Matthew under the arm 123

Columba is beginning to worry me. He is exhausted. But there is a limit to what I can do....isn't there? Surely? This evening when we arrived at a little cottage to sleep in the barn, the old lady who owned the house, offered us water to wash ourselves. Columba said he was too tired. I replied that he stank to high heavens! 'Well then. You wash me! I'm too tired to do anything for myself'. There was silence. 'I'll wash your feet and your head and hair....' 'When you were a boy', he then asked, 'Did your father or mother not wash you all over.' 'Of course', I answered apprehensively. 'Well, I am your child now. Wash me all over'. When I lay down on my blanket to sleep, I buried my head. Why? I turned away from Columba and could not face the intimacy.

Matthew 26:6-13….
Jesus’ host’s skin-disease was probably contagious. It would have been seen as a moral ‘sentence’, not unlike leprosy. Then, for Jesus, it would have been risky to have a woman be physically intimate with him. Further, the oil was expensive and lavishing it on Jesus seemed to contradict Jesus teaching about poverty. To cap it all, Jesus used this anointing to prepare his disciples, men and women, for his death, his burial. Of course, anointing was associated with death, but Jesus' death? He has been called The Sign of Contradiction. On every count in this story he ‘goes against the grain’. Why? Because his kingdom is not of this ‘world’.

I would look for the signs of Your Kingdom in among the rejected.


In your silence, recollect a time when physically you have been loved in whatever way: some act of love given freely entirely for you, no matter how small. Get into the detail and enjoy it. It is Eucharistic! ‘Do this in remembrance of (recollecting - 'anamnesis') me.’ ‘This is my body. This is my blood.’ Now recollect some intimate act of love you have given for someone else, particularly to someone most people would reject. If this is difficult, then simply imagine someone you would be inclined to reject and then - love them! Go on - do it - now! Use the sentence to deepen your prayer.

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 122

Behind us earlier today, came two young men who seemed to be policemen or soldiers. They were shouting at us. 'Move to the side and let the procession pass!'. Five minutes later, a caravan passed through which included important looking people surrounded with assistants and officials. Columba smiled. I felt resentful. Didn't they know who was with me? Later when we reached the nearest village the leaders were sitting in the inn. It didn't take long from the conversation for me to realise that these were religious leaders. Columba approached them, put down his copy of Matthew on the table. One leader lifted his eyes and looked at Columba, who asked them gently: 'Have you read...really read this? Have you ruminated with the Gospel? Have you prayed with it? Have you rested with it?' I was angry at the contempt on the religious leaders faces. Columba put his hand on mine. 'Do not meet fear with fear!'

Matthew 26.1-5....
The three days of Jesus Passion is dove-tailed into Old testament prophecy which had developed a theology of God's presence to be found in all things. Jesus himself was aware of the political processes that would lead to his execution. Religious leaders have always felt threatened by those who have a spirituality that is immediate and raises questions about institutions that protect their own power base and vested interests. We can almost smell the anxiety of the chief priests and elders...that terrifying prospect of loss of control.

Let My Freedom within you lead you to a deeper awareness of My Love in others.

When there is a feeling that your own Leaders have not been true to their responsibilities, the criticism is often severe. Look what happens so often in families when a parent dies and the will is read as a record of who is loved and who deserves. The feelings can be intensely destructive. But Matthew and the early Church learnt by their acute spirituality to look at their Jewish leaders through the eyes of Christ. Look over recent days and see when you have felt threatened and fearful. Was it the possibility of rejection? The loss of control? Use the sentence to look at the detail of your feelings through the eyes of Christ.

+Martin

Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 121

As I looked at Columba last night before we slept, his eyes seemed sunken not so much with the strenuous walking of the day, but with something much deeper than that, that I couldn't quite understand. He understood my look. 'Do you know what has tired me most? It has been carrying in my heart on this pilgrimage those for whom I have been asked to pray. I feel, for example, a powerlessness in praying for two factions in these lands who have been at war with each other for decades and there is no prospect of peace. There is the aweful sense of Christ's Gospel demand that the Church is one in Christ, and yet the anomosity and suspicion are deep within the Body of Christ.' As he crept into his bunk, he was weeping and hoping I hadn't noticed. I realised that here was the Intercession of Christ lived out in this holy man. In some strange way, he is a sign of hope. His holiness is a judgement on my resentments and divisions. 'The End' of all things will surely be marked by such love.


Matthew 25:31-46….
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the development of a concept of 'the end of all things' comes through the experience of suffering and catastrophic events. This language suggests the way God was communicating with his people; ‘judging’ his people now. The focus of this development in the Hebrew Scriptures is often on a single figure: The ‘Son of man’ - of huge moral and spiritual stature, who would suffer at the hands of distorted humanity and judge humanity at the ‘end’. As the title suggests, although there was an exalted tone to it, nevertheless there is a sense in the texts that the Son of Man is also a representational figure. Therefore, I am deeply caught up in the movement towards the end now. Matthew’s Gospel makes the connection between Jesus and the ‘Son of man’ image. It is also a call to waken up to the urgent need to change life-style as a preparation for the ‘end’, because as the Son of man is identified with Jesus then the end is not far away. Indeed, that end' in breaking-in now.The Passion and Resurrection of Christ is the exposure of the very presence of the Son of man.


Be still and know the freeing power of My Wisdom within you



The rise of anxiety over the ecology of the planet, the delicacy of global economics, coupled with the threat of nuclear or bio-chemical warfare has raised awareness of ‘ends’. However, the Gospel summons you to be awake to this moment as an ‘end’. After all, your own death could happen at any moment. So in this exercise, imagine your own death, but only do so if you have someone with which you can share the exercise. What happens a few moments before your death and what happens to you afterwards: to your body, to your belongings, to those you love. Repeat the same, but move down say 10 years or 20 or 40 and so on. Using the sentence after this exercise is a powerful experience of waking up to this moment!

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles

Matthew under the arm 120

For most of today, a young boy joined us. His Mother and Father were walking well behind. The boy had heard that I could sing and wanted to accompany me on his flute as we walked along. However, I shrugged off the suggestion and said that he was too good for me and that I would spoil his playing. Undoubtedly, he was talented. Columba sang, however....out of tune and with the most dreadful tone! Soon, we were joined by about 20 people laughing and singing. I became more and more resentful and ashamed. So I dropped out and hung behind them all. That night Columba told me a story from Matthew.....

Matthew 25:14-30….
The most important part of this parable is where the third servant hid the talent given him… ‘so I was afraid.’ Remember that parables only make a single point. Our attention is often drawn away from the single-hearted focus of our life: namely on the Kingdom of God, not to be identified with human psychology or power structures. Fear demonstrates the power we have given to others. In turn, the decisions we make are to placate or even to appease. We become more interested in pleasing those in power rather than God.


Let me be aware of the gifts you have given me and so offer them to Your service


Read the passage carefully and slowly several times. Then imagine that Jesus is telling you the story. He is with you now. What do you do in your daily life to focus on the will of God for you and what do you do to please others out of fear? Write down your reactions to this question. Write down the gifts you have and then use the sentence. Imagine you have your gifts in the palms of your hands, given to you to use. Note your feelings.

+Martin
Argyll and The Isles