Robed

Psalm 93

There is something magical about a wedding dress. Don one and an already beautiful woman becomes radiant. Without any effort on her part all eyes naturally turn to admire the sight.
Thus  shall I turn my eyes to my Lord.

Greek Letters

Revelation 1:1-8

8 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 

Alpha, beta, gamma- some of my new friends in secondary school. I loved their rounded shape. They made it  easy to differentiate between the vertex and the size of the angle at a vertex of a polygon. I knew where I was going from A to B and what I would find when I got there.
God is there always, not only from A to B but A to Z and helps us to know what to expect.

To Test

Psalm 26

² Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
   test my heart and mind. 

Noami recently asked me if I thought God tests us. The question brought to mind a sermon preched by Dick Johnson. Dick Johnson was the priest at St Mary's Cypress, the first time we arrived in Houston. Though Dick is no longer a priest he preached some of the sermons which I find most memorable. 
Dick drew a verbal picture of an ancient metalworker heating his material in the great heat and with great skill forging an object of great wealth, beauty, or use, or even all three. The smith knew his metal, the heat revealed its compounds to his skilled eye and hand. His experience guided him him his use of that which was clasped in his tools. with skill he hammered and tapped,  manipulating the hot metal into that which he desired. 
In reality though a metal is tested to find its precious metal content. Great heat is used. Sometimes life is easy, everything goes to my plan. Sometimes it is more difficult. I would class moving across the Atlantic four times in this category; new house, new home, whatever the language. Burying a child too, an experience which we share with Dick.   Do they reveal the devotion of our heart and mind to God?

Getting back to normal

John 13:20-35

³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

Do you know that I am a Christian by the way that I love you?

Guiding light.

Luke 2:67-80

Windermere has an unhealthy fascination with our next door neighbours rabbit. he dug under the hedge and the protecting fence. We knew he was there by the barking. it was after 11pm. All lights were off in the neighbour's house. I donned wellington boots and coat, grabbed the torch. Right at the back end of our garden is a little dap where I can climb over the fence. With the aid of the torch I negotiated the derelict decking, climbed the bank and made my way next door. I could not have done it without the light.

Rain glorious rain

Psalm 29

Today it is raining. Yesterday it was raining. I think it was raining the day before that. The village is under a centimetre of mud. The sky is grey and the ground is slime. Not beautiful but God made it and I thank him for that.

Hurricane Katrina

Psalm 55

⁸ I would hurry to my place of shelter,
    far from the tempest and storm.’

The people of New Orleans left their city and headed west. The same with those who lived in Houston. They were scared of the the consequences of staying. The storm was being monitored. We kept at least one hurricane watch web-page open. Hurrying though was not an option. We tried to buy petrol but we could only move across I10, joining it was not an option. The freeways were completely blocked. Joining the freeways was impossible. The traffic was static. Nobody was going anywhere. Seventeen people died on the blocked roads. There was not fuel and no water. It was taking 19 hours to do what would normally take 90 minutes.
The storm came to New Orleans, but not to Houston. There were people left behind in New Orleans who suffered much. There are many for whom life has not returned to normal, even seven years later.

Lord be with us in the storms of life.

Home

Psalm 1119:49-72

⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs
   wherever I make my home. 

Wherever we move you are there. Your word is in our routines.  
We have moved many miles. Always we find a church, it is our new home. It is there that we find friends. 
Maybe this will be improved upon later.

Old Friends

2 Peter1 :12-21

I have told you about Uncle Steve, Pat, Alyce (particularly poignant today because the psalm of the morning is psalm 45 with Alyce's often quoted "My tongue is the pen of a skilled writer").  I have recalled tales of Enid, my Girl Guide leader and time spent with my student, Brandon. These are the tales I am remembering today but there are more. Peter retold his real life experiences of Jesus, they were the basis of his knowledge of the truth of the gospel.
Telling and retelling is how we know God too. Real life experiences of our own and those shared by our friends.

Another hobby horse

John 3:22-30

 ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.’^*

Every morning I think about the things that I want to do during the day. Whilst I walk I plan my next hours, I tentatively write emails. I am very busy planning. The time I spend in prayer consulting God over his plans for me is a small proportion of the total time.

Cockerels

Luke 22:31-38

Our Saturday morning routine is that after a different breakfast, that is different from the muesli of Monday to Friday and the fresh coque au chocolat and croissants of a Sunday we walk to Jeremey who grows vegetables and sells them on a Saturday and then go on the the farm for milk. David stands at the top of the drive with Ernest and Windermere and I go to negotiate the purchase of the milk. David talks to the hens who have coup near the road. As Madam De La Ferme says, though in French "It is their English lesson of the week". A big white cock lives with the brown hens. He struts amongst his harem.

There are many other cockerels in the village and usually I think of this passage whenever I see them. How much do I live up to my words?

Least and Greatest

Luke 22:14-30

One of the more difficult mathematical concepts is the "Greatest integer less than" function. I have not intention to try to explain it here. Suffice it to say that most mortals have a problem greatness, whether we are viewing from above or below.
Today I was with seven other people for greater part of the day. As the English teacher I was their superior but when it came to coffee time and the language reverted to French I was definitely only in the conversation as a listener as I played spot the word that I understand. I fully understood how they had been feeling for the past hour or two.
I was in the classroom as a servant. We all had the object of improving their English.

Am I habitually a table-sitter or a server?

Arrangements

Luke 22:1-13

How shall I spend this afternoon? Shall I oil the floor, walk the dogs or prepare tomorrow's lesson ready for my assessment? Maybe I shall do  a little of all three. Maybe I might take a moment to discuss the matter with Jesus. He had already made the arrangements for the Passover Feast before he asked Peter and John to prepare the dinner. Maybe he has arrangements for my afternoon too.

"Do not sin again"

John 7:53- 8:11

This morning when David started to read this passage I though "How odd. I thought we were near the end of Luke yesterday. I had to have a sneaky look to check that he was reading the correct passage. Yes he was. Sandwiched between being ready for  dreadful end  and the beginning of the preparations for the Last Supper, including Judas' conference with  the Jewish Rulers is this 'add-in' to John.
I love this story. I hate this story. I love it because it reminds me of the compassion of Christ. I hate it because it reminds me of how much I expect other people to live perfect lives.

Alert

Luke 21:29-38

³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

I am sometimes anxious and fearful. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe those who make calculations   as to the time of Jesus' return are right. For Jesus did say we should recognise the signs of his coming. I do not. I just carry on day to day, the same way. That is all I can do. Live each day that it might be The Last, always ready to welcome my maker in each person I meet.

My way, your way or both

2 Peter 3:11-18

Oh dear, another day when I want to write about the Bible rather than God.
Peter makes 'a comment' about the complexity of some of Paul's letters. Paul in Galatians chapter 2 voices a disagreement with Peter's way of life. These were two great saints without whom I probably would not be doing what I am doing right now. They each had their own relationship with God. We need our individual friendship too.

Here and Now

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

I hate it when I want to pontificate and talk theoretically about a passage. My thesis is that my religion is a real living relationship with the Trinity and thus my writing should be about this and only this.
Whenever I read this passage, and quite a few others about life after death I am reminded about a vision that the authoress Catherine Marshall wrote. Catherine had two grandchildren die in infancy. She had a vision of one of them sitting on God's knee.
I found this a great comfort when Matthew died. I know that he is still entertaining God with his humour. One day I will see him again. I do not know how I will recognize him or if he is a 28 year old man now. I leave those details to God and continue telling you how I know that God is with me in the here and now.

100%

Luke 20:41-21:4

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand, 
⁴³   until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ” 
⁴⁴David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’

This was a verse that I used to quote to two very gentle and kind Jehovah's witnesses who often used to visit me on Wednesday afternoons. Yes I give time to JW's and Latter Day Saints. I do not believe that their beliefs are correct but often their motives are pure. Perhaps I can share with them my brand of Christianity, perhaps we can all come to a closer friendship with God. 
There are also people in my life who do not profess a commitment to any religion but for whom compassion, as exemplified in the life of Christ is a way of life.
And there are the 'scribes' of Christianity. Those who make a show of following the letter of the law, those who say "I do not approve of your drinking, I do not approve of your friends, I do not approve..." Oops, now I am judging.
My current theme is recurring. All our time, all that we are is God's to be used in his service whether it is drinking tea with JW's or wine with my next door neighbour. 

Praying

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13


For whom would you like to pray this prayer?

11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. ¹²And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. ¹³And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. 

Cathedrals

Isaiah 2:1-11

³   Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
   to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
   and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more. 

I am a cathedral junkie.If I am visiting a new city and there is a cathedral then it is always near the top of my visiting list. It is not just the new place which attracts me. Often when passing the cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels I will take a diversion through the church. On every visit to Pembrokeshire I try to manufacture an excuse for a visit to St David's. I do not know I have this obsession. I like to think that I am not really a traditionalist and that one can worship God in any place, no sacred building is required. I love the mellow stonework and high ceilings which exude an aura of peace.
Worn flagstones tell of feet that have walked the nave. Hymns have been sung, prayers chanted and wordless ones just flee on a thought towards our God.  Prayers of the faithful and not so faithful that were murmured within the walls. Some sermons heard and some slept through. Worship in all its forms has been witnessed by the walls.
I am together with the past and the future worshipping God in the now.

