Matthew under the arm 14
For days on this pilgrimage, I have done everything I could to avoid praying and being still. I have tried every excuse under the sun. Columba is smiling at me... he doesn't have to say anything. he knows! Not that this is about guilt - the 'oughts' and 'shoulds' again. He is simply making me aware of my inclination to avoid... to resist... So I am breathing rhythmically and gently... and smiling at myself!
Matthew 5.17-19
This little passage is about balance. On the one hand, the ‘Law’ basically is about obedience to God and the sacred instructions as to how we are to be obedient. A central part of Moses Law was, of course, the Ten Commandments. On the other hand, the ‘Prophets’ were those who had insight into the Revelation of God in their midst – God among us – Immanuel. Nothing must get in the way of the Love of God. The prophets are those who point the ways in which we avoid or evade that obedience.
Let My Love of You draw you into My Way and My Truth
It is worth remembering the Ten Commandments by heart. (Exodus Ch 20). They may seem to some bald and even possessive. What matters is that they point to life in God that must not be blocked by any attitude that negates that life. They also point beyond the dangers of individualism. Jewish and Christian spirituality is about community and relationship. To be 'in Christ' takes in life and death and demands obedience to the Love of God. Prayer is the beginning of this obedience and must be disciplined in order to have the focus of my life shifted on to the work of God’s love in history, including your intimate history. The sentence is a way of having the very depths of our consciousness disciplined – ‘drawn’ into God. Remember, obedience is not subservience. When you are passionate, when you are in love, you may not think of it in this way, but you are being obedient to that passion and love which you are experiencing. Give sometime to thinking and praying of examples of obeience which you have admired and perhaps been challenged by.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
Matthew 5.17-19
This little passage is about balance. On the one hand, the ‘Law’ basically is about obedience to God and the sacred instructions as to how we are to be obedient. A central part of Moses Law was, of course, the Ten Commandments. On the other hand, the ‘Prophets’ were those who had insight into the Revelation of God in their midst – God among us – Immanuel. Nothing must get in the way of the Love of God. The prophets are those who point the ways in which we avoid or evade that obedience.
Let My Love of You draw you into My Way and My Truth
It is worth remembering the Ten Commandments by heart. (Exodus Ch 20). They may seem to some bald and even possessive. What matters is that they point to life in God that must not be blocked by any attitude that negates that life. They also point beyond the dangers of individualism. Jewish and Christian spirituality is about community and relationship. To be 'in Christ' takes in life and death and demands obedience to the Love of God. Prayer is the beginning of this obedience and must be disciplined in order to have the focus of my life shifted on to the work of God’s love in history, including your intimate history. The sentence is a way of having the very depths of our consciousness disciplined – ‘drawn’ into God. Remember, obedience is not subservience. When you are passionate, when you are in love, you may not think of it in this way, but you are being obedient to that passion and love which you are experiencing. Give sometime to thinking and praying of examples of obeience which you have admired and perhaps been challenged by.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
posted by Martin at 8:56 am
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