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

                                                     Lost and Found

Have you ever lost something? It might be your car keys, for example, your purse or wallet, your diary or cell phone. You know you left them somewhere... but that 'somewhere' has become very elusive. If that has ever happened to you, you will be able to sympathize with the woman in the parable of the 'Lost Coin' (Luke 15: 1-10). While we may think that one small coin was not worth worrying about, for the woman, the loss was significant enough for her to search her house, and when she found the coin, “she called together her friends and neighbours” who naturally wanted to celebrate her find with her!

Interestingly, Luke surrounds this story with two other similar stories. The chapter begins with a farmer who noticed one of his sheep was missing. The flocks and herds owned by Middle Eastern farmers were not large by our standards, and a flock of 100 sheep would have belonged to a clan rather than an to individual farmer. This meant the shepherd was able to go in search for the lost sheep while others minded the flock – and again you can imagine his joy when the sheep was found safe and sound.

Then there is a third story that follows the story of the lost coin – this time it was the son of a farmer who demanded his share of his inheritance, and he wanted it right now! Even though it was entirely inappropriate in their culture for him to make that demand, his father agreed, and his son went off and squandered his whole inheritance on 'wild living'!.

Unfortunately for him, a severe famine hit the country, and since he had spent his inheritance, his hunger forced him to take a job looking after a herd of pigs and he became so hungry that he would have happily eaten the slops given to the pigs. So it wasn't long before his hunger forced his decision to return home.

Unknown to him, his father had been waiting anxiously for his return, and when his father saw him in the distance, the father ran to welcome his son home, and rather than scolding him, his father threw a public party to celebrate his return.

What I found interesting, is while these stories are also found elsewhere in the Gospels, Luke alone weaves them together to tell a larger story. The focus of each of the three stories is that someone valued the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, enough to search for them, and then to rejoice at their 'home-coming'.

The three parables also tell us something even more important, that affects us as well, because they are all stories of affirmation – told to remind us that we also are valued in the eyes and mind of God, and that our value doesn't depend on anything we have done. It relates instead to who we are: we have been created by God, and we are capable of carrying and reflecting the divine image through the way we live, as God waits and watches, loves and cares about us. Such joy is echoed in the following Poem by the 13th century Sufi Persian poet, Saadi Shirazi:

How could I ever thank you, my Friend?
No thanks could ever begin to be worthy.
Every hair of my body is a gift from you;
How could I thank you for each hair?
I praise you, lavish Lord, forever,
Who from nothing conjures all living beings!
Who could ever describe your goodness?
Your infinite glory lays all praise waste.
Look, Your grace us with a robe of splendour
from childhood's first cries to old age!
You made us pure in your own image.
May we never let dust settle on our mirror's shining;
When we work in the world to earn our living,
let us not, for one moment, rely on our own strength.

Self-worshiper, don't you understand anything yet?
It is God alone that gives your arms their power.
If, by your striving, you achieve something good,
Don't claim the credit all for yourself;
In this world, you never stand by your own strength;
It is the Invisible that sustains your every moment.

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

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

 

Awaking To The Sacred

This Sunday's feast of the Transfiguration (16 March) takes us to the very heart of a living and life-giving Christian faith. Because knowing about God is quite different to the experience of God's presence first hand – which was one of the main goals of Jesus' mission.

You may be well aware that the Jewish religion in Jesus' day had become bound by rules and regulations and was so different to the inclusive, liberating, life-giving and life-enriching teachings of Jesus. For this reason alone, Jesus invited anyone and everyone who came to him to have eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to love, and an open willingness to respond to the generous out-flowing Love of God. We see Jesus offering a similar invitation when he invited us to:

“Come to Me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,and you will find rest for your souls.¹

St Peter also wrote a very similar invitation based on his own experience:

Cast your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you! ²

It's so easy – even for us – to lose sight of the significance of these invitations. I think back over my own background. I was raised in a church-going family. My father was the local Anglican vicar and my mother was a Church Army Officer (which is an evangelistic and mission orientated organization within the Anglican Church). Obviously, my brothers and I were raised surrounded by, and grounded in, the Christian faith. We had prayers at the meal table and were encourage to memorize scripture. We attended Church every Sunday and even had quizzes on our biblical knowledge, but in retrospect, it was a very much a head knowledge faith.

What I valued and longed for, and found most meaningful, was to go into the church building (which was usually near our home) in the evenings when no one was there, and allow the stillness of the prayed-in building to wrapped itself around me and to hold me. They were very powerful and life-giving moments. It was only much later I came across the words of Archbishop Desmond Tuto:

“God is holy, therefore we are all holy; we are all God carriers, God’s stand-ins, God’s viceroys... Each human being, no matter what colour of skin they have, is created in God’s image, therefore is a piece of God, therefore is holy, therefore deserves respect, dignity, compassion and love.” ³

The experience of an almost physically and tangible sense of God's presence was something we also find throughout the Bible – From the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were able to talk with God in the cool of the evening (Genesis 3:8) to St Paul with his vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus which changed his life forever. (Acts 9:3-9)

As I reflect upon life-giving experience of God that transformed the life's of so many people in our sacred scriptures it encourages us also to reflect upon our own graced moments when the boundaries of this world seem to grow thin, and we too may sense the love and presence of God surrounding us, and leaving us with the longing that such moments would last forever. However, the intensity of those graced moments do fade – and while we may want to cling to them in the hope they would remain forever, we also have to return to the events of our every day life, and learn how to weave those treasured moments into our life so that all of our life becomes Holy.