Bend ahoy

<sup>Psalm 5

7</sup> But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
   will enter your house,
I will bow down towards your holy temple
   in awe of you. 
⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies;
   make your way straight before me. 
 Yesterday I was talking to a colleague who had just returned from America after his first Thanksgiving there. It was a normal family Thanksgiving with a trip to relatives in another state. He drove from North Carolina to Tampa. By Thanksgiving journey standards not a terribly long way. The straightness of the freeway was amazing to this Belgian. It reminded me of a game my friend and I used to play as we drove across West Texas. Guess how far to the next bend. She was driving, I would look at the map and estimate the distance to the next bend. Then Judy would watch the odometer until the bend and see how accurate I had been.
Do I really want to play "Guess what's coming" in my life? Do I really want to be able to see to the distant horizon? As my Belgian friend said "It was so boring and so tiring". Yes it is easy to go into overdrive and cruise along. Life with God is exciting.

How, why, what

Isaiah 1:10-20
Where do you sit when you visit a church, not your every week one, the one where you feel at home but the one in the town you have never been to before? Usually I like to sit about two- thirds of the way back. Then I can easily copy their local variations of worldwide Anglican worship. I sat there, two of three rows from the back on my first visit to a church. The man next to us moved along a seat, not to accommodate us but to allow space between him and us. The Peace was only to be shared with those one knew. We knew nobody, Our Peace was grudgingly taken.
In our home church my service of choice is the more free and easy evening service. At Holy Spirit before I was a contemporary service person. Why, because I object to theeing and thouing in the Lord's prayer alone. I am happy to have Thy Kingdom come in a service surrounded by similar language. But this hobby horse is not the subject of this writing.
The church we were visiting has incense. plenty of incense. It fits in with their style of worship. The church of my choice when I came back to Christianity after a wandering in my late teens had incense. Clouds of smoke reminding us of our prayers. The reason I chose that church was the welcome and the sharing of God's love. Incense, no incense are immaterial to a loving prayerfulness.
Recently I visited that church again. I made sure I sat in a totally different part of the church. And how different  it was. Peace was flowing everywhere in our little corner.
My opinion is that God is not interested in how we worship. It is the why we worship that is important along with what we do between Sunday and Sunday.

Bad choice

Matthew 25:1-13

It was not my day for the car. It was raining. I caught the bus from Waterloo to Braine L'Alleud, twenty minutes until the bus left for Ittre. Plenty of time for a little shopping, just one shop. Shop found, I was side-tracked by some special soap powder, I found the item I had intended buying but not the variety I wanted. I went to the checkout, something was being returned. I looked at my watch, left my potential purchaces and ran. Too late, there was the back of a bus in the distance and the stand where my bus should be waiting for me was empty. My decision to go to just one shop had not been a good choice.
Now there were more decisions to make. Either wait thirty minutes for a different bus and walk five kilometres in wind and rain or wait one hour and fifty-nine minutes in wind and rain. Neither was comfortable, it was 'punishment'.
I chose the former. Each car that passed I looked at longingly but nobody recognised me or had pity on my watery plight. I crossed the commune boundary, I was over half way. I gave up hoping and was resigned to walking the whole way. The a car stopped. A stranger  got out and invited me in. I was trusting, I was too wet and cold to care. But seated in the car was a fellow yoga goer who had recognised me and asked her husband to stop. More important to me than the ride  home is the care that caused my acquaintance to stop and help.
I believe that God made good come from my bad choice. I am very grateful for this.

Joy and Hope

Romans 15:7-13

Hope and joy seem to be hitting me in the face today. If I hope in God then I trust him for my future and that should be a source of Joy.

Some students

Psalms 135

Anna, Rosemary, Janet, Sylvia, these are the names of some of my first pupils. They were good students, they almost always got all their sums correct and never misbehaved. They were good students. I gave them 10/10. Occasionally one would slide a little in her chair and topple towards her neighbour, but that was the worst offence. They seemed to concentrate intently on their lessons but though they had hands I had to write their answers for them. Yes they were my dolls. They were very different from the real life students I have encountered since then.
There is Louis, a member of a very unruly class, who noticed my cracked hands and said "Miss you need to put some lotion on your hands". Through him I began to accept those students as real caring people in spite of their lack of care for mathematics taught in English. Most of them did their counting in Spanish.
There is Brandon who  helped me in my garden and house, we shared religion and politics whilst working together.
Here are just two of the real live students who often got wrong answers to their mathematics but they are in my heart because of their care. Unlike my dolls who are in a box in the attic.

Chasm of Silence

Zechariah 12:1-10

10 And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one^* whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Babies are seldom silent. They snort in their sleep and as we all know they cry when hungry or uncomfortable. The death of a baby leaves a chasm of silence in a house. Mourning and bitterness are not reserved for the firstborn though I do not remember feeling bitter, numb but not bitter. In our sorrow God was with us, his compassion and the supplications of our friends.


