Matthew under the arm 134
There’s not much further to go now. I don’t know what to expect when I arrive, nor what I shall feel like. Columba himself is exhausted. This pilgrimage for him has not just been about his own spiritual journey. ‘What is a spiritual journey?’ he once asked me. He wasn’t really expecting an answer. For him, all there is, is this moment and all that this moment is! Here is God, although, he would add, ‘You wont see him, for if you did, it wouldn’t be God.’ What then is there in this pilgrimage other than an eventful journey? And this morning I had the answer. Columba was leaning against an old tree, shielding himself from a sudden hail-storm. He was holding a piece of torn paper folded up, as if it was the most treasured possession in the world. He knew I was inquisitive. ‘There is a name in here. It’s the name of a woman whose months old baby died. She has been with me all the way, as she asked.’ Pilgrimage.
Matthew 27.32-38
There is a bewildering aspect to Christian Way, in that many seem to be ‘enlisted’ – with little or no choice. Simon of Cyrene is one such. After the brutal abuse that he suffered, Jesus was obviously beyond carrying anything, let alone a heavy cross. Maybe it was the inevitability of his death that was also weighing too much. There’s no telling what Cyrene felt or said. After all, for the Gospel narrative, obedience was of the ultimate importance. And what obedience! Jesus has his clothing removed. All of it? Completely naked on the Cross? God completely exposed and reduced to a squalid and humiliating fate. ‘This is Jesus…’ And to add to the excruciating experience, look at the company God keeps even at His death!
IN MY GIFT OF STILLNESS WITHIN YOU, I CALL YOU TO OPEN ALL OF YOURSELF TO MY LOVE
Maybe you can recall a time when you were asked to ‘carry’ someone’s load, either literally or metaphorically. Maybe someone asked you to carry their luggage, their shopping, their furniture…. Maybe someone asked you to represent them to some institution, some official… Relive an event when you felt you couldn’t really refuse. Whose weight do you feel called to carry in your local community? Have you resisted it? Now, imagine Jesus asking you to carry somebody, something, even his cross for him. Perhaps you are embarrassed at being associated with: ‘…Jesus, the King of the Jews’! Remember to review your time of prayer and imagining.
+Martin
Bishop of Argyll and The Isles.
Matthew 27.32-38
There is a bewildering aspect to Christian Way, in that many seem to be ‘enlisted’ – with little or no choice. Simon of Cyrene is one such. After the brutal abuse that he suffered, Jesus was obviously beyond carrying anything, let alone a heavy cross. Maybe it was the inevitability of his death that was also weighing too much. There’s no telling what Cyrene felt or said. After all, for the Gospel narrative, obedience was of the ultimate importance. And what obedience! Jesus has his clothing removed. All of it? Completely naked on the Cross? God completely exposed and reduced to a squalid and humiliating fate. ‘This is Jesus…’ And to add to the excruciating experience, look at the company God keeps even at His death!
IN MY GIFT OF STILLNESS WITHIN YOU, I CALL YOU TO OPEN ALL OF YOURSELF TO MY LOVE
Maybe you can recall a time when you were asked to ‘carry’ someone’s load, either literally or metaphorically. Maybe someone asked you to carry their luggage, their shopping, their furniture…. Maybe someone asked you to represent them to some institution, some official… Relive an event when you felt you couldn’t really refuse. Whose weight do you feel called to carry in your local community? Have you resisted it? Now, imagine Jesus asking you to carry somebody, something, even his cross for him. Perhaps you are embarrassed at being associated with: ‘…Jesus, the King of the Jews’! Remember to review your time of prayer and imagining.
+Martin
Bishop of Argyll and The Isles.
Labels: Carry the cross
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