Lent 24 - Trusts II

Credit:Freepik.com 

 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3

I am in the flow of the river, and pulled along by it's consistent motion.  This is the Spirit of the Creator.  I have chosen to swim into the centre of this river.  It's thrilling, taking me forward.  I remember meeting Cathy Corbett-Jones.  She was newly married to a young vicar in Sydney.  She described how it is the Australian dream to travel the world, and she knew they would not be able to do this because her husband's salary was not that great, and she was expecting a baby.  She told me that she trusted the Lord, and felt that she would see amazing things, even if this was to be in heaven.  She would not be missing anything.

My pastor has done amazing things on not much of a salary.  He has flown in a MAF plane just above the tree canopy in Congo, visiting Pentecostal churches deep in the interior.  He has had experiences you cannot buy.

PRAYER:  I put you first and trust that I have made the right decision. 

Lent 23 - Trusts

Blind Girl by John Everett Millais
Credit : Wikipedia and Birmingham City Art Gallery

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’  Matthew 6

We remember the days when we used to play the trust game.  I fell backwards, and the young people I am with caught me (or didn't).   I felt a twinge of that when I stepped out of the small Cesena aeroplane in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to freefall for about 100 meters before the parachute cord was pulled.  It was supposed to have been my job to do that, but I forgot.  It was done by my instructor, and perhaps this is like the love we experience from our Creator.  We don't have to ask.  Like the instructor,  I am strapped to the one who is always with me as I freefall though life.

PRAYER: Thank you that language is not needed.  You just know.

Fourth Sunday in lent

 

Moses receiving the ten
commandments by Marc Chagall, 
Credit: masterworksfineart.com

• You shall not commit adultery.
• You shall not steal.

Lent 22 - Love Protects II

Peace in the midst of a storm, By Jack E Dawson
Credit jackdawson.com

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters". 1 John 3:16

If I am loved, will the Creator protect me?  Look at the life of Jesus.  Was he protected?  Jesus lived through the most traumatic experiences, eventually ending with his murder....so, er, no(?)  Love protects must be something different.  I think it is similar to the parent who sees their child abuse alcohol/drug or gamble having their face slammed down in the mud by this possession.  The parent plays no part in the evil and yearns for dignity for their child.  This love is enormous and laden with pain.  They do everything to protect their child, except take away their freedom and bind they up.

Ultimately Jesus was protected by being transformed through glorious resurrection on Easter Day.  This is the same for us.  Ultimately we are protected at that considerably deeper level.  

This is what Alexey Navalny said during his sentencing in a Russian court (February 2021).  

“If you want I’ll talk to you about God and salvation. I’ll turn up the volume of heartbreak to the maximum, so to speak. The fact is that I am a Christian, which usually rather sets me up as an example for constant ridicule in the Anti-Corruption Foundation, because mostly our people are atheists and I was once quite a militant atheist myself.

But now I am a believer, and that helps me a lot in my activities, because everything becomes much, much easier. I think about things less. There are fewer dilemmas in my life, because there is a book in which, in general, it is more or less clearly written what action to take in every situation. It’s not always easy to follow this book, of course, but I am actually trying. And so, as I said, it’s easier for me, probably, than for many others, to engage in politics."

Ultimately Alexey was murdered in a Siberian Gulag on 16th February 2024

PRAYER: I praise you that I am now free to live like you.

PS I heard this picture described many years ago in a sermon.  It features a small dove sheltering in the cliff face in the tumult of a storm.  I have tried to find information about it, when it was painted, and were it is to be found currently, but with no success.

Lent 21 - Love Protects

 

Hen and Chicks by Qi Bai Shi
Credit: invaluable.com

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Luke 13:34

A lot of about relationships is thought of as transactional, or reciprocal. That makes sense.  But our Creator cares for all people equality, even when there appears to be zero reciprocity.  I have thought about this in counties such as France, where the strong secular culture seems impenetrable.  Yet there is evidence that the love of the Creator is breaking through, like a sun rise.  Like a sun rise, it is inevitable and unstoppable. (click on the word Glorious for the evidence.)