Your face is white.

No toothless grin

To reflect a smile.

No little fingers

Gently folding,

Grasping mine tight.

The crib is empty.

Little blue clothes

Folded neatly

Diapers unopened.

There is no baby here.

Stretch marks and flab,

Wrinkled stomach,

Abdominals lax.

A baby has been born

But there is no baby here.

He cries.

No ‘tis the sheep’s bleat

Reverberating around the childless house.

There is no baby here.

My arms are empty.

My breasts are full.

Life goes on.

Yours did not.

There is no baby here.

But I see him sitting on God’s knee

Smiling at his Heavenly Father.

No grades to fear,

no adolescent temper.

Mother dear I am alive and well

Living in eternity.

A founder

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

I wanted to tell about George Hoffman the founder of TearFund but I might be hopelessly wrong and really want to discuss the founder of a completely different charity.
George Hoffman was certainly one of the founders of TearFund and my Google search for him has brought me little information which goes to prove the point that I want to make.

There was a founder, or bigwig of a big national/international Christian charity who was the best friend of our priest, Geoffrey Cox, at Wollaston between 1990 and 1992. They had a pact that the survivor would preach the sermon at the first to die's funeral. The content of the sermon was to be Jesus Christ and him alone. Geoffrey was the survivor.
The founders of the charity had an idea, they implemented it and we see the results. The founder is not elevated to a pedestal. It is all about Jesus. It is about sharing the knowledge of him in our life. It is about sharing his love.

Turbulence and calm

Psalm 33


⁷ He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
   he put the deeps in storehouses. 

What was turbulence and distress on Thursday is now stillness and calm.

God is our Creator and Lord as much as he is the wild ocean.
8  Lets us fear him and stand in awe of him 

¹⁸ Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
   on those who hope in his steadfast love, 

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
   he is our help and shield. 
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
   because we trust in his holy name. 
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.

To me these verses are a forerunner for the comforting passages in Romans chapter 8. Proof that God is consitendt and working his purpose out.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good^* for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 


Picture later

Thanksgiving

Psalm 105:23-45

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  This morning I went for a walk on the beach, hood up, umbrella up, gloves on. It reminded me of walks on Broad Haven beach, often in winter clad in hat and coat and wellington boots. Maybe I will recount some of the tales of my youth to Naomi this evening, remembering to give thanks and praise to our creator.

Leashes

James 1: 16-27

26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 

Windermere can be a naughty boy. Currently he is curled up in the beanbag. There is no sound, the only clue to his life is the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Take him for a walk, meet another dog and one needs earplugs to diminish noise of the screeching and barking as they assault the eardrums. This is accompanied by a straining at the leash to attack the other dog and that fails he quickly turns and initiates a fight with Ernest.
I try to keep my eyes open and search ahead. If I see a distant dog I wind Windermere's leash around my head several times, thus trying to prevent the opportunity to lash out at Ernest. I might also turn aside in the hope that Windy will not notice the dog. all my effort is on controlling the errant dog by his leash and my voice, often having the leash so short that I am at his eye level, thereby trying to control his vision and help him to realize that I am in charge. It is a long and slow learning curve.
Who is in charge of my tongue?

The Plight, not the Flight of the Midway Island Albatross.

Revelation 19:11-21

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, ‘Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.’


It's an old story but I only heard about it for the first time yesterday, The Plight, not  the Flight of the Midway Island Albatross. Photographer Chris Jordan taken photographs of baby albatrosses on Midway Isaland, erroneously fed plastic by their parents. Not a very nutritious diet for a growing bird. Midway Island is thousands of kilometres from the nearest land but currents bring our reject plastic bottle tops and toothbrushes, lighters and plastic bags to the albatross feeding area. Lighters look a little like squid, the parents thought they had a treat.

Louis Evely wrote in In The Christian Spirit "To love God is to love the world. To love God passionately is to love the world passionately.To hope in God  is to hope for the salvation of the world." By world I do not know if he meant mankind or the whole created world. I like to believe that it is both and that we need to be a caring example in our husbandry of the planet and our loving of souls.

MARRIAGE

Revelation 19:1-10

I wrote this many years ago. It was inspired by this passage from Revelation

Picture the scene.

The bride is standing in front of the church with her back to the congregation, but we all know that she is looking radiant as she gazes into the eyes of her loved one.  Her black curls fall onto her white dress. The dress is covered with embroidery and pearls. It has a long train.  One of the most splendid gowns we have seen.

Beside the bride stands the groom. He looks at the bride with eyes full of adoration as he dreams of the life they will share together, of the hours that they can spend in each other's company. He is wearing a suit of the most brilliant white, whiter than the purest snow, for he is Jesus our Lord and King.