The good news is that the Spirit of God is always active and present to those with open hearts and minds and as the Franciscan Priest, Richard Rohr, has once wrote:

God’s presence can become experiential and undoubted for a person. Most of us believe things because our churches tell us to believe them, so we say 'I believe' as we do in the creed. But God doesn't want us just to say 'I believe'. God created us with the ability to say with conviction:'I know' because we have a knowledge that comes from first hand experience.

This is very similar to the experience the 17th-century Carmelite lay-monk Brother Lawrence discovered. When he heard the words of God's invitation:

‘Seek Me, and you will find Me when you search for me with all your heart' ⁵ Brother Lawrence took the words literally, and began to talk to God about everything he was doing during the day; whether he was washing dishes in the kitchen or cleaning the monastery floors. He found this discipline so helpful, that he encouraged everyone he met to try it for themselves:

Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God.  The more we know God, the more we will desire to know God.  As love increases with knowledge, the more we know God,the more we will truly love God.’

His straightforward simple approach to God's presence is beautifully captured in the following poem by Denise Levertov:

‘The Conversion of Brother Lawrence',

Everything faded – beside
the light which bathed and warmed, the Presence
your being had opened to. Where it shone,
their life was, and abundantly; it touched
your dullest task and the tasks were easy.
Joyful, absorbed,
you "'practised the presence of God" as a Musician
practices hour after hour his art:
"A stone before the carver,"
you "entered into yourself."

Amen.

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. Matthew 11:28-30

2. 1Peter 5:7

3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-i-learned-from-desmo_b_828388

4. Matthew 17:1-8

5. Jeremiah 29:13

 

Taking Time Out

One of the things I have discovered since moving to New Plymouth is the attraction of Mt Taranaki. We have a clear view of the Mountain from our home and recognise the way it beckons us from our gate each time we leave the house.

Over the years we have spent many happy days exploring the lower tracks on the mountain but aware that we tread as guests on sacred land – yet they are not without their dangers. Tramping NZ suggest a list of 21 essential items you need to take with you, even for a simple mountain day hike, because you never know what might happen to you or to the weather! It's good to leave prepared so we will return home safely.

While the mountain is still considered, geologically, to be a young mountain, it has an interesting history. It's official name is Taranaki Maunga and is a dormant stratovolcano that was formed over 130,000 years of volcanic activity, with it's last major eruption being in the year 655.

The Mountain and the land around it is held sacred to local Maori, and has been revered as a deeply spiritual site and a source of physical, cultural and spiritual sustenance as well as a final burial site. However, during the English colonization of New Zealand in the 1840's – 1860's the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 allowed the confiscation of land belonging to any tribe, or section of a tribe, judged to have rebelled against the Queen's authority, and this included the mountain and more than a million acres of Maori land. However, finally, on Jan 31st 2025, New Zealand Parliament passed the Collective Redress granting the mountain all the rights and responsibilities of a human being. The park surrounding Mount Taranaki was also renamed 'Te Papa-Kura o Taranaki', with management plans requiring dual approval from the conservation minister and iwi leaders.

This week's Gospel reading (Luke 4:1-13 ) we hear of Jesus going out into into the Sinai Desert which also held profound importance to the Jewish/Hebrew people. The desert also contained a mountain (Mt Sinai) that was sacred to them. The desert also held it's own sacred history and beauty to the Jewish/Hebrew, as well as it's well known dangers. Wile the desert lacked both of food and water, it was renown for earthquakes, snakes, scorpions, and attacks from enemy tribes. A traveller could well journey out into the desert and never return. I wonder how prepared Jesus was for his time spent in the wilderness, and what he took with him?

In contrast, in New Zealand, we live in a very beautiful country. I was reminded of this by the Hyundai advertisement on television some time ago which encouraged people to lose themselves in the beauty of creation because by “Getting Lost in the empty wild places of New Zealand we might find our true selves again”; words that also offer us a wonderful introduction to this weeks Gospel reading.

In the reading, Luke records how Jesus, having laid down his carpentry tools, prepares himself for his public ministry by spending time in the desert wilderness. The first thought I had, was that also are spiritual pilgrims, whether we recognise the term or not. We also are on a journey through life, and we need to take time out to find and connect with our true selves. We also need to make space in our lives to simply enjoy the wonder and beauty of God's creation, especially in the empty wild places – whether it be our garden or local park or further afield.

In our readings today we find Jesus taking time out to spend it on mountaintop in the wilderness. The 'wilderness' was a familiar setting in the Bible because it was seen as an-between space where ordinary life is suspended. We might call it “a thin place” where the veil between this world and the eternal world becomes merged. A place of transition, a place of waiting, a place to meet God, and a place where our identity shifts and new possibilities emerge.

By going into the wilderness, Jesus was also identifying himself with his Jewish past where his Hebrew ancestors were referred to as 'wandering Arameans' because they spent 40 years making their way through the wilderness. In the process, they discovered the wilderness also became a thin place for them. A place full of signs and wonders.

St Paul was another biblical person who spent time in the wilderness. After his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, rather than rush to Jerusalem and seek out the other disciples, he withdrew into the Arabian desert for three years (Gal 1:17) and during that time he discovered the desert became a place of waiting and prayer, as well as a place of personal growth as he allowed God's Spirit to transform him and instruct him. When he finally emerged from his desert retreat, Paul was ready to communicate the divine truth to others through his preaching and writing.

So the gift the wilderness gave to the Israelites, and to Paul, and to Jesus, was learning to trust in God – that God is trustworthy, and when they were ready, God would and did lead them. Such trust may not have come easily to them. It also required the gift of faith that God was trust-worthy and knew where he was taking them. It also required the gift of hope – that God knew their final journey's end.

For us also, Jesus seeks to be our Way. To be our companion and our hope – and also to be our destination. And we know that such hope is trustworthy – or to use the words of St Paul written from his own experience:

Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you, and He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own. (1 Thes 5:24)

Lent is a time when we are invited to enter a 40 day journey. I wonder what sort of journey you will make, or you are already making over the next 5 weeks? And what sort of stories you will recount when we finally reach the joy of Easter?.


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

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

         Recovering Our Inner Ability to See. Luke 6:39-49

Have you ever lost your ability to see? For example it may have been on a dark night when you were staying in someone else's house - as I was once when I was young. It would have been 70 years ago but I can still visualize the moment when I awoke and found the room was totally dark. I needed to go to the bathroom but became hopeless lost. It was frightening, and ever since I make sure I always have a Flash-light (Torch) beside my bed.

It was much later that I discovered most children go through a 'scared of the dark' phase, and perhaps that is why as adults we may still find something about darkness that disturbs us. Such a response to darkness is apparently a natural evolutionary trait that still lingers within us. Such innate fears can also become our friends – once we appreciate that it is one way our body seeks to look after us and keep us safe.

A close neighbour to fear of the dark, is the fear of the unknown. In my understanding of this week's Gospel reading (Luke 6:39-49) it seems to me that Jesus was talking about the things we fear, and our ability to see clearly. He was also referring to how we so easily take our gift of sight and independence for granted. While he was reminding his listeners that physical sight and physical blindness is one thing – he was also reminding us that there is another form of blindness that is psychological. We may be oblivious of if its impact, but it still affects our daily lives in a way we might never have imagine! The result is that we remain blissfully unaware of our attitudes and the way we behave in certain situations – and this is not new.

In Jesus' day the leading elite of the Jewish Temple also struggled unknowingly with a similar problem. Their sacred Scriptures gave instructions for them to care for the poor and to be compassionate towards them. They lived and worked in a community where an estimated 9 out of 10 people lived near or below the basic standard of living ^l. little wonder Jesus spent so much time and energy with the poor as he showed his compassion in healing the sick, touching and restoring the leper, and giving sight to the blind – both physically and emotionally; giving food to the hungry and spending time with the poor. Many of those who came to him were living on or near subsistence level. Some were homeless, others were vulnerable, physically afflicted and politically powerless. And yet, Jesus refers to them a 'Blessed”! While those who were well fed and wealthy Jesus calls, 'Unfortunate'. A total reverse of our standards! Yet Jesus was referring to something that is so often true – we can become very dependent on our wealth; on our technology; on our independence; and on our freedom and comforts. While these of themselves are not necessarily good or bad, Jesus was referring to the things that have the potential to draw us away from our faith and dependence on God. That is why the rich man who came to Jesus and asked him: 'What must I do to be “Saved”? Jesus suggested he should “Sell everything you have and give it to he poor, and come and follow me (as a homeless beggar!) It wasn't that wealth was wrong or bad – rather Jesus could see the man's wealth and possessions and independence had taken over his life and values. It can happen so easily as we slowly succumb to the values and customs of the age and culture in which we live.

While there is not necessary anything wrong with wealth, Jesus was encouraging those who wished to become his followers that they are to go beyond the localized values. To do more than following the Golden Rule of treating others as one would want to be treated. Jesus was inviting us to become grounded in the attitudes and actions of the One who created us because that is the imprint we all carry hidden within us.

Our souls and the essence of God are one and the same thing! The challenge for the people in Jesus' day – and also for us – is how we bring both our body and our mind into alignment with that deep inner truth of our being.

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

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

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1. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26551184