Matthew under the arm 17

Walking withColumba through a back street of this town, he stopped to talk to two men on a wall holding empty bottles of cheap sherry. He simply listened to their abusive attitude. He looked as if he was exposing the terror in their hearts. From his ruck-sack he took out his sandwiches and his flask, gave it to them and walked away having laid his hand on each of their heads - a simple blessing. 'What are you going to eat?', I asked him. 'Well, there's your sandwiches isn't there?'


Matthew 5:33-37
The legal industry depends on swearing. International politics is punctuated by swearing: the making of treaties, vows or oaths. Because of our human insecurity, when we desire a relationship with someone, there goes with it the desire that they somehow bind themselves to us: ‘swear allegiance’. The truth is that we want to possess relationships. All this arises from the basic desire for security. Christianity, on the other hand, has that strange wisdom of insecurity!Christ demands utter simplicity because all relationships in the Kingdom are simple and free: ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Here and now, we are asked to begin practicing a kind of insecurity – so that we are focused on the simplicity of God.

That my words and actions may reflect the simplicity of Your Truth within me.

Going into prayer brings with it an insecurity. There seem to be no certainties. All I may seem be doing is negotiating with the four walls around me. There is a courage in practicing prayer. There is nothing to possess! However, there is a unique freedom in praying in the presence of the Love of God. It is helpful to have a friend who will help you discern where your ‘allegiance’ lies. The sentence above is about freedom – becoming detached from the desire to possess. What happens then is that in the depth of your heart you are enfolded in a love that is beyond any allegiance.

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles