up in the currents of a stream above a waterfall.  To resist the pull, the waterfall must be heard and understood long in advance.  A decision is taken to avoid the pull of the current, and actions made that mean that the jealously never occurs and does not require a fight.  What action?  The realisation of the damage jealously causes.  I focus on what I have.  I set my eyes on higher and more secure things that are above the insecurity from whence jealousy emanates.

But perhaps freedom from jealousy is also a gift, as with 'freedom from fear'.  Embracing the Lord means that these chains fall off.  It's impossible to embrace the Lord and remain chained.

Here is Jonah warning the people of Mosul to end their evil and corrupt practices.  Perversely however he is rather hopes to see them suffer.

“What’s happening here is a disgrace, and in forty days you are going to be destroyed.” The people knew this was the truth, and they were shocked. They responded on mass by repenting and trying to put things right. Even government ministers ended their corrupt practices, and came and lived on the streets with the poor, much to Jonah’s intense annoyance.

‘I knew it’, thought Jonah, ‘nothing will happen. It’s in the Creator’s nature to be merciful. I predicted this, and that’s why I wanted nothing to do with it!’

Jonah slunk off to see if his premonition was correct. He found a deserted cabin outside the city at a safe distance to observe. He was hoping for bombs from the sky. Under the baking sun, he past the time tending a shady vine, thinking of the succulent grapes developing above him.

But as fast as it grew, so it shrivelled away. The hot sun fell on Jonah’s head causing Jonah to despair. ‘My beautiful vine. Life without you is pointless.’

“Haa”, said the Creator. “You mourn for the loss of a simple vine. I was mourned for the loss of a massive city of people. My people have been saved, and I rejoice for them.”

PRAYER:  May I be free of jealousy, and know that all I should be concerned about it pleasing you.

P.S.
I recall that when there was an earthquake in Umbria that affected Assisi, it was said that more artworks were destroyed on that day than exist in the whole of England.  Now I am jealous.

Inside the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

Day Ten - Calm

 

Meules by Claude Monet - Private Collection

There is something about the rising sun that lifts our spirit.  Like a rainbow, it speaks to us of hope and faithfulness.  Sunlight chooses to fill even the most hopeless of situations.  It is a gift, and to me, so is 'calm'.  Calm cannot be drummed up from within.  Just as the 'Keep Calm and Carry on' poster triggers tension and anxiety, methods and mantras are superficial.  

The wonderful thing about a gift, is that a gift is a gift, is a gift....

People talk about 'inner calm', but I am more interested in 'shared calm'.  The greatest affirmation that calm is not 'conjured' is that it is shared equally.  As with all gifts, it is a freewill offering, and must be received.  

These are the words recorded as Mary, mother of Jesus' response to her calling. (Luke 1; 46- 55)

"From the core of my being I honour my Creator,
Though of little significance, I have been chosen for greatness.
Many generations will call me blessed;
For the Creator is doing things beyond wonder and imagining.
I acknowledge this majesty.
Mercy is offered to all who seek the Creator across all millennia.
Authority lies here. 
The proud are scattered in the futility of their desires.
Might powers are brought to nothing, and the hungry find their needs fully met. 
However the rich are sent away empty with nothing.
People who honour the Creator are never forgotten.
This has happened consistently across history.
Our ancestors testify to the amazing experience of mercy,
From our forefather Abraham, and on for every more."

PRAYER:  You take the mundane and make it extraordinary.  

Do the same with me.

54

Day Nine - Guilt

 

Flying with Guilt by Dominic Virtosu (2011)
Mutualart.com

The strange thing about western society is that most of the large scale acts of sin are completely legal. 

The minor stuff gets most of the attention, perhaps to take it from where the really serious stuff resides.

Sin is a word that in our modern times has been archived to confectionary and pop song lyrics.  

What about guilt?  Guilt again is complex.  This guilt, is it justified?  A lot of guilt is a reflection of a general malaise.  I get drunk.  I feel guilty.  But lots around me are doing the same.  Alcohol is available everywhere, and once I start, the slope becomes slippery.  I shout at my family; but I am being exploited at work, and I have the stress of knowing that my power is soon to be 'switched off' due to debt, and it's winter.

For some the absence of guilt is more to do with their privilege.  But again, perhaps it's the guilt we do not feel that is the most significant.  The collective 'knowing', and doing nothing.  The failures we notice when we look back and see discrimination, poverty, and pain, all avoidable, all caused in my name.