PRAYER: In everything that happens around me, you are in control. 

Lent 20 - Rejoices in the Truth II

Ryland Library Papyrus
Credit: Wikipedia

 Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18: 37-38

 "Aletheia", the word used for truth in this passage, also translates as "unconcealed".  

It's a delight to see love demonstrated.  To see elderly people holding hands.  To see the unabashed affection of the young, and even to see affection shown by animals to each other.

To show love is to show your inner heart.  But Pilate is right; it is hard to know what is the truth.  It is the Spirit of the Creator inside you which illuminate the truth. 

PRAYER:  I listen to your voice Jesus. 

Lent 19 - Rejoices in the Truth

U gonna listen now by LT Knight
Credit: indiginous.unsw.edu.au 

 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” John 8:31-33

To love and to be loved is to be free.  To know the truth is to be free.  The truth revealed though love is the heart of the good news.  What do I think this means?

To be loved is a wonderful thing.  To know I am special.  I feel special.  To know that my Creator loves me is enough.  Everything else is a bonus.

When I have a good awareness, or appraisal, of my being, then I have confidence and meaning and purpose.  I may have doubts, but none that really matter.  I have trust in my Creator.  Because I know I am loved and not judged, I can hear and accept the truth without fear.  This is the miracle of my existence.

PRAYER: May I love you as you love me.

Lent 18 - Does not Delight in Evil II

 

Mercy - the Virtues by Damian Hirst
Credit: fairart.oi

These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. Zechariah 8: 16-17

What is truth?  How can we trust it? Truth is more than words.  Truth is deeds.  Judgements are balanced, weighed up, and impartial, because life is complex.  Opposing evil stands out from the humdrum and sings.  It gladdens the soul. Where do we need truth?  Truth without love is an evil.  We need to be honest about priorities in our society.  But if this is to exclude the poor, the disabled and the homeless, the truth is better than lies, but only just.  Truth that opposes evil, and points to love is the gift Jesus' brings. 

PRAYER:  May compassion be honours and evil exposed.

Lent 17 - Does not Delight in Evil

Tondal's Vision by Hieronymus Bosch
Credit: Museo Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid, Spain

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; 

in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;  with you, evil people are not welcome.
5 The arrogant cannot stand  in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.
7 But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. Psalm 5

Why did the Lord create such potential for evil and wickedness?  Perhaps everything has it's balance.  Matter has Anti-matter.  The potential for wickedness is balanced by the potential for love.

But humans, even seemingly decent humans, can be lulled into evil but the hypnotic call of hate.  There is a blindness and lack of sensitivity that afflicts humans from time to time.  This is when evil rises, and looses spores that infect the soul.  We have seen round the world, in slavery, war and violent ideologies.  So called good people can become monsters, as in Ruanda. We need to cling to the one who loves us, even before we wake in the morning.

PRAYER: Protect me from the infection of evil.  Keep me pure and holy.

Third Sunday in Lent

 

James Jacques Joseph Tissot,
Moses destroys the ten commandments.
Credit: thejewishmuseum.org New York

• Honour your father and your mother.
• You shall not murder.

Lent 16 - Keeps no Record of Wrongs II

Glenfield Hospital - Sokari Douglas Camp

 "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:18

On Tuesday Giles Fraser, vicar of St Anne's Kew, presented Radio 4's Thought for the day about who is my neighbour?  Fraser noted that there has been a spat between JD Vance, Trumps running mate played international gymnastics with Rory Stewart, ex British politian, about who is my neighbour?  Jesus has answered that question many years agio, but Vance pointed out that everyone would expect him to put his children first.  Vance might also note this verse highlights 'your people'.  Jesus made it clear that all people are 'our people'.  Difference is something we invent in our heads.  We are all different, and we are all the same.  That is the challenge for the people of Northern Ireland. 

PRAYER:  Help me see my grudges, especially when they are part of my culture.

Lent 15 - Keeps no Record of Wrongs

 

Sugarcane by Tim Fowler
University of Leicester

Hatred stirs up conflict,

    but love covers over all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12

Tim Fowler is from Leicester.  This exhibition explores his roots in Barbados.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could think of the Caribbean without thinking of slavery.  However we cannot. The wrong done to millions of mainly African people through slavery is unfathomable.  I imagine being rounded up, captured, separated from my loved ones, put with people who all speak different languages, beaten, raped and given hours of menial work with zero prospects.  This happened for hundreds of years on an industrial scale.  From time to time people rose up and there were independent republics.  The Maroon people took refuge in the Amazonian jungle.  But on the whole this record of wrong is vast, and nothing will truly be able to offer recompense.  Fowler is doing the best thing.  This is a record that is beautiful.  It remembers, but is also not bitter.  It expresses the truth.  Freed slaves deserve a prosperous inheritance.  And I recall that I have also been freed from slavery to selfishness and evil desires.

PRAYER:  I choose to forgive, but to hold on to the truth at the same time.  

Lent 14 - Not Easily Angered II

Patience by Gareth Tristan Evens
Credit Arkleyfineart.co.uk

 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”  “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” Jonah 4: 9-11

What does the Lord mean?  A hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?  Well we will have to conjecture, because verse 11 is the end of the story.

The Creator puts up with a lot, but what choice does the Creator have?  I remember my uncle and his exasperation when his daughter went £2000 into debt (this was some time ago.)  What does he do?  He pays her debts and gets her out of a spiral of trouble.  What does our Creator do for us?  Our Creator is patience, slow to anger, but that does not mean without pain and upset.

PRAYER: May I bring you peace and joy.

Lent 13 - Not Easily Angered

 

Angry Girl- by My head Cinema
Credit: fineartamerica.com

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

 He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

 He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; Psalm 103

Anger, like other emotions, has it's rightful place. It is a great motivator, and many injustices have been addressed though the fuel it provides.  But like fuel, it burns; it has to be handled carefully.  In these verses we read how anger is balanced by love.  Anger can be 'channelled', like electricity or nuclear energy.  With the right motivation and wisdom, it can create a blessing, motivated and informed by our Creator.  It is a gift to us, and freely given.

PRAYER: May the righteous anger within be anointed with love, and used to bless.

Lent 12 - Nor Self-Seeking II

Two Auld Wifies - by Ron Stenberg
Credit: McManus Gallery Dundee

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap". Luke 6:38

 If I am just thinking about myself, and my own comforts - well that's a shame.  What if we all are?  This creates a great sadness.  This is the town that says no to immigrants and refugees.  This is the town that objects to children's homes.  Its creative character is stale.  Everything looks the same, and soleless.

I understand that consistently it's the people of Liverpool who give the most to charity in England (Edinburgh for the UK).  We know that the Liverpudlians are not known for their wealth.  May Liverpool (and Edinburgh) be blessed.

PRAYER: Bless those who are generous, and do not count the cost.

Lent 11 - Nor Self-Seeking

 

By Pauline Agnew
Credit: karabullockart.com

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:17-18

The secret bit of this is that we can step out of this paradox.  No longer is it just 'the selfish gene'. If we are led by the Spirit, we are not subject to the law.  1) We are not condemned. 2) We are not stuck in pre destined  'animal instinct' - or  "what is in it for me?"

I am now free to love without concern for myself.  My eyes focus outwards.  I see what is before me, and around me.  I do not count the cost. 

PRAYER:  I am led by your Spirit.  My eyes are fixed on you.

Second Sunday in Lent

 

By Jen Norton, on fineartamerica.com

• You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
• Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Lent 10 - Honouring II

Everything I love by Craig Foord
Credit and for sale on sohofineart.co.uk

 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6: 5

I wonder what percentage of our capacity to love like the Lord we are running at?

A short period of silence

PRAYER: May I honour you is every single thing I do.

