Matthew under the arm 106

[The numbering of the postings have gone slightly awry. Apologies. There were two 104s! Will this Pilgrimage end by Easter? Mmmmm?]

At the bottom of my bag, I have a treasure. It is a little book. Oh yes! I do carry a little copy of St Matthew's Gospel 'under the arm', as it were. But this little book is a hand-written collection of beautiful poetry. Unfortunately, after a solid day's rain, my bag and its content were soaked through. However, my little book was wrapped in several layers of paper to protect. Columba noticed, as I was putting the contents of my bag out to dry by the fire in our lodgings, that I was lovingly clutching to my chest the little book. 'I haven't seen that before.' Proudly, I showed him the book and its poetry. He asked to look at it for a while. In fact he took it to his bunk with him. The following day, I had forgotten about the little book. The rain continued. As we stopped in the ruins of an old dwelling to shelter from the continuing rain, I asked for my little book. Columba reached into his bag and, of course, it was soaked through. I was furious. 'Don't worry', said Columba 'I know all the poems by heart. I will write out a new one for you.' He must have spent all night learning them 'by heart'... But the book is precious....



Matthew 21:33-45….
The pull towards owning is deeply sunk into the human psyche. This comes about because we have identified with it. The most dangerous aspect of this phenomenon is in religious groups. We say: ‘My Church, ‘My Belief’, ‘My beliefs’ or we say ‘Our…’. Not suprisingly, it is also an acid that eats away at the inside of Christendom, to such an extent that groups stake out their territory, which then must be defended. Christ stands outside those boundaries and weeps. Once the possessive pronoun is used it immediately sets us off against ‘your…’ ‘their….’ Etc. Fear of our own demise or alienation – worse still- being forgotten leads to a hunt for significance that might placate our fear. Christ is the one who offers freedom from the possessive pronoun, but we get rid of him because we have no intention of being free – really free.

That your heart may be still and aware of My Freedom

There is a helpful exercise known as ‘Disidentification’. Begin with silence as usual and use the sentence for a good stretch of time. Then look at the things, issues and people to which you feel attached. They are not yours. They are not anybody’s. They may be vitally important parts of you. Use the parable to deepen your imagination. Remember that it points to the simplicity of cooperating with all around you to enrich it for its own sake, not for yours. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus taught about poverty of spirit. It may be clearer now what it means. Letting go of your feelings of possessiveness is hard, for some, very hard. Renunciation is not the demand here. It is freedom. Strangely, you will find that you enjoy what thing and people you are given to care for but are not yours.

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 104

I had an accident on the pathway two days ago. There I was looking at the racing clouds in the sky, when I tripped on a rock and fell flat on my face into, what I can only describe, as substances left behind by a passing herd of cattle! Oh well! Two pilgrims caught up with me and helped me clean up my bleeding knee. On asking them about their background, they made it clear that they were not 'believers' and were only intrigued by the process of pilgrimage as a human endeavour. Over a hot plate of soup that evening, I said to Columba that I was somewhat taken aback that those who have little or no belief should be on the pilgrimage. Columba looked cross and said nothing to begin with. But then the surprise....! 'God bless them for their honesty and their love and care of you. Ubi caritas.....!' I then asked rather weakly, 'Well. What's the point of beliving then?' Columba smiled and I winced, 'Your leg is healing!' Matthew 21:28-32. Perhaps it is worth repeating that parables make one point only. The unlikely ones, for 'religious' people, by what they do and say appear to refuse the supposed benefits of religion, are the ones who are accepted. We would do well to be careful about our attitudes not only to people of different faiths, but to those who refuse to have anything to do with 'religion'. Maybe they have the word of God for us! Given the history of certain kinds of religious 'righteousness' in this and the last century, it does not take much to imply exclusion which in extreme circumstances can lead to to ethnic cleansing. Christianity is not about security for Christians, but it is about insecurity for the love of the alienated. Open your heart to My Wisdom that sees My Truth in all The desire for affirmation is often greater than the desire to do a requested job. It takes some courage to say 'no' because it may cause criticism and rejection. It may need to be done for its own sake. The ones who actually 'do' the job are often the 'outsiders' because they have less to lose. They probably know that they are not going to be accepted anyway. In your prayer imagine or remember a caring person you know but who will have nothing to do with belief or religion, or who belongs to a different culture than you. Then look for what is creative in them. You will see that what they do or don't believe is less significant. What they are and do speak of is love and ordinary kindness. Not a bad desire for meditation. +Martin Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 104

'What is in your mind today?', Columba asked looking piercingly through my eyes. 'Oh. I have just been remembering my Mother,' I replied soulfully. 'What was she like?' 'Towards the end of her life, she was disturbed and even angry...about anything, particularly about me.' Columba's questions went on, until he looked into the distance in silence and asked. 'Would you help me with understanding and relating to my Mother?' Columba's questions were as much a revelation of his authority as of his humility. How much people reveal fear in themselves when they feel they have too much to lose to ask questions. Matthew 21:23-27…. Jesus normal mode was as teacher. I have a tendency to claim that I like being educated. However, I suspect the education I like is the education I want or feel comfortable with. Education can be much more than that: an increase in my understanding of myself. Jesus' authority was right in the heart of what education is about. He recognised a hunger and so he fed it. However, he also engaged with ambiguity, irony, parable and metaphor as a means of educating those who lareglt didn't want to 'hear'. When authority becomes an issue between people it is becomes a possession: who has power and who has not. An institution that becomes afraid of losing control over people becomes obsessed with authority, particularly those who have status within that institution. Education, the drawing out of that which is within us and is potnentially creative, dies in these circumstances. Jesus refuses to get drawn into a discussion that would become competitive and negative, like most discussions! Let your heart experience My wisdom that you may live in My Light The verb ‘to discuss' comes from a Latin word meaning 'to tear apart'. Jesus was not about to have an interesting debate with the chief priests. A discussion on the whole is about the airing of prejudices, the desire to win and persuade. Jesus’ question was an attempt to listen to the fears of the chief priests. Listening is the key. In a group that you are in, try to listen to each other and not turn your group work into a discussion. Listening involves simply reflecting verbally on what you heard someone say. In the silence, reflect on conversations in groups that you have had and notice your responses in that group. Remain for a while in the silence and just be content with listening to your own life and breathing. +Martin Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 103

[I can't help noticing that the current disturbing treatment of +Rowan our Archbishop, at least for me, has echoes from in the time of Christ's Passion. The Roman 'Law' was held supreme in Palestine and yet it clashed with Jewish Law. Christ dared to stand in the middle of that clash and pose questions.... Where did that lead....? Or for that matter look at the way St Paul wrestled in his letter to the Romans with Law and Grace. I thank God for the depth of +Rowan's prayer and his presence which is his leadership. He or she who has eyes or ears......... ] It was a very cold day yesterday. Columba and I found it particularly hard to keep going. Further the landscape was tedious, not helped by the low lying mist. We came across a crossing of paths and felt uncertain as to which direction to take. Behind a stone wall, there was an old evergreen tree, the shape of which was distinctly influenced by the prevailing winds, and yet it was still there and still green. Columba seemed to be looking at the tree for an inordinate time. I was getting cold. So I tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't turn, but fell to his knees in prayer before the tree. 'Can't you see?', he almost snapped at me, 'We are being invited not simply to read about the Passion. This tree is speaking: "Be the Passion!" Matthew 21:18-22…. The word vandalism initially comes to mind. However, understanding this story is difficult, given the years and the consequent difference in cultural assumptions. Authority over nature itself was presumably regarded as a mark of divinity. Although allegorical interpretation is not regarded as highly as it once was, the fig tree that bears no fruit might be paralleled with the tree (the cross) that did bear the fruit of Redemption, particularly as the story is placed just before the Passion. The heart of the story is faith and prayer. The starkness of the story illustrates the utter centrality of God in and over all things. That in your stillness you may Receive My Gift of Faith and have My Grace to live it In the Middle and Far Eastern religious cultures, the story of God is portrayed in myth. Myth is truth told ‘at a tangent’. If you were invited to tell a group about faith and prayer, as you understand it, perhaps you would use story and myth. In the stillness begin with the sentence; tell a brief story that comes from you about the centrality of faith and prayer for you. Perhaps afterwards, you may want to write it down. Then with a friend or spiritual director tease out how you live out the faith given you. +Martin Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 102

[So sorry... I've been away so much recently...I must learn to do this blog on my little PDA...!] An old lady in this village, sold medicines that some people found helpful. Columba had an infected heel as a result of a huge bluster, which he had not looked after properly, silly man! So we stood in the queue to see the esteemed lady. There in front of us was anargument. Three men were leaning across the counter and wagging their fingers at the old lady, telling her that she ought to sell their potions as hers were old fashioned and probably useless. What they didn't know is that the old lady listened to people, almost as if the medicines she gave out (freely!) were beside the point. Columba couldn't resist it any longer. He went to the front of the queue, got hold of three men and asked them to leave. No he didn't ask...he shouted 'Out!' The old lady looked at Columba's heel. She sucked her teeth and looked at him. 'I know. I know.' Columba sighed. Matthew 21:12-17…. This act of assertiveness, if not aggression, challenges the perception of Jesus as emotionally controlled. But high-jacking people, no matter how surreptitiously, for the sale of goods or for their adherence misses the point. Sacred places are for prayer and not for canvassing, persuasion or indeed proselytism for that matter. Proselytism can so often be a mask for the execution of power based on fear. The one who prays comes in to a church in order to offer him or herself, not to become an object of marketing. Although Sacred Places must be attractive trough the reflective arts and architecture, they are not entertainment centres attracting custom. Children shouting is not often encouraged in sacred places. Jesus encourages it because it is the simple and direct offering of their lives. Let the sacredness of place and of time be a focus of your pilgrimage into My Holiness Sacred places are not always easy to find. Often they are beset with the need for survival or become centres of business. But that is also true of your inner life. In your imagination, invite Jesus to enter your life and kick over a few bits of ‘furniture’ (or even 'people'!) that clutter your soul. Perhaps he might throw out of your heart the grasping desires that create distraction and even pain. Your heart is a sacred space. Use the sentence so that Christ can reclaim it for the holiness of your pilgrimage. +Martin Argyll and The Isles