Matthew under the arm 109

[As you can see, I am going to get nowhere near the conclusion of St Matthew's Gospel in time for Easter. Well... I justify myself by suggesting that I, for one, can only see the resurrection through the prism of the crucifixion... Anyway to all your bloggers out there, I hope your postings and receivings are strength-giving and encouraging for you during this Holy season.]

Two ponies looked rather doleful at the edge of a field we passed earlier. This was not surprising, as the wind was almost horizontal and the snow seemed to cut into everything. Columba climbed the wall, gave them some feed which he had gathered by scrabbling around beneath the snow cover. He was speaking to them and consoling them, gathering broken branches to form a wind-break... That evening at the inn, Columba winced as he listened to the acid gossip of two men. He stood up and held his cloak in front of the men, in effect hiding them from the guests in the inn. 'What are you doing?', I asked. 'I am protecting the guests from the storm from these men's mouths.' Mmmm. I laughed and then remembered my own inclination to undermine!

Matthew 22:23-33….
Most have had the experience of coming across an argument that will win us a debate. Either we will win admiration or we will have trapped our opponent. The motivation is to raise the status of our ego and reduce the other’s. Admitting to the desire to undermine someone of whom we are jealous or afraid is hard. The Sadducees desire to trap Jesus is one with which we can identify all too painfully. Every circumstance becomes a creative opportunity for Jesus. So he speaks of ‘now’ – the living. This is the moment of God. While we argue about what we do and do not believe, which is more about hubris, we miss the opportunity to perceive of God’s desire for this moment.

I would receive Your Grace to listen to others as Your Living Presence in the present moment.


Establish silence with the use of the sentence, remembering that one of the ways of describing meditation is ‘Listening to God’. This listening then becomes more and more an attitude that you will have towards others in your daily life. Silence is not the same as the absence of noise or the refusal to speak or engage. The Carthuisians have that lovely phrase: 'We speak in silences'. Further, there are some to whom you will probably find it hard to listen. Maybe you would, in your heart of hearts, like to undermine that person to inflate or protect your own ego. See that person in your imagination and ask for the gift of listening. Ask also to be freed from the desire to undermine. What happens is the gradually you will see what is true in that person because you are being true to yourself. The desire for ego-inflation becomes redundant.

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles