Our Journey into Christ

When you regard me

Your eyes imprint your grace in me,

in this you love me again,

And thus my eyes merited

to also love what you see in me...

Let us go forth together to see ourselves in Your beauty.

St. John of the Cross.

I wonder how often you read the Gospel stories? You may, or may not be aware that they also have an interesting history. William P. Herzog II, was a former Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York. He wrote a rather challenging book titled,  “Parables as Subversive Speech”. I say challenging, because he first reminds us that in Jesus' day most the main form of communication would have been by word of mouth. We see evidence of this in the many stories that Jesus told to the crowds. They would have been easy to remember and would have been told and retold by the listeners, time and time again. The familiar Gospel stories we know were finally written down much later. For example: “Mark's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 60-67

“Matthew's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 65-85

“Luke's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 65-95. 

And “John's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 75-100

A second interesting thing about the “Gospel Stories” is that being short and to the point, they were easy to remember. More importantly, they invited the listener to question what they were hearing or reading.
As you read this blog you also may come with your questions. They might be questions about what I have written, or you may have questions about your faith – or lack of faith – or about the world in which you live – or the way you live your life?

If you do ask these sorts of questions you are not alone. Jesus also asked a lot  of questions – for example:

1)  “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15 and Luke 9:20)

2)  “What do you want me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

3)  “Do you love me?” (John 21:17)

4) “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

5) Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).

6) “Do you also want to leave me?” (John 6:27)

In fact, Jesus asked 307 questions in the Gospels! Some were easy to answer and others were more challenging! For example “Why do you call me Good?”(Luke 18:19).

Jesus also answered questions to drive home a point he was making (Luke 7:42) or to expose duplicity (Mark 12:14–15), or, simply to get people thinking.

I wonder what questions you carry? How will you find an answer? Will you be content with an answer?

During his life Jesus was physically present to his disciples and they could ask him all sorts of questions. After his death the disciples discovered that Jesus was still present, and was still able to share his peace, authority and power – but in a different way. We are reminded of this in a popular Taize Chant which you may have sung at some stage. It is based on the words of Jesus found in John's Gospel (Chapter 14v27):

My Peace I leave You My Peace I Give You Trouble not your heart.

My Peace Leave You, My Peace I Give You, Be Not Afraid.

The Good News of the Gospels is that Jesus still promises to be with us 

and share his peace, authority and power with us... especially dur  moments of

 uncertainty and darkness. The Benedictine Monk, F  Saux,  whose writing

 has been influential in my life, once wrote:

“How can we escape the divine Presence when fills our whole life? The

 Presence is always shining on us as the sun is shining on the earth from on

 high in the sky.

The mystery of God in its fullness is both inside and outside us, within and

 without, like the air which surrounds us and penetrates into the tiniest

 hollows of our lungs...

The Christian is indeed the one 'who knows', the one whose eyes have been

 opened to the divine Splendour, in whose heart has shined,“the light of the

 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”^.1

That is also our good news – and one we celebrate during our Easter Season.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

Footnotes:

1. Reflections on Prayer - Fr Henri Le Saux OSB

See also "Who Wrote the Gospels, and How Do We Know... Zondervan

 Christ is Risen – He is Risen in deed!

The Russian Communist leader- Nikolai Bukharin once travelled from Moscow to Kiev to promote the logic of atheism. On one occasion after haranguing the crowd for an hour with argument for atheism and ridicule of Christianity he finally demanded “Are there any questions?” expecting none. However, a solitary man stood up and asked permission to speak. His request was granted and after he had mounted the platform and moved close to Bukharin, he slowly scanned the audience, then he shouted out the ancient Orthodox greeting:

“CHRIST IS RISEN!”

The vast assembly seemed to wake up from their stupor and their response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche:

“HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

For those who attend a traditional Church Service on Easter morning may hear the same traditional Easter greeting: “Christ is Risen!” Whether the congregation responds with the same affirmation “He is risen indeed!” will depend on the local custom. However, this familiar Easter exclamation also reminds us that during the busyness and daily demands of life, our life and faith may need to be woken up!

We find a similar theme in the Gospel account of the first Easter Day which records that the disciples experienced two very real human experiences – that of fear and doubt.

Doubt might have been a natural human response for the disciples even though Jesus had already told them that he would rise from the dead – but the disciples knew that people do not normally reappear after they have died so their fear when they saw the risen Christ entering the room would also have been totally understandable,^{(1) .}even though the disciples would have seen and participated in the new and radical way of Jesus' behaving and believing – and their fear for their own life and future would have been real.

Jesus also knew and understood this as well – as he understands our fears and struggles. We see evidence of Jesus' care and concern in his first word to his disciples. It was one single word “ Peace!” Yet we know that the “peace” Jesus was referring to was not the absence of trouble, because many of his followers would also be rounded up and die. Rather the peace Jesus was referring to was the “Peace of presence” – which is the eternal 'Shalom of God' that fills us and completes us. It is not something we cling on to – rather it is a sense of wholeness that we grow into, which reminds me of the book, “God's Hotel” that I read some time ago and written by Dr Victoria Sweet, the Senior Medical Physician in a San Francisco. Hospital.

