The Wild One

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When we are young we have great ideals and do wild things. The old are tolerant of the wildness of others but lead sedate lives.
Jesus was neither old nor wild. He did not really tolerate wildness either but he did and does understand where we are. And this is where I want to be too.

Wrong end of the country.

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Our daughters have a problem with the question "Where do you come from?" Raised, and actually born in Texas but having a British birth certificate they do really sound as if they come from the western side of the Atlantic though the home in which they were raised definitely had British tendencies.  Their parents and their 'stuff' reside neither in the UK or in the USA but in Belgium. The girls themselves are in Scotland.
The Leaders of the Jewish Community knew that Jesus' hailed from Galilee, presumably he had the accent and that was where his mother and brothers  lived.  It was obvious that that was where he came from too. Why ask questions? He was a Galilean. He could not be the Messiah, he came from Bethlehem and was of David's house.
How often do we judge people by their appearance or their accent or indeed which side of the tracks they live? We make our assumptions without taking the time to get to know the person and their true identity.

Just as He is.

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During one Christmas season Becky was in the chorus of the TUTS performance of The Wizard of Oz in Houston. One evening when I went to pick her up there were two or three large black SUVs parked on the paved area outside the theatre. Not a normal place to park. Eventually I parked and waited for Becky. At the end of the performance many men in dark suits issued from the theatre and got into the cars. Even more mysterious. I watched from a distance, making sure that I did not get involved with whatever it was that was happening.
Of course Becky was able to tell me all about it. The Bushes senior had been at the show. The cars were the for them transport and the bodyguards. During the interval Becky had even had her photograph taken with George Senior. All very orchestrated.
The disciples wanted to protect Jesus, not only from people who might harm him but also from those who would waste his time, from those who did not realize who he was, from those who did not understand.
Jesus would have none of that. He welcomed those who came to him just as they were with no pretensions to grandeur. He welcomes the plain straight talk of childlike thinking. He welcomes those who love him as he is without trying to change him into what they want to love.

Some of my Thin Places

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I like to think that I am a non traditionalist. I believe that God, Father Son and Spirit dwell with me 24/7. There is no need for a church building. A Believing Community can worship under a tree or in a front room. A special  building is not required. But take me to a Gothic cathedral and maybe my story changes. It gives me 'chills' just to walk down the street beside the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels. Fortunately it is near the station so I can often allow my feet to wander in that direction and often they take me inside just to stand for a second or two. People have worshipped on that site for 12 centuries and I am one little dot in that historical landscape. 

Another of my special places is the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. We first went there to see a Michelangelo Madonna but I looked around me and saw a vibrant church reaching out to the tourist. A church built on the site of a Roman church living its faith today. This of course brings my mind to Canterbury but not firstly to the great and spectacular cathedral but to the simple church of St Martin's where St Augustine set up his mission 597 AD. And there is The Great Cathedral. I have not mentioned York Minster and my beloved St David's.

Each time I enter one of these places I count it as a privilege, a gift. For me they are embodiments of the Celtic concept of a 'thin place'. A place where Heaven and Earth, God and I, might seem just that little bit closer.

To read the whole passage click here 

Rebecca gave the servant a drink because he asked for it. She offered without being asked to provide water for the camels too. A camel can drink about 30 gallons at a time and there were 10 of them. That is a lot of water to be lifted out of the well. Rebecca was not hurrying off to do her list of chores. A stranger needed help and she did it of her own volition. 

What do I need to do?

Carrying a backpack

I like to ride to the train along the path beside the canal. it is peaceful. The journey to the station is easy, it is downhill but the way back is impeded by hills, two hills. One at Ittre and the other at Lembeek, just in Flanders. The Lembeek hill is a moderately gentle climb, it has never presented me with a problem. The Ittre hill is a different matter. When I stop to look into the lock of the canal it is almost so deep that I have to avert my eyes. I used to always have to get off my bike and walk the last part of the hill but since I discovered that I can fasten my backpack on the rack of the bike I have been able to ride all the way up the hill, albeit a little slowly and uncertainly with a lot of huffing and puffing sometimes. But I can do it without the bag on my back.
Now I need to think about what it is that is impeding my progress on my Christian journey. There maybe some huffing and puffing there too but I will make it- eventually.

Faith or Fear

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I am always intrigued when two of the unconnected readings that we read daily happen to have the same person or concept. Today it is Rahab of Jericho. Scripture Union Closer to God is doing a study on the book of Joshua. Today we were at the Rahab episode. The online version is Wordlive. The epistle reading for the Episcopal Church is Hebrews and today we happened to be at the reference to Rahab.
The writer of Hebrews commends Rahab for her faith but I have always had a little doubt about that. Rahab was a Canaanite. Presumably she worshipped the gods of her nation and followed the practices of her family. Along come Joe and Fred, Israelites who take advantage of her profession to gain entry to her house. It was even conveniently against the city wall so they could view the surrounding countryside from within. As an Israelite, an impending invader,  it was easier to visit a prostitute than a wheelwright.
Everyone in Jericho knew or feared that the Israelites were going to invade their city. They had been camped across the river for a while. Nobody knew when they day they would make the crossing. Rumour had it that the Red Sea had dried up and let them across. Their God was powerful. They were a fearsome people. The Jordan would be no problem. Rahab feared for the safety of her skin, and that of her relatives. But to take that fear seriously presumably meant that she really thought that the God of the Israelites was powerful.
Perhaps there is little to distinguish between faith and fear. Those whom we love we want to please.