Matthew under the arm 58

The terrain that Columba and I are walking through is dusty and hot. What makes it worse is the hot wind which makes to dust feel as if it is burining into the skin. High on hillside, we came across three people, two women and a man, sitting on rocks a little way off the path. One of the man was being 'lectured' by the woman and the other man, so much so that you could hear their ranting from away down the hill. Columba stopped and looked at them. The woman shouted on him to come and help. So we both went and sat beside them. Columba was thirsty and asked if they had spare water. They were too focused on their difficulty to hear his request. 'This is my brother', said the woman. 'He is not joining in our prayers any more on this pilgrimage. He doesn't do his share of washing of clothes. He is selfish and...and...etc He is so negative about the pilgrimage that he must be attacking the holiness of it. So we are trying to persuade him to own the dark forces within him!' 'I resist your pilgrimage as well!', whispered Columba. 'Ask yourselves what is within YOU that is bringing about his response.' Columba got up quickly and wept for them.



Matthew 13:24-30….
The prophetic challenge of the Gospel is that the only enemy within us is the one we create. To root out the enemy’s weapons (the tares, the weeds) is to leave the enemy intact – within. They are not the issue. The burning by fire is the work of the Spirit within that purifies the self that is made in the image of God and consumes all the falsity that gets in the way. The parable simply points to God working within us alongside that which is destructive – not avoiding it – allowing it to be transformed by love.


Let your awareness of My creativity grow within you


The knee-jerk reaction is to find that the negative elements in you are somebody else’s fault. You have, frankly, created your own enemies. Once you see them as your friends, they lose their power! The sentence is an importance means of dropping down into the depths of your heart and becoming more and more aware of Christ working creatively within you. That process, if allowed to work and given time, of its own, reveals that which undermines your life in God. Let the negative elements within you rise to the surface gently. Take responsibility for your own enemies. Christ will transfigure them in the depths of you with the Spirit.

+Martin
Bishop of Argyll and The Isles