The bride vows that she will love and obey for ever, as they believe in the love that lasts into eternity. They  know that they will do anything, go anywhere for each other, even unto death. How they look forward to their future life of mutual devotion.

As we expect the honeymoon is wonderful.  Hours spent in each others company, with eyes and cares for nobody or anythingelse.  Time with the person they have chosen,  an intimate and cozy time.  The sky is blue and the sun shines, there is nothing to dim the light of their love.

Returning to their home there are presents, chores and bills waiting for them. The life of roses tends to drift from the fragrant and beautiful blooms to the thorny stem of the bush. Unfortunately she does not realise that the pleasing and the uncomfortable are all part of the same plant. She lets her eyes wonder to other lovers, they all take their share of her emotions.

The presents, although they were the best that their friends could give them are not quite good enough, nor do they satisfy all that society  thinks that they ought to have. She is not willing to follow her spouse's time scale with regard to increasing thier possessions. She wants him to provide more for her NOW.

Then along come the children, offspring of the divine and the human. She begins to devote herself more to the little things that grow ostensibly in his name.  He wants to name the children Praise, Prayer and Charity but she calls them Good Works,  Altar Guild, and Church Bazaar. These children come in the name of the Lord, but insidiously cause the wife to turn her eyes away from spouse.

Above all is the desire to live for herself, to be somebody in her own right grows in importance. She glances back at the time before her decision to give herself to him and sees that the old freedom has gone, there is another person to consider as well as herself. She forgets to look forward to the joy which they anticipated, she forgets to gaze again into his ever-loving eyes. 

There is more dischord when she wants him to be what he is not, to be a visible and powerful king over the whole earth. He wants  to  take possession of the earth through the growth of their love.

The time comes when the only way out of the situation is for him to allow himself to be taken prisoner for her debts and to pay the price for her sins in the hope that she will see his look of compassion as he gazes at her from his cross.  She might then come to him again in their new life together.  This time she might rely on him  to help her to find the person that she really is.

We, the church are the bride (Ephesians 5:25). It is wonderful that this marriage takes place every day of our lives. New people turn to Christ and announce their love for him and he is able to look forward to another loving relationship.  He enters into the relationship even though he knows that we will not be faithful. But we let him down and wonder away from him. He gives his life for us. We can enter into a new marriage with the resurrected Christ. This one will last for ever as long as we keep glancing back at the cross, knowing that he would go through it all again for us. 

He is the perfect marriage partner, very much married 'for better,  for worse '. 

We are such bad partners when we consider our marriage to Jesus Christ  that we ought to view our earthly spouse with a slightly more tolerant attitude than is often the case. 

Orchestration

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

I have a violin. It sits in its case in the attic. What use is that?
Naomi has a trombone. She plays it often. At home she practices. Out of the house she plays in bands and orchestras. The sounds of the trombone join with those of flutes and harps, violins and cellos, oboes and clarinets. But they do not take their music and play whatever they choose. Together they play what the conductor has chose. Carefully composed, music conveying the sentiments of the composer. Carefully orchestrated, music blending the sounds of the instruments into a beautiful melody.
God takes the odd bods of  his creation and blends us into a symphony of witness. I better watch the conductor and not miss my entry.

Though I walk...

Psalm 23

When I was a young and enthusiastic Christian I thought the 23rd Psalm trite and overused. It was the universal psalm, known by all, true Christian or not. I knew Jesus, I judged that they did not. Now, almost 50 years later I am no less enthusiastic, certainly no longer young but I hope less judgemental of another person's relationship with God.
This psalm is a silken lifeline, as strong as a spider's web at drawing a wandering soul into a relationship with our maker. I now understand that this is not just for the feeble spirited. It is for me.
As I walk through the lanes of life my God is with me.
I have more stories about Psalm 23 but they are for another time.

Mother Jesus

Luke 13:31-35

³⁴Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 


The first day of school is a big day. The big yellow bus came down the street at 7 30am and my little baby girl climbed the steps. I clicked the camera. She was on her own, out in the big world, responsible for her own actions. 
There have been times when I wanted to intervene. There was the day, in high school, when she had Sharpie and gave a wisecrack answer to the girl in front of her. Our baby was hence accused of drug sniffing. We lived in a very strict school district. The consequences were tough. Her father talked to the Principal. But what solved the situation was our baby herself having an adult conversation with the Principal. 
There were no more witty answers in dubious circumstances. A Lesson was learned.

Jesus wants to keep us safe but we are wilful children. He lets us grow and mature all the while wanting to gently nurture his offspring.