Lent 9 - Honouring

 

Eagle Feathers - Canada

 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4: 13

Would I say that if  someone I view as important was with me now?  Would I act differently?  Would I act a part?  The challenge is to say no.  I am consistent, and my love remains the same.  When I am away from my wife I behave like a married man.  I speak with words that honour my wife. Everyone can see that I love my wife.  How much more important is it to be consistent before our Lord.  We know the Lord sees everything, but true love does not even consider this.  I am remined of the friar I met at Hillfield Friary.  He related to me how someone had commended the Friars saying "I like the way you never seem to talk about God." The Friary looked at him earnestly and said "of course not. We don't talk about you in your presence either, and God is with us now." 

PRAYER:  May I know your presence with me all the time.

Lent 8 - Not Boastful II

 

Humility by Jim Ballman
credit: Artpal.com

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6

It's a tricky thing to do.  Do something caring and thoughtful, without drawing it to their attention.  What if they don't notice or recognise what I have done.  What if worse, they are critical.  

As my mother once told me, "try not to let other peoples behaviour dictate and control your own.  To be free, and loving, is to live purposefully, without needing reward from anyone other than your Creator.  That is true faith.

PRAYER: give me the love and grace I need everyday to not be concerned if other know or not.

Lent 7 - Not Boastful

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2: 8-10

Warning against the subtly of arrogance and boasting.  "I know I'm not perfect, but my way of seeing things is somewhat better than those around me."  

"My way of understanding faith; of expressing worship; my views about the diversity of human experience; my taste; my humour; my good works...." (you know). 

To love is to know that it is all from Christ.  "The more I know, the more I know I don't know. " Let us look to Christ who knows all.

PRAYER:  With my eyes fix on you so there is no occasion to slip them back to myself.

Lent 6 - is not envious II

Credit: Shutterstock

 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? Matthew 6: 28-30

Why does love not envy?  Love is ok about other people taking the credit, but it does not lie.  The lily is beautiful.  It is fine, and needs no justification.  

PRAYER:  I allow others to receive praise and rewards.  I know that my reward is to give you joy.

Lent 5 - Is not envious

Justice by Carmel Whittle
Credit: Artvocate.co

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

    And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

 Community

There is a difference between 'not envious', and requiring justice.  I am not envious about by neighbour and their fun lifestyle, but what if they are a burglar?  

Countries can be burglars too.  

Helder Camara, Liberation Theologian and Bishop of Rio said "without justice and love, peace will always be an illusion."  The rich call for peace.  The poor call for justice.

PRAYER: May my motivation be to pursue love, peace and justice.  

First Sunday in Lent

 

Moses by Michelangelo
San Pietro in Vincoli, Roma
Credit: Wikipedia.org

• You Shall have no other gods before Me.
• You shall not make idols.

Lent 4 - Love in Kind II

 

By Paulus Hoffman
Credit: Saachi Art

He took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Luke 10 34-35

Gary Chapman's love languages have taken the English speaking world by storm.  We know about generosity and kindness.  But Jesus explains that the next level of kindness is the one that circumnavigates  'what is in it for me?'  Jesus' story is radical.  The kind Samaritan is the Ukrainian soldier helping an injured Russian, (or North Korean) (or the other way round).  It's the Lebanese tending to Israeli soldier on the border, only for that soldier to return to his/her army (or the other way round).  This takes a miraculous exceptional resolve.  What if it is also going against orders?

PRAYER:  Give me this supernatural love, and the support package that comes with it to go against 'orders' if necessary.

Lent 3 - love in Kind

 

Amish Barn Raising
Credit:oldbarnstar.com

Community

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Surely they leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until they find it? And when they find it, they joyfully puts it on their shoulders and goes home. Then they call their friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15. 3-7

Kindness is a 'doing' word.  You cannot see love, but you can feel it's effects. 

What defines kindness in a community? It is a community that ensures that those without power have all they need, and more.  No one is forgotten.  In the story of the lost sheep, we can think of the individual attention given to the lost sheep.  But is could be any sheep, not just the favoured one. The key message is that we are needed as a community.  This is what Vincent Donovan relates in the book 'Christianity rediscovered'.  The Maasi people he met with told him, either we all follow your Jesus, or none of us do.  We do it together. 

PRAYER:  Thank you for your kindness to my community.