On the 29th of November 2021 Barbados became a republic, and Prince Charles apologised for the terrible sin of slavery that shattered generations in the Caribbean.  I commend him for acknowledging the guilt of our forefathers.  But I note that we remain rich partly from our vantage point atop the great pile of humanity.

This is an account of reactions to the power of Jesus' righteousness as recorded by John in Chapter 7.

We were impressed on our table.

He got our vote in the debate.

Now we called him over for a drink,

   "Budge up and give the man some room."

He looks round the table with serious intent,

  "If you follow what I've just been saying, you will find you are truly free to think and be."

  "Hey- wow man- We are all graduates here." I say, "Give us permission to think for ourselves."

  "Yes", he says, "but I can see you still want to shut me up - get rid of me forever.  There is something that still blocks your understanding."

  "No, you'll completely wrong." I say.  "We are all enlightened, believers in science and fact."

He replies.

  "If you truly believed in science you would see that everything I say is genuine.  It's comes straight from the Creator, the author of science."

This was getting personal now, and I didn't like it.

  "When you know the Creator- you see the world through different eyes.  Distorted vision will never see straight. I appreciate this has got under your skin. By knowing the Creator, you are given a privileged perspective. Everything comes into focus."

I wouldn't call him a big head, just deluded.

I can't remember the cult he comes from,

I guessing he's known to the mental health services?

PRAYER: Jesus- I follow you.  Open my eyes and help me cope with how things really are.

Day Eight - Bravery

Horatius Cocles Defending the Bridge by Charles Le Brun  
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London.

Here is a picture of male bravery.  It is an image that repeated across history.  I recall the accounts of  Thomas-Alexandre Dumas (Alexander Duma's father) as retold by Tom Reiss in 'The Black Count'. 

The interesting thing about Jesus is that the account of his very brave life is very counter-masculine.  Jesus can show anger and protest, but he does not harm anyone, to the extent that when his friend Peter tried to protect him by waving a sword about and inflicting an injury to hapless youth, Jesus uses his healing power to mend the severed ear,

John Chapter Ten

He was very, very lucky to get away alive.

I was one of the group that cornered him at the festival.

We knew he would have to come, so it was only a matter of time before we could get him

alone.

Surrounded as he was, he was careful what he said.

"Say it straight - are the divinely appointed messenger?" We demanded. We're through

with pleasantries."

He replied

 "I have told you so many times, but you've never listened... so what will make the

different now? The ones who know me, and care about; they can tell you."

Surly 'enough'- (we are not likely to get more), this is 'incitement to hatred and intolerance'.

It's cryptic, but that's what we expect. We know he's playing games with us. We must act

while we can. It's the only way terrorist acts can be prevented. 'Catch the snake as it leaves

its hole', as the saying goes. Our actions will be understood in a court of law. Self-defence;

for public well-being.

He will say more. He's pleading now.

"You have seen how the poor have been helped. For which of these acts am I to die?"

It's not for your bloody actions that you die, it's for your words. We have him round the

throat, but he still manages to say more...

"You recall those words... of the Psalmist, in chapter 28, verse 6, "and you are all gods.."

just words.... and I've only said I am 'the son of god'... you never believed me, even when

wonderful things happened to honour the Creator....a paradox eh? you see, impossible for

you to believe.”

Everything went red. I threw a stone, it hit another guy on the head. Lunging and ripping. I

still have a bit of his shirt. How he got away from us, I just don't know... but he did.

He went back to that place where his cousin had been. And people said they saw the link.

His cousin spoke powerfully, but never did amazing things. With this guy; it's all happening.

PRAYER:  Give me the courage to bravely stand for the truth, and never flinch from your side.

NOTE:  The picture I chose for today reminded me of it's counterpoint which I used in

Lent 2021 day 34 called Die Jagd Nach Dem Gluck.  What do you think?  It does lack a horse however.

Day Seven - Shame

 

Expulsion of Adam and Eve
attrib. Pieter van der Werff (1665–1722)
National Trust, Erddig 

Listening to an 'In Our Time' discussion on Macbeth, I compared of the relationship between Adam and Eve and that of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.  I considered the shame Aden and Eve may have felt, given that they were in a community of three (with the Creator).  For most shame is a communal experience.  For the Macbeth's I felt that other forces probably swamped any feeling of shame, as they took their chariot at a charge into the castle moat (to coin an ancient metaphor). 

Shame is a very powerful mechanism of social control.  I am reminded of what Paul says in his letter to the Romans Chapter One.

