Matthew under the arm 140
“It is important to arrive at the completion of this pilgrimage by night”, Columba said quietly as we climbed up the last of the steep valleys, at least of this pilgrimage. “Why, by night?” “Because I want to ensure that as you and I prepare to part, we greet the dawn together with that stillness which we have learnt on the way; that moment in the early part of the day, when the heart is most ready to receive the mystery of Christ”. I then remembered that we started in the dark, so that as were into our stride, the dawn appeared to welcome us on the pilgrimage. It is as if the hope of the dawn – the Resurrection – is written into the cycle of the Universe itself.
Matthew 28.9-10
Here we have a simple list of demands: ‘Do not be afraid….go….tell…’ Jesus does not say, ‘Now, let’s talk about your fear’. Nor does he say, ‘Now look. You ought not to be afraid.’ He makes a straight demand, as if he expects it, without reserve or hesitation, to be followed. Jesus ‘suddenly’ comes to meet the women. So why shouldn’t fear cease ‘suddenly’? The brothers ‘must leave for Galilee.’ No ‘please’ or ‘perhaps’, but another demand. Galilee is where the brothers were first formed as disciples. So going back to Galilee is to return to their first significant encounter with Jesus. That return would open up for them an avenue of grace again to perceive the mystery of the Resurrection.
I WOULD RETURN TO THE FIRST HINT OF YOUR PRESENCE WITHIN ME AND WAIT ON YOUR RISING WITHIN ME.
As has been the case throughout this pilgrimage, memory is of vital importance. If Galilee would stimulate the memory of the disciples as to their first experience of Jesus, where would your ‘Galilee’ be? Where would be the experience…the first hint of Christ in the detail of your personal life? Do not overlook anything no mater how trivial it may seem. Remember that Christ gathers up the fragments that nothing be lost. Even a crumb of burnt toast in your memory might unloosen a whole array of delight or perhaps apprehension about your experience. One useful [and enjoyable] wayof enabling the exercise to be given the time that is needed for it, is to go for a long walk by yourself, if you are able. Take a little notepad. Don’t be afraid to talk to Christ. Return to your ‘Galilee’.
+Martin
Bishop of Argyll and The Isles.
Matthew 28.9-10
Here we have a simple list of demands: ‘Do not be afraid….go….tell…’ Jesus does not say, ‘Now, let’s talk about your fear’. Nor does he say, ‘Now look. You ought not to be afraid.’ He makes a straight demand, as if he expects it, without reserve or hesitation, to be followed. Jesus ‘suddenly’ comes to meet the women. So why shouldn’t fear cease ‘suddenly’? The brothers ‘must leave for Galilee.’ No ‘please’ or ‘perhaps’, but another demand. Galilee is where the brothers were first formed as disciples. So going back to Galilee is to return to their first significant encounter with Jesus. That return would open up for them an avenue of grace again to perceive the mystery of the Resurrection.
I WOULD RETURN TO THE FIRST HINT OF YOUR PRESENCE WITHIN ME AND WAIT ON YOUR RISING WITHIN ME.
As has been the case throughout this pilgrimage, memory is of vital importance. If Galilee would stimulate the memory of the disciples as to their first experience of Jesus, where would your ‘Galilee’ be? Where would be the experience…the first hint of Christ in the detail of your personal life? Do not overlook anything no mater how trivial it may seem. Remember that Christ gathers up the fragments that nothing be lost. Even a crumb of burnt toast in your memory might unloosen a whole array of delight or perhaps apprehension about your experience. One useful [and enjoyable] wayof enabling the exercise to be given the time that is needed for it, is to go for a long walk by yourself, if you are able. Take a little notepad. Don’t be afraid to talk to Christ. Return to your ‘Galilee’.
+Martin
Bishop of Argyll and The Isles.
posted by Martin at 8:25 pm
1 Comments:
At a requiem for a friend. In the darkness, really, metaphorically speaking. A good end-that-is-a-beginning here!
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