Anton Bruckner

Anton Bruckner wearing the Order of Franz Joseph (portrait by Josef Büche)

Ecclesiasticus 44:1-15

44Let us now sing the praises of famous men,
   our ancestors in their generations. 

⁵ those who composed musical tunes,
   or put verses in writing; 

Once upon a time, in far away Austria, there was a little boy. He would run into the forest behind the house. It was a large and seemingly empty forest. He was amazed at the intermingling of the forest sounds. Of course there was the tweeting of the little birds and the  wind whistling through the branches. Above this was the unmistakeable sawing of trees felled for the nearby papermills and in the distance the din of the mills themselves could be faintly heard. But listening more intently there were the sounds that only those attuned to nature can observe- the autumnal dancing leaves spiralling downwards and the not so the gentle plop of chestnuts as they thundered to earth. 
Not all was peaceful in the forest. Wild boar tore through the undergrowth chased by hungry huntsmen. Screeching, or is it croaking, pheasants were felled with a single shot.
Little Anton loved the forest with its melange of oral wonders. Just as the mustard seed grows into a tree so these sounds took seed in the little lad who later orchestrated them into symphonies in celebration of the Creator in whom he had delighted since his youth.
To the city dweller the forest is silent but to those who know it well the noise can be almost deafening. So it was for Anton Bruckner.

Luke 13:18-30

18 He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? ¹⁹It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’

Psalm 74

¹² Yet God my King is from of old,
   working salvation in the earth. 
¹³ You divided the sea by your might;
   you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. 
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
   you gave him as food^* for the creatures of the wilderness. 
¹⁵ You cut openings for springs and torrents;
   you dried up ever-flowing streams. 
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
   you established the luminaries^* and the sun. 
¹⁷ You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
   you made summer and winter. 

²³ Do not forget the clamour of your foes,

   the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.

Sometimes Anton would accompany his father to the church organ. He would listen and learn. It was work and worship together. 

Anton's father also took him to school. He worked hard there striving to be a good student and succeeded. He became a teacher. But perhaps most of his striving was in his composition. He was continually making revisions. Is our spiritual life the same? Are we always reaching to attain the life of Christ? Did Bruckner not write organ music beyond the first piece because he knew that in his later years he had mastered that instrument?

Bruckner was a striver. He reached genius level because he worked hard to reach his goals. he reached goals that would have satisfied most of us but he was always looking to be better. He is a product of the reaction against the rationalization of the Age of Enlightenment. The straight lines of Georgian architecture gave way to ornate Victorian. Write it all down, include everything, leave no instrument out. Did I miss something? Should I change that? How difficult it is to be 100% perfect.

photograph
This work is in the public domain in the European Union and non-EU countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years or less.

All creatures great and small

Ecclesiasticus 43:23-33

²⁵ In it are strange and marvellous creatures,
   all kinds of living things, and huge sea-monsters. 


We took our eighteen month old daughter to the zoo. She was sitting in her pushchair as we arrived at the rhinoceros enclosure. "WoW" and she stood perirously to gin a better view of this out of her world creature.

Last week I was watching  programme about icebergs. I was fascinated of the excitement of the eminent scientist on seeing tiny living creatures that he had never seen before.

The world is certainly full of marvels.

Praise God the creator of us all.

My fig tree

Luke 13:1-9

This is my fig tree. I bought it about  eighteen months ago. This spring I repotted it. I thought if I give it a bigger pot perhaps it will grow. During the summer, maybe it had two leaves. Next spring I might try planting it in the ground. I know that Belgium does not have the best climate for figs but I bought the tree from our local vegetable grower so I am sure he has nurtured the tree from birth.
There are indeed two figs, they have been there and this size for most of the summer. Throw the tree on the compost heap? Never, unless it is well and truly dead, it is my baby. I will continue to nurture it.

I pray that God will do the same with me. I am his child after all.

Stress

Luke 12:49-59

What did you do today?
I missed my bus. The next bus was two hours later. I did not want to wait one hour and fifty-nine minutes. My options were wait until the next bus, walk eleven kilometres or wait half an hour and walk five kilometres. It was raining. We think of stress as a modern illness. We overload ourselves with commitments. I I took option three thus getting home at least an hour later than I have originally intended but with the same workload awaiting me on my arrival home.
I was not  happy camper though my plight was alleviated slightly by one of my classmates from yoga giving a ride part of the way home. I have been trying to finish some time, getting on for ten months. I had planned that today I would actually get the material under the needle of the sewing machine. But no, I had to recover from my cold and wet walk. Then there were other chores which had to be done, one of which was also making up for a mistake that I had made. I am frustrated with myself. There is no way that I will get to the sewing machine today. Maybe if I had not decided to share this thought. Will I ever finish the curtains?


⁵⁰I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 

Jesus knew stress. I thought it was a modern illness, unique to our over committed life-style. No Jesus had a job to do and it was weighing him down. My frustration is not caused by anything so important to mankind as the mission which Jesus had to fulfil can now believe more fully in the verse which claims that Jesus new our temptations.

Hebrews 4: 14-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Ready

Luke 12;32-48

Have I locked it? I don't know, I better do it again. And since our car key behaves differently on the second click of lock I unlock the car and then press lock again. I am this neurotic about locking the car because one Sunday night somebody took our fuel card out of the car and used it, used it many times to our cost. We do not know how they got into the car but I expect I had not locked it. This of course did not give them licence to open the car or to take or to use the card.
Now I need to be as particular in following Jesus. I do not know when he is coming. I want to be prepared for him coming now.
Jesus loves me and he loves you.

Anxiety

Luke 12:13-31

I was brought up to eat what I was given whether I liked it or not. The result was that I grew up not knowing that one could dislike food. I went on a Brownie holiday and won the prize for the 'best eater'. 

I believe that the food that we are given is a gift from God, it is part of the world in which I live. I hate waste. of any kind. Perhaps that is why our house is full of artefacts that might be useful one day. 

I see each drip of water that comes out of the tap as a gift. It is easy to take water for granted in Belgium where seldom a week goes by without rain. We are too busy being anxious about amassing our wealth and keeping our precious time to consider our use of those mundane natural resources which we have at our disposal. Our concerns of course would be irrelevant without the natural resources which we take for granted.

I pray that on my striving towards the kingdom  will be a walk of justice and kindness to mankind and humbleness towards God trusting him for my needs.

(Micah 6:8)

Supreme sovereign

Revelation 11:14-19


16 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshipped God, 17singing,
‘We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
   who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
   and begun to reign. 

What  a relief.
I do not pretend to know where or when or in what manner but I believe that God will reign supreme. Really I believe that he is reigning now.

Flyers

Luke 11:14-26

24 ‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, but not finding any, it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” 25 When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.’

Flyers from five grocery stores. two hardware chains, two newspapers sponsored by estates agents, these are some of the regulars that accumulate on the end of our table. I clear them away into the recycle and almost immediately the pile has grown again. Yes clear out the trash and more comes to fill its space. Unless, unless one is really disciplined and keeps up with it on a daily basis, never giving it time to rest between mail box and table, dealing with each item as required.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus and look into his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.  Helen Lemmel

Bread, again

1 Corinthians 10:15-24

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

Flour, water, oil and yeast are the ingredients that I use to bake bread. Occasionally I will add milk or egg. I will drink water by itself. I have never tried tasting a teaspoonful of sunflower oil. I have eaten fresh yeast but never crunched on dried yeast. Flour as a snack is not good. But blend them together and bake then you have a very different result. One with an appetizing aroma that fills the house.

God the master baker can do wonders with the elements who arrive at the church door on a Sunday morning if we allow him to work through us.

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

Luke 11:1-13

9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for* a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit* to those who ask him!’

On Thursday you met Maurice. Today it is Sandra. They are people who have been sign posts on my walk towards Jesus. Most of us do not have a St Paul vision as we travel along, we meet Jesus through the people in whom he dwells.
Sandra and I worked together. Sandra introduced us to homegroups. Through homegroups in churches since then we have met many 'family' members. Homegroups are an important part of our spiritual life.
Sandra prayed. When Matthew was in hospital Sandra was one of the first people I telephoned.
Through verse 13 Sandra guided me to a knowledge and experience of the acting of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Dinner Party

Luke 10:38-42
I like food, cooking it and eating it. I can 'waste' a happy hour thumbing through a recipe book. Thus giving a dinner party is a joy for me.
I plan ahead. I make lists. One for the house, one for the foods. I make a provisional timetable. I decide on the dishes to be served. I refine the timetable. I make a list of ingredients and check the larder. I clean and shop and bake. I lay the table and cook the meal to be ready at the after the aperitifs and nibbles. Something seems to be missing.
Talking to my guests.

The Way of Love

Luke 10:25-37

27 He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’

The first time I discovered that this was a quote from Leviticus was on the eve of the House of Commons debate on the restoration of the death penalty for murder. Google and Hansard tell me this was 12th July 1983. We were at a homegroup meeting. i cannot remember the topic for discussion but it gravitated towards the debate the following day. Maurice, a retired bank manager was there. He quoted Leviticus 19:18,  pointing out that 1918 was the year the First World War finished. Maurice was a wise and gentle man. One of the many saints whom God has put in my path as pointers to his way of love.

Melting and Strengthening

Psalm 119:25-48

28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
   strengthen me according to your word.

The chocolatier near us makes wonderful icecream. I think my favourite is almond. It enhances most desserts. It is almost an instinctive reaction for me to take a thermal bag with me to buy icecream even though we, the icecream and I, are travelling a mere one hundred metres and in Belgian weather. Texas is different. An anxiety sets about about the icecream melting almost between the dish and the mouth; certainly between store and house. One guards against melting. Maybe carrying the analogy too far - one keeps the icecream safe so that it may energize and strengthen the body.
So it is with my soul in time of sorrow. Sorrow can melt and diminish my soul but God is true to his word and will send the means of strength. Look for Him.

Shadows

Psalm 36



7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
   All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
   and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
   in your light we see light. 


I started to write a poem, Sunlight and Shadow but the words were not coming in the right way to demonstrate the loving care of sheltering under the wings of our Lord.

There were no pictures of wintery storms and a lone mountain shed offering respite from the blustering weather. Or metaphors for the storms of life.

There were no banquets of culinary delights to tempt the taste buds or imperial champagne  to strengthen the body. Or metaphors for the famine of the soul.

There were no gushing springs to quench the spiritual thirst or blazing torches giving guidance along the chosen way.

Yet Lord you are in the mundane as much as in the extraordinary.

Who are my Samaritans?

Luke 9:51-62

The question was "Who is my neighbour?" The answer, was not given but instead a story was told. Answer your own question my friend.
Today is one of the other Samaritan references. The one which exemplifies the lack of a loving relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. The one which shows distrust and hatred on both sides.
The juxtaposition of these two readings in my life and last night's sermon by Toby Howarth prompt me to ask "Who are my Samaritans?". Who are the people for whom I have an innate distrust? Now what do I do?

Retreat

Matthew 16:13-20

 ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ 14 And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ 15 He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Just standing and watching the ebb and flow of the incoming tide is a reminder of the big questions of life, or rather a reminder of the answers. Yes there is an Almighty, a Creator, a Lord of All Things. There must be an organizer of the waters of the world, the sun, the moon and the stars; little lambs and baby people have a designer. It is easier to spend time marvelling at these answers away from the hustle and bustle of the daily round.

They got to the Sea of Tiberias, away from the crowds.  Jesus led them in gently. ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ Then ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Big questions are maybe better asked when in a secluded place, perhaps the answers seem nearer. I try to take time each day to sit and watch imaginary waves or the leaves waving in the breeze.

Hobby horse 2

Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10,18-27


2 The sand of the sea, the drops of rain,
   and the days of eternity—who can count them? 
3 The height of heaven, the breadth of the earth,
   the abyss, and wisdom*—who can search them out? 
4 Wisdom was created before all other things,
   and prudent understanding from eternity.* 
6 The root of wisdom—to whom has it been revealed?
   Her subtleties—who knows them?* 
8 There is but one who is wise, greatly to be feared,
   seated upon his throne—the Lord. 

I was slow to read. My dolls had to do sums, not for them sitting comfortably and listening to a cosy tale. They had to do their additions and multiplications. I am comfortable with numbers. I will count just to fill in the time, especially when struggling up a hill. I count the revolutions of the front wheel, or encourage myself by doing another 'four'. Numbers are my friends, English or French, maybe Dutch in the future.

My love of numbers though is surpassed by my longing for the beaches and the ocean. I can walk back and forth cross  beach or stand idly staring out to sea marvelling at the rippling or billowing waves. Or watching the sand pushed and pulled by the ebb and waning of the tide. How much sand can one dig with one toe? How long will it take for the grains to dissipate? The beach is an ever engrossing source of wonder. A continual pointer to the amazing Creator.

A Hobby Horse

Sirach 1:1-10,18-27

18 The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom,
   making peace and perfect health to flourish.* 
19 She rained down knowledge and discerning comprehension,
   and she heightened the glory of those who held her fast. 
20 To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom,
   and her branches are long life.* 

Today I am going to ride my bike, not my hobby horse, to the station and take public transport to my meeting. I shall enjoy the ride alongside the peaceful waters of the canal. There will be geese and ducks sunning themselves and moorhens gently bobbing along until I arrive. meanwhile I shall marvel at the beauty of the world that our Lord has created and tell him so. That is the hobby horse.

Rogue plants

Jonah 3:1-10,4:1-11


6 The Lord God appointed a bush,* and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered.

Last year I had a beautiful bowl of antirrhinums. I loved looking out of the window onto the multicoloured spectacle. This year I decided not to be boring. I tried dahlias. The slugs ate most of them and I filled the gaps with geraniums. I missed the  antirrhinums, partly because of the joy they have given  one of my daughters every since, as a child, she discovered their snaps.
I am delighted that am not deprived of my hints to remember Naomi. Antirrhinums have planted themselves in the path, I have left them and marvel at their glory and pray for Naomi whenever I see them.