I’m not ashamed of our message
For it is upright and true.
It has the power to transform lives, irrespective of background.
In the Jewish holy book it says
‘The righteous shall live trusting in what is true’.
Of course the Creator is angry when people do wicked shameful things.
Worse, they try to dress this up as ok.
They know what they are doing because we all have the Creator's nature within us.
They ignore the Creator, making up foolish ideas about their motivations.
This leads to concepts that are further and further from the truth.
With great authority they miss the point of life,
Settling on the created, rather than Creator.
So the Creator despairs and gives them freedom to follow their desires,
Even desire that degrades their bodies.
They follow their animal instincts, suffering the consequence.

PRAYER:  Every morning we look to you our Lord, to fill us with grace and truth.  May we never be ashamed to be members of your family.

Day Six - Horror

 

By Nano Sec, Saatchi Art

Abjection- disgust.  How can a good creator also have within the palette, the seeds, the potential, the permission given for the most heinous crimes, and unbearable atrocities to unfold.  Dave Attenborough cannot bear worms in babies eyes.  But worse are the exploits of the human that would make a worm turn.

Even as Jesus is born, hundreds of babies are smashed on rocks before their parents eyes.  When did the pure spring water turn so feted and fowl?  For now it stinks, and from evil desires spring evil acts.

King Herod, knew the wise men (or Magi) represented the truth.  A baby was coming who would threaten his supremacy.  Like all tyrants, he needed to reduce this risk.  Too late and devoid of conquering power, Herod stabs wildly in the dark at Bethlehem's beautiful innocent babies.

Matthew Chapter 2

14 So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[c]

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

The Creator designed this potential outcome, but also ahead of the path of destruction.

PRAYER:  Evil days will come to an end.  We will life freely choosing only goodness.  We will choose to honour and worship the defenceless, innocent baby.

Day Five - Frustration

 

By Roshan Sharma - Saatchi Art

Frustration- a mismatch between what I want and what I can get.  I continue to enjoy George Eliot's quote at the start of Chapter 16 of Middlemarch - 

Pues no podemos haber aquello que queremos, queramos aquello que podremos.

Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.—Spanish Proverb.

(However my Mexican colleague tells me that the Spanish makes no sense at all)

Frustration, often from helplessness, is the stuff of life.  From internet security to classic issues with the toothpaste tube, frustration is designed into our lives.  (Right now I am trying to get this sentence to left align, and it won't.)  

But these frustrations are trivial and nothing. The real frustration is reserved for the injustice meted out on migrating worlds.  Also for the inadequacy of the international response to the destruction of the planet.  This is the sort of frustration, anger and despair that worthy of strong emotion.

This is what Isaiah says of God in Chapter 41

Only I, the creator of all, see how everything interacts.

Far away nations quake, and get ready for war.

They invest heavily in wasted powers.

Great skill goes into producing worthless objects.

People become rich from waste.

The chosen ones, the people who love me,

They should not be discouraged.

“Don’t be afraid, I am here to help you.”

You will be like a new-fangled threshing machine,

Wild flails thrashing about, mowing down the hillside.

When the poor are thirsty, I will notice.

Fountains of water will spring from the valley.

I will plant trees in the desert; cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir and pine.

This miracle will be to help you understand that this is my plan.

No one else can claim the credit.

Warriors will come from the north. Also from the east.

They will destroy all earthly powers.

I will send Jerusalem a messenger coming with good news.

Earthly powers will be of no use to you now.

PRAYER:  Everything about me fills me with frustration.  Why, why, why?  I look to you and my heart is stilled.

Day Four - Relaxation

 

A Sunday on the Ile de La Grande Jatte
by George Seurat  The Art Institute of Chicago

How to relax.  It's like catching a butterfly.  Reach out and grab at it, and surely it will be crushed.  Keep still and it might alight on you.  Relaxation is a 'mind, body and spirit' experience.  It is the essence of the sabbath, the day of rest.  Isn't it wonderful that the day of rest is also the day we join together to meet with our Lord.  Here is Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

PRAYER:  Be in our midst, for you are our source of life.  Peace is found in your presence.

Bathers at Asnieres, By George Seurat
National Gallery, London

Seeing Seuart's Chicago paint made me wonder how far apart the locations of Ile de la Grand Jatte and Asnieres are in Paris.  It's hard to tell but googlemaps says about 3 km.  But now these paintings are a 7 hour flight apart (from Heathrow to O'Hara International Airport, Chicago). 

Did you notice that Google celebrated Seurat's birthday on the 02.12.1859?  I missed it by two days.