Whenever I reflect on the metaphors of pilgrimage and journeying, it isn’t long before I remember a favourite tree that is one of the prize specimens in the glass house at the Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens at Wisley, which are a favourite haunt for me and my mum. Ravenala madagascariensis is a tree from Madagascar that is commonly known as the ‘Traveller’s Tree’. The legends go that it’s called this either because the palm like leaves hold water that could be drunk in an emergency, or because the fan shape in which the leaves are held grows on an east-west axis and could potentially be used as a compass. (Neither of these should be put to the test!)
I love this tree because it flourishes in adversity: it is an amalgam of different colours and textures, and as I have watched this Wisley specimen grow over time, the colours and shapes shift, merge and split. I spend long periods sitting in front of it holding a camera, seeing more and more intricacy as it matures. The name of this tree is also makes me remember a BBC Radio Four programme I sometimes catch which is called ‘Traveller’s Tree’ based on the folk tradition that travellers in Africa and South America pin advice for fellow travellers to trees.
As I sit in front of photographs of ‘my’ tree, I am reminded of how dependent I am on the need to travel my faith pilgrimage in the company of others, and how greatly I need to heed their fellow direction and advice along roads they have already travelled ahead of me. Being part of a community of pilgrims is vital for me since I spend much of my life alone, housebound or in bed, and can count the number of times I have got to church in the last four years on the fingers of one hand. The tension between travelling alone and in company becomes particularly evident when I am struggling with periods of recurring depression. At these times the lie that I have been abandoned by God is very loud in my head indeed. But it is is precisely in these ‘desert’ places that I need to remember the lesson of the Traveller’s Tree: God is present; God has provided and will continue to provide (often in creative, unlooked for and unusual ways); God has given me guides, teachers and companions along the way to accompany me in my lostness.
I wrote for this blog last year about ‘travelling whilst staying still’, and I realise a year on how pertinent that phrase remains for me. I keep returning to the Benedictine concept of ‘Statio’, and the importance of being rooted and grounded in one place. My bed can become the holy reminder that this journey I am travelling is a pilgrimage to the Now, to the Source of all Being, who is found not in a certain place my wheelchair can’t get to, nor in a certain religious practice my personality doesn’t warm to, but is found, by infinite Grace, in this moment where I already am.
I find myself on a pilgrimage of Presence. I am following the invitation of the Host to surrender my struggles in a series of infinite pauses along the Way.
I know this invitation to ‘be’ first rather than ‘do’ first is a vital one for me, a vital lesson (literally life-giving) in combatting the overachiever, the boom/bust artist, the ambitious, competitive perfectionist I am. So it is unsurprising I frequently fail. I pick up the heavy baggage again that I have only just put down. I don’t listen to the knowledge I have been given inside me. I don’t concentrate on the words of those guides who have made maps for me. Nor do I pay enough attention to the wondrous signs of the world right in front of my eyes. But eventually Grace prompts me to come to my senses, to realise I’ve been drifting, and to set off with intention once more towards my God in the direction that ancient teacher Wisdom has given me.
Along her path there is much pleasure,
and her path goes through places of peace.
She is a tree of life for those who bring her inside,
those who hold her firmly inside are called happy.
(from In Praise of Sophia, Proverbs 3.11-20, translated by Aaron Blum)
I am thankful for those places of peace that I find. This Godspace/Mustard Seed community is one. The Ravenala madagascariensis is another. And I remind myself again of one last fact about this tree: it is fitting that it is defined as a member of the ‘bird of paradise’ family.
In the shade of the Traveller’s Tree you can call me happy.
Sunday is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in Ordinary Time before Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. I must confess, it is not a celebration that is very much on my radar screen. I thought that this celebration must date from the Middle Ages, but discovered recently that Pope Pius XI added it in 1925. He intended it as a day to celebrate and remember Christ’s kingship over all creation, as well as remind us that all humankind must submit to Christ’s rule.
As you can imagine, this celebration, especially in recent years, been a somewhat controversial day among those Christians who consider the language of kingship outdated or oppressive. For many, the images of kings and kingdoms conjure up thoughts of tyrants. But the kingship of Jesus takes on a very different form than does the kingship of earthly rulers as we hear in this my favourite “kingship” song.
Jesus comes to us not as a great conquering military leader who oppresses and abuses the conquered. Rather, he comes as a servant king, the Prince of Peace, the One whose reign proclaims peace, justice, liberation, and above all, service. Jesus turned the whole concept of lordship and kingship on its head:
You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45, NAB).
Images of God, as Lord and King seem foreign in a democratic, individualistic society. But our all-powerful God, is also all-loving, and all-merciful. God’s heart aches to be in a loving relationship with his creatures once more. This is what Christ’s kingship is all about. We must submit to Jesus as our Lord and King, but it is a submission that paradoxically brings with it liberation, freedom from sin and a life of wholeness for us, for others and for God’s world.
I love this powerful image of Jesus as King and the kingdom of God as a place of hope that Foy Vance gives us here:
Jesus knew the popular images of kings and lords and redefined them. In God’s resurrection world, in order to be a ruler of all, Jesus must become a servant of all. Jesus demonstrated this servanthood in his life and miracles. Even the Incarnation is an example of this: God the Son, King of all creation, humbled himself to become human, even sharing the ultimate fate of his captive subjects: death.
Interestingly, most references to Jesus as king occur during the Passion story. The symbol of Christ’s kingship is not a crown but a cross. The Son of God became human and died a horrible death on the cross to release his subjects from captivity. The One who is the true king of our world made this ultimate sacrifice out of his deep and abiding love for the world, a world constantly in rebellion against him. Christ’s kingship is not like a king with a jewel-encrusted crown in purple finery on a gold throne wielding an oppressive rod of iron. Rather, he is the crucified God with a crown of thorns hanging half naked on a cross of shame to set us free from our bondage.
No collection for Christ the King Sunday is complete without this inspiring description of Christ the King of Kings by SM Lockridge.
Here is a prayer that I wrote a couple of years ago for Christ the King Sunday:
Let us praise Jesus Christ our king
for the wonderful things he has done.
He sends out his word to heal us.
He satisfies the thirsty with the water of life.
He fills the hungry with the abundance of his kingdom.
Let us praise Jesus, redeemer and renewer of all things.
May we always trust in his goodness and love,
And have faith in his grace and mercy,
May we always believe he cares about justice and righteousness,
And draw our life from his eternal purposes.
Let us praise Jesus Christ our king and saviour,
May we be filled with the hope and promise of his coming,
And give our lives to follow him.
May we be gripped by his kingdom ways,
And walk with assurance and trust into his grace and peace.
Other Resources for Christ the King Sunday
- Prayers for Christ the King Sunday here
- Service of Worship for Christ the King Sunday
- Other resources for Christ the King Sunday
And after all that serious stuff, you might like a little light liturgical dancing for Christ the King Sunday:
Each year as we draw close to the end of the Season of Pentecost (the season takes up 26 of the 52 Sundays each liturgical year) the readings get a bit “freaky”. With the wars and rumors of wars and “end times” sort of focus, I have to admit that it makes me a bit uneasy as I focus on the readings and prepare to preach.
This past week, Denise and I spent time at Columbia Theological Seminary taking a course on Ignatian Spirituality. The above picture is of a cross that hangs in the building where we attended classes and daily worship. The passages of scripture for tomorrow have been in the back of my mind and I did find myself focusing on them using the Ignatian practice of Lectio Divina. Interestingly enough, Week Three of the Spiritual Exercises has the pilgrim focusing on the last week of Jesus’ life, Passion Week in the liturgical calