Matthew under arm 39
[I shall be away until the end of the week and unable to write another posting until Friday]
Yesterday morning, Columba and I were joined by two pilgrims, who really irritated me. They knew this and that. They knew important people here and there. They knew about spirituality and they knew about God. I suddenly blew it! 'Do you know who this is? This is Columba!', I snapped. Obviously that name didn't mean anything to them. Columba simply put his hand up to me as if to stop me. The two carried on, quoting scripture. Never once did they ask a question to discover who we were. When they were unpacking their rucksacks later in the refuge, Columba took me aside. 'Ask them about their fear'. So I did. There was silence. There was anger in their faces, as if they were exposed. 'Don't be afraid, friends', said Columba. 'Facing your fears will bring you stillness and acceptance.' The authority silenced them. This morning they joined us again. For most of the way, they were silent until one of them asked: 'What are your names?'
Matthew 10:1-4….
Three processes are experienced in the first verse of this passage. First, Jesus calls his disciples to him....We are taken right into Christ, so that we intimately know him and live his life. Second, he gives us authority....This is not power for itself. It comes directly from the fact that we live Christ’s life. Third, this authority brings an acute sense of awareness. We can discern where the destructive ‘spirit’ is and because we are living in Christ we bring love directly....as simple as that! How do we live the Christ-like life? Know Christ deeply in the Gospel by praying Christ.
Live the Christ-like life and so bring My Clarity and My Love to that which is destructive
There is a demand on you to know the Gospel intimately and well. In so doing you will learn about Christ. To know Christ, you are called to match his living by the way you live. This demands the gift of Faith from God. That comes through two practices – a life of praying with the Gospel so that Christ enters you deeply – then practicing that Christ-like life in the smallest detail of your life. Failure or success have no significance in this. The Christ-like life is simply being who you truly are. A good spiritual guide is essential to help you.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
Yesterday morning, Columba and I were joined by two pilgrims, who really irritated me. They knew this and that. They knew important people here and there. They knew about spirituality and they knew about God. I suddenly blew it! 'Do you know who this is? This is Columba!', I snapped. Obviously that name didn't mean anything to them. Columba simply put his hand up to me as if to stop me. The two carried on, quoting scripture. Never once did they ask a question to discover who we were. When they were unpacking their rucksacks later in the refuge, Columba took me aside. 'Ask them about their fear'. So I did. There was silence. There was anger in their faces, as if they were exposed. 'Don't be afraid, friends', said Columba. 'Facing your fears will bring you stillness and acceptance.' The authority silenced them. This morning they joined us again. For most of the way, they were silent until one of them asked: 'What are your names?'
Matthew 10:1-4….
Three processes are experienced in the first verse of this passage. First, Jesus calls his disciples to him....We are taken right into Christ, so that we intimately know him and live his life. Second, he gives us authority....This is not power for itself. It comes directly from the fact that we live Christ’s life. Third, this authority brings an acute sense of awareness. We can discern where the destructive ‘spirit’ is and because we are living in Christ we bring love directly....as simple as that! How do we live the Christ-like life? Know Christ deeply in the Gospel by praying Christ.
Live the Christ-like life and so bring My Clarity and My Love to that which is destructive
There is a demand on you to know the Gospel intimately and well. In so doing you will learn about Christ. To know Christ, you are called to match his living by the way you live. This demands the gift of Faith from God. That comes through two practices – a life of praying with the Gospel so that Christ enters you deeply – then practicing that Christ-like life in the smallest detail of your life. Failure or success have no significance in this. The Christ-like life is simply being who you truly are. A good spiritual guide is essential to help you.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
posted by Martin at 7:52 pm
2 Comments:
Amen to your last sentence.
Amen to your last paragraph. I copied it onto a notepad.
People often think that submission to God requires the destruction of the self. And careless writers sometimes encourage that. But self-destruction is never good. And a God who wants to destroy us is hardly good news.
God created us in our personality. What's needed in faith, I believe, is the submission of self to God, not the destruction of self, just as you describe.
Thank you.
Josh Thomas
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