In “God's Hotel” Dr Sweet writes about the time she took leave from her busy Hospital Medical practice to walk the pilgrimage known as “The Way of St James”. The journey began in Paris and finally led her to the cathedral Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Because of her medical practice Victoria could only walk part of the pilgrimage each year – however, she discovered her pilgrimage continued to actively occur within her as she walked the corridors of the Hospital because ultimately, walking a pilgrimage was not simply something one did – it is something that affects who you become – as the disciples of Jesus discovered in the following poem by William Alexander Percy (1885-1 942),

They cast their nets in Galilee

just off the hills of brown;

such happy, simple fisher folk,

before the Lord came down.

Contented, peaceful fishermen,

before they ever knew

the peace of God that filled their hearts

brim full, and broke them too.

Young John who trimmed the/Zapping sail,

homeless in Patmos died,

Peter, who hauled the teeming net,

head-down was crucified.

The peace of God, it is no peace,

but strife closed in the sod,

Yet let us pray for but one thing --

the marvellous peace of God

The Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nath Hahn, also suggested a similar 'marvellous joy, peace and serenity' that is still available to us in every breath we breathe and in every step we take:

Peace is all around us,

in the world and in nature and within us,

in our bodies and our spirits.

Once we learn to touch this peace

we will be healed and transformed. ’  ⁽²⁾

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

_____________

Footnotes:

1: Luke's Gospel 24:36-43

2. The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

 Seeds of Grace

Have you been in a situation where you wanted to thank someone who had been very influential in your life? They might have been there to support you when you were feeling alone and afraid. Or they helped you out financially and saved you from a pending disaster. Or they might have been a good friend, someone you could talk to and share your moments of excitement? Perhaps they were someone you trusted enough to share your deepest fears and struggles?

In all these situations – and others you may have experienced – did you ever wonder how you might express your appreciation to such a person?

We find a similar situation in one of the most lovely and loving stories in the Bible. It is the story of Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. The story is set in Jerusalem at the time of their annual passover when the city and the surrounding towns were crammed with people. They had all come to share in the yearly religious festival.

Jesus also returned to Jerusalem, which was a courageous choice for him, because the religious authorities wanted a way to silence Jesus. Jesus was aware that his days were numbered, but he also knew he would find a warm welcome at the home of Mary and Martha.

Mary and Martha were also aware of the risk Jesus took in returning to Jerusalem. So while Martha was in the kitchen preparing the meal, Mary, wishing to express her love and appreciation towards Jesus, took the most precious possession she owned – a small flask of pure Nard perfume – which she had kept safe for her wedding dowry. Breaking the seals, she anoints Jesus' feet with the whole flask of ointment, filling the house with its fragrance. She then begins to wipe Jesus' feet with her hair. It was not only an act of self-giving for Mary, it was also a profoundly relevant act, not only in Judaism, but also in other cultures of the ancient world, where a woman's hair served as a symbol of both power and identity, and was also associated with her self-worth and respect.

Perhaps we might find Mary's response curious – or even uncomfortable but in her way she was symbolically placing her life, her identity, and her self-worth at his feet; and in doing so she, in her own way, Mary prepares the path for Jesus final time in Jerusalem that ultimately led to his death.

Mary's love offering reminds me of that hymn composed by an 18^th century daughter of an English Vicar, Frances R. Havergal and whose words could well have been inspired by Mary's love and devotion towards Jesus: Some of the Lyrics include these words:

"Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee...

Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love...

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold …

Take my heart, it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne...

Take my love; my Lord, I pour - at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be, ever, only, all for thee..."

While we may applaud Mary's action, it stands in direct contrast to Judas Iscariot's response, who was also sitting at the meal table. In total contrast to Mary's offering, Judas condemns the whole episode as a ludicrous waste of money! Judas had been given the task of looking after the Disciples' purse. If given the opportunity, he would have sold the expensive ointment (and stolen a proportion of the money for himself)!

The difference between Mary and Judas was their attitude of heart. Where Mary sought to respond with love and devotion, Judas' response came from self-centred greed... which reminds me of Penelope Wilcock's book: 'The Wilderness Within You' .

Penelope is a Methodist minister, counsellor and author. In her nine-volume 'Hawk & the Dove Series', she reflects on an occasion when she had attended a Quaker Meeting. And while she enjoyed the quietness and stillness of their way of meditation, she became quite irritated when someone misquoted a Bible verse. Then as the story unfolds, she recounts how, in her imagination, she sees Jesus walking in the park, and when she had caught up with him and she begins to complain about the Quaker service... (and to quote from her book)

And what annoyed me even more was that Jesus didn't seem too worried. He even says: “Does it matter?”

“But it's not right when people misquote scripture” Penelope stated. Jesus pauses, then replies: Life rooted in Scripture is strong and secure. But the important thing really is to live it – I mean, that's what it's for. The Scriptures weren't written to make people right; they're seeds of grace to make life beautiful”

The Scriptures weren't written to make people right – (which is what Judas thought he was doing); 'they're seeds of grace to make life beautiful' (which is what Mary's action at the meal).

And that's what Mary does in our Gospel story today. She takes the most precious thing in her life – and offers it to Jesus.

Mary knew that Jesus was worthy of her honour and service, so she gave Jesus the best that she had. It was her offering of admiration, her love, and her future.

But Judas acted differently. He wasn't kind; what he said wasn't loving; he was unwilling to give Mary the benefit of the doubt and thought her offering of love and devotion was wasteful and embarrassing.

Judas lacked Mary's openness of heart and clarity of vision – and her love for Jesus. And as we make our journey through the season of Lent towards the Cross, may we also take moments where we might be inspired by Mary's action, so that we too might become 'seeds of grace that make life beautiful for those we meet and share our lives'. Amen.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil