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 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
Labels: The End. Death
posted by Martin at 7:32 am
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