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 |
posted by Martin at 8:55 pm
3 Comments:
Martin
I'm interested that you should connect listening with silence so strongly. There is a strong resonance with the so-called Listening Process that you and the other bishops have recently advertised as part of the Anglican Communion's way of trying to hear the experience of lesbian and gay Christians. I've described that
as something more of a silencing process than a listening process. Seems to me that silence is not a particularly positive spiritual virtue for all of us all of the time. I'd be interested to know whether that was on your mind when you wrote this post.
The proposed listening process seems to me to be very much more directly concerned with the "fears of the chief priests" which you refer to, than with any serious attempt on the part of the bishops to do much listening.
I am reminded of Jude 3 & 4
"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
We say AMEN to Matthews quote.
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