Matthew under the arm 117
There he was, on his own, looking out across a rather bleak moorland. It was early in the morning. Columba has taught me the importance of praying in silence early in the day, before its concerns and, sometimes, its intrusions break in. [By the way, he also taught me that these 'intrusions' are also indicators of the movement of God in the heart. So they are not to be dismissed.] This morning his eyes were sunken and he looked anxious. Indeed, that was obvious. He was shaking. Columba? I approached him trying not to startle him. He turned and looked like a desperate child into my eyes. 'I am lost. I simply cannot pray.' 'Why?' I asked gently. 'Because I am constantly confronted by my fear of dying and death - of loneliness. My belief has deserted me, if I ever had it'. Columba! Inwardly, I smiled. Here was holiness indeed!
Matthew 24:29-36….
Three strands of Jewish culture and belief come together. One is the established sense that there would be an ideal man, one who was utterly obedient to God as servant and prophet. The second was a developed sense that the end of all things was not the end for God. All events in creation were God-events, including devastation and suffering. The third strand was that this ‘man’ is effective in bringing healing and love (redemption) even in the course of the ‘end’. Jesus for Christianity became the ultimate focus of these strands: The Son of man.
Let the eyes of your heart be open to my Healing and my Love in all creation and experience
In the face of the news, the suffering of someone you love or maybe your own suffering, it is difficult to discern God’s healing and loving. The stomach tenses. the heart races or the dark clouds of depression gather - or all three. Praying in the middle of these feelings is hard. Maybe you can only last a few moments, if any! It is in these moments that prayer is most important. Don’t concern yourself as to whether you are concentrating or not. Acknowledge briefly that God is to found in all your experiences. Simply use the sentence faithfully throughout the day and you will begin to see God as the one at the heart of all your experiences. That discernment maybe of vital importance to you and to others.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
Matthew 24:29-36….
Three strands of Jewish culture and belief come together. One is the established sense that there would be an ideal man, one who was utterly obedient to God as servant and prophet. The second was a developed sense that the end of all things was not the end for God. All events in creation were God-events, including devastation and suffering. The third strand was that this ‘man’ is effective in bringing healing and love (redemption) even in the course of the ‘end’. Jesus for Christianity became the ultimate focus of these strands: The Son of man.
Let the eyes of your heart be open to my Healing and my Love in all creation and experience
In the face of the news, the suffering of someone you love or maybe your own suffering, it is difficult to discern God’s healing and loving. The stomach tenses. the heart races or the dark clouds of depression gather - or all three. Praying in the middle of these feelings is hard. Maybe you can only last a few moments, if any! It is in these moments that prayer is most important. Don’t concern yourself as to whether you are concentrating or not. Acknowledge briefly that God is to found in all your experiences. Simply use the sentence faithfully throughout the day and you will begin to see God as the one at the heart of all your experiences. That discernment maybe of vital importance to you and to others.
+Martin
Argyll and The Isles
Labels: Anxiety. The end.
posted by Martin at 7:52 am
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