Green Patches

Who do you say that I am?

 

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

    “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

 - Matthew 16, text Biblegateway

 

To return to our wandering shepherd, now reunited with his friends after a brief if inglorious career as a visual aid at our church's prayer group.

"Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked  his disciples. The Sunday before during the service, we'd been encouraged to reflect on who Christ is to each of us wherever we currently find ourselves on our journey of faith.  I say encouraged - maybe 'gently challenged' might best describe it. I picked up on this, leading  into our customary time of silent prayer with Matthew's text and a short meditation posing the question once more "Who do you say that I am?"

I guess any of Christ's questions could equally well have   applied just then.  Maybe they did.  He asked plenty of them, after all. "What do you want me to do for you?" Who are you looking for?" "Who touched me?" "Where is your faith?" "What concern is it of yours?" "What is your name?" and dozens and dozens of others.   

But later I fell to thinking about the approaches different  branches  of our faith communities take to those questions, to discipleship and encouraging  each other to grow and change.  Particularly after glancing through another 'Ship' discussion on Altar calls and 'decisionism': the good old call to the front, altar call, sinner's prayer and whatnot. Not all of it unfamiliar to me, in a fairly restrained Anglican version of from my old church. I'll try  not to  get into arguments about soteriology here; they've been pretty thoroughly covered on the thread.  However, my own reflections did get me pondering some aspects of my own journey - and  where I stand now on some of the methodology used over on the more evangelical and charismatic wing of the church, now that I've spent a few years in a slightly broader and more catholic setting. 

More so  given my own moves since into discerment of a possible  call to spiritual direction, my deeper appreciation and understanding of the nuances of peoples' faith journeys. 

Was,  for instance, my group  meditation  an 'altar call' in a different guise? It certainly didn't occur to me at the time that it might be considered to be this.  That my initial feeling was one of slight...only slight and probably  misplaced  - guilt at even an unintended hint of manipulation on my part  is maybe just the lingering remains of  hangups from my previous experiences.  Certainly I find the more laid back style of 'Newchurch' is enabling me to   grow into a way of relating to both God and my fellow Christians that's far more autonomous, less dependent than  before. Living, as well as living with...the questions.

Likewise, I consider my own style to be less 'directive,' more 'fellow pilgrim,' 'companioning.'  That could account for my ambivalence. Am I confusing  directiveness (is there such a word?!) with challenge? That should pose some implications for my own companioning. 

So after all that hot air, no answers...more questions. Which neatly brings us back to Matthew 16: "Who do you say that I am?" 

 

 

Advent Blog of The Week - Introverted Church/The Modern Mrs Darcy and Mind Journeys

I've a double offering this time round,  to make up for the absence of anything last week: the first A Modern Mrs Darcy features as guest writer on Adam McHugh's Introverted Church with her Christmas snapshot  My second blogger, Franciscan Ted Witham tells us about living with  chronic pain. No extracts here; I'll leave you to read their reflections for yourself.

Why did I choose these particular blogs? Well, I guess you could say they chose me, tying in as they do with this strand of prayer I wrote about at the beginning of Advent  which has come about from my experiences on retreat. More recently, I've blogged about a sense of 'spiritual discombobulation', even rather facetiously spoken about feeling out of sync with the whole thing. Which last isn't strictly true when I pause to look at it. 

What's been going on can be better described in terms of an artist choosing colours. Last Advent for me was a swirl of gold, rich jewel-like shades, strong, set against a deep, dark yet ultimately rich darkness. "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it." This year the colours are far more thinly spread, there, but often only faintly etched against an altogether more stark, chill shade of blackness.  The darkness is more fragile, brittle. It seems to chime in with a growing awareness of the world's pain: of a never-ending procession of hurting folk that I keep encountering.  So many people who  are ill or who've lost loved ones at this time of year. In amongst my tertiary circle alone for instance, or in church -  we've had several  sudden, unexpected deaths, and a number of folk  who've lost parents in the last couple of days or weeks.

So to our bloggers - waiting, hoping and, aware of the impermanance yet preciousness of this world. Pointing to what it's  ultimately all about; a stark contrast to the ever-increasing razmatazz comercially as the world careers its way towards the final countdown to Christmas.  Thank you for helping  clarify matters for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

Advent Blog of The Week - The Mercy Blog and Weeble's Wonderings

 

Advent Prayer

 

Lord, still us this today and in this Advent Season – keep us wide awake in these days of waiting. Take from us our anxieties and our preoccupations, our distractions and our despair. Let us be empty in this time before, awaiting your coming with empty hands, and open hearts…

 

Lord, prepare us for your coming. Fill us with the hope of your judgement, and a longing for your justice. Let our hope and our prayer be always for this broken creation of which we are part. Have mercy on all who suffer, human or animal. Help us to bring the good news of your coming, the comfort of hope, the joy of this new kind of waiting…

 

Amen

 - with thanks to Mike F of The Mercy Blog

One evening last week, I was  in  our contemplative prayer group at church, when, towards the end of the session, I was suddenly, as I've described it to myself 'hi-jacked' by a memory  of an item which I'd read in the paper earlier in the day: a particularly horrible example of  pure, gratuitous violence towards a poor, helpless animal, the which defies all belief and about which I simply can't bring myself to give any more details here.  There followed  a  fraught few minutes whilst I  tried alternately to a) push the distraction aside, or b) give  it to God, which last unfortunately and again without giving any details (shudders) seemed unavoidably to involve 're-living it.'  All clever theological explanations seemed pretty irrelevant  just then, and to be honest, pretty feeble, too. We're back to that evergreen topic of theodicy 'How could you, God?'

I've since re-commbobulated myself, so to speak...just, and can see, I think, that this struggle was likely the latest in a series of 'answers,' to a prayer I made leading on from what I brought out of retreat. Why I should be surprised, I don't know. I do think prayer should come with a health warning, though.  Do Not Be Surprised If You Get What You Ask For. 

So the petitions in the prayer "Have mercy on all who suffer, human or animal..." resonates with me as we begin Advent.

 

 

Over on A Weeble's Wonderings Avila reflects on the ever-present struggle with life-work balance and the need to know when and to press those 'recharge' buttons. I chose it for personal reasons; thanks be to God their situation is not my own although some of the issues mentioned do touch several loved ones close to home. It was the final paragraph that spoke to  me however. The 'Who Am I? What Am I?' question and my tendency to define myself solely in relation to the role (I perceive) other people see me in and to whether I shape up to that perception,  has been around now as long as I can remember. We Are Improving slowly....which is good...yet still very much a Work In Progress...

I started with the title 'Who am I? What am I?' - when we can no longer answer these about ourselves, rather than just in relation to other people or roles, then it is a sign we need to find respite, and to find ourselves again.

 - A Weeble's Wonderings - Who Am I? What Am I?

 

  

 

 

Franciscan Advent Resources - Peace Made Flesh

From the Franciscan Friars of The Holy Name -  this was published  in 2008; I gave it a mention last Advent , but could easily be used again each year.

Blog of The Week - Franciscan Associates and The Water Walker's Apprentice

image: freeimages.co.uk

 

Favourites in my googlereader this week: Franciscan Associates and Steve Tilley both write on Welcoming The Stranger. 

Dorothy Parker, the author who was famous for her dark wit, used to answer her telephone with this greeting:  “What fresh hell is this?”  

What do you think when someone knocks on your door?  Is it closer to “What fresh hell is this?” or is it closer to, “Thanks be to God?”

 - Martin B Copenhaver Who's That Knocking at My Door? in Francisan Associates.

 

You can find Steve's Show em yer warts over on The Water Walker's Apprentice.

In case my two prayer partners - due here in just over an hour's time should chance upon this blog, my response is always  the second one. As for warts, after nearly four years, they're used to being a) ambushed by the dog b) stared down by the cat c) tripping over aforementioned dog's bone in the hallway d) having to remove pet hairs from their person and e) being nearly knocked out by my over enthusiastic use of pot-pourri essential oils and scented candles. This last isn't  as much an indicator of my journey further Up The Candle; as an honest, if misguided attempt to disguise the fact that the cat has carefully timed her evening toilet visit to coincide with the arrival of visitors. 

Never mind. My view is  that there's nothing a Nice Cup Of Tea can't put right. 

 

 

 

 

Three Ways of Making a Rule of Life

With Francistide and review of my TSSF Rule of Life still fresh in my mind,  here's some advice on the process applicable to anybody looking to live life more intentionally and holistically:

 

A rule is a document embodying the values which are central to your life, and the praxis which allows you to live this out with genuine integrity. 

 - Hermit Sr Laurel from notes from stillsong.

Developing a Rule of Life 13 Tips - from soulgardeners

 

and

Balancing Life by The Rule by Debra Farrington

I came across a wonderful piece of advice yesterday -  that  rule of life should not be a list of 'to do (s)' but of 'to be (s).'

Words, words, words...Over on the Franciscan Support Thread on Shipoffools posters are asking - Is it possible to make a rule of life without using them ? It's been suggested for the TSSF Principles in the past. Could you sign it? Paint, sing or dance it? Any other medium? Suggestions please...

For Franciscans I"d have thought creative ways like these would be spot on, given their sprituality and the famous "Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words," saying popularly attributed to our founder.

Granted we might have problems at annual renewal presenting them all at the altar - still I'm sure there are ways and means of getting over that one!

Francistide Blog of The Week - Creation Care Newsletter

Why Care For Creation?

Here are three reasons to interact carefully with the Creation, to nurture and preserve it

Prudence or the thoughtful care for one’s own well-being.  You breathe; so you need breathable air.  You drink, so you need potable water.  You eat, so you need nutritious food.  You see, so you need clean skies.  You can get sick, very sick with cancers, so you need a world without cancer causing chemicals.  You move through and have your being the environment, so you need to wake up to it, think about it, perceive how the changes we have made and are making could be harmful to you.  Your life comes from nature.  Protect your source. It’s just common sense.

1. Do you owe a debt to the future?  “What did the future ever do for me”? You say?  Well, it created you.  Before you were, you were in the future.  Before you were, people planted the trees that shade you, developed the grains and the animal strains that feed you, invented the clothes and the way of building houses that shelter you, kept pure the water that you must have to live each day, invented the writing that you are now reading, and learned how to teach you to read it  They preserved this  world through countless generations so it would be here for you to inhabit.  You owe them a debt, the debt of your very life; but here’s the paradox; since they are gone, you can only pay it forward, to the next generations. It is a moral obligation.

 

1. Jesus came to reconcile us to one another and to God our Creator and Sustainer Who has made us as part and parcel of the larger creation—as members of it.  We are not alone here—God made millions of other creatures and all are His children.  He is manifest in His creation—it is His work.  To be reconciled to Him we must be reconciled to his creation.  If we love Him Who made us, we must love what else He made.  If our mortal father lovingly built for us a house and garden with his own hands and we then trashed it, we could not say we loved him.  Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you. By this all men will know you are my disciples.”  And if we are to be reconciled to one another, we must care for that which cares for others, namely the earth and all that is in it.  If I say I care for my neighbor, then go cut down his apple trees and take the fruit for myself, I can not say I love him.  If I poison her air, use up resources she needs to live, foul his water with my landfills and radioactive dumps, how can I say I am reconciled to her?  The choice to drive a hybrid or a Hummer is not about you—it’s about other people and about your grandchildren.  God’s earth was made for us all, and for all who are yet to come, not just for those of us who are fortunate enough to live in comparative prosperity at the present moment.  - From Environmental Commission, Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire via Franciscan Associates 

 

 

 

Useful and Acceptable Gifts

I was puffing my way up the hill to church last Sunday; at the last minute as usual, but I just had to stop and pick up these conkers.  I dithered for a nanosecond (I mean, a fifty-something year-old woman getting all excited over something like this - honestly!), but my inner five year-old won in the end, you'll be glad to hear.  The same inner five-year old that I remember popping out during my first retreat seven years ago now, as I wandered round the wild garden at CSF Compton Durville.   It was like exploring a jungle! I was  so thrilled! By the time I went home I must have gathered half of the Somerset countryside on my windowsill - plus any number of creepy-crawlies besides.

To return to last week,  off I hopped to church where I arranged my treasure carefully on the pew in front of me, and, I regret to say, didn't really take in very much of the service at all that morning. Never mind, for once I've managed to get ahead of myself, what with Harvest Festival coming up and all. I came out of the sacristy this afternoon to see one of the flower ladies busy decorating the place with a lovely collection of leaves, conkers and other autumal goodies. Somebody is going to find it rather difficult to concentrate this Sunday as well, and we're not just talking about the children. My inner Busy Fauve is dying to go for a run. As I'd suspect too,  the insect life that might have come into church with the decorations. Who knows? If they hang around for long enough, they'll be able to take part in the pet blessing service the following weekend!

 The beech husks in the photo are another 'treasure' unearthed by my resident Fauve and I on our walks which make me smile.  Do any bloggers remember the classic Joyce Grenfell monologue Useful And Acceptable Gifts where she plays a (Very Buckinghamshire) countrywoman giving a lecture to a Women's Institute on how to make a 'boutoniere' out of beech husks?  Wonderful. Any road, I'm not able to pass a beech tree at this time of year now without giggling quietly to myself. 

So, I'll be up there this Sunday, ploughing the fields and scattering away. And I'll be thinking about boutonieres, earwigs and the gifts of laughter and wonder.

 

 

 

Late Blog of The Week - The Cartoon Blog

Welcome to my Blog of The Week - 'late' this time, not  - thankfully - in the Precious Ramotswe, Alenxander Mcall-Smith sense, more in the 'unexpected diversion caused by fault at the telephone exchange and subsequent circuitous and ultimately time-wasting wanderings round the labyrinthine bowels of a certain provider's website and call centre system' sense of the word.  But that's another story, which, I hope, will not be set to run and run...

So, to BOTW: this time round, I chose what I call one of the 'Big Blogs,' Dave Walker's Cartoon Blog and his reflections on his struggles to maintain his creativity under pressure.  I've had a bit of a sea-change myself, lately, partly prompted by the examples of other people who've not been afraid to be seen to be vulnerable. (At times in the past, the dreaded words:"Now, I'd like us to turn to our neighbour and share..." has had me glancing at the door to locate  the nearest exit for the loo). Hence, I have a great deal of respect for those of us who have the courage to stand up and share their 'seagulls,' or in my case, 'seabirds.' Yes, I know the picture here shows a stork; there is a perfectly simple explanation for this here.

Seagulls, seabirds, storks; which gives me a chance to make an even more tenuous link: Wildgoose and tertiary and actor Paul Alexander's classic reflections on the work of the Holy Spirit: Chasing The Wildgoose which he originally wrote for Franciscan enquirers.

"In the Celtic tradition ‘the wild goose’ is the symbol for the Holy Spirit. The

 

wild goose is an enigmatic creature; once seen, never forgotten; once

 

heard, always remembered; here one moment, gone the next; fond of

 

desolate places and freedom; a romantic figure living a wild life; almost

 

impossible to follow, but once pursued, almost impossible to give up."

 

Keep your seagulls flying, Dave. They're an inspiration to us all. 

When I started this feature, I'd planned never to repeat a blogger, but, as it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day yesterday, I simply couldn't resist linking to Archdruid Eileen's Liturgy. 

                                                                                                                                                          aarrmen!

 

 

 

Greenbelt Part 1

A few thoughts on my experience helping out with the TO presence this year, taken from 'The Ship.'

I thoroughly enjoyed my stints on the TO stall at Greenbelt. Plenty people stopped to make enquiries, browse through our literature and just to chat. I had some really inspiring conversations there. 

It was also good - if amusing - to note how many tertiaries, apart from those of us involved with the organisation of the stall - were there 'incognito' but who sidled by and 'outed' themselves when they realised we were there! 

 Taint always easy to meet with TO folk out of one's immediate area; (come to think of it, it isn't that easy to maintain contact with tertiaries within our own areas). I came away feeling quite encouraged.

Should any of the organisers be lurking here, this was definitely A Good Idea and I'm looking forward to next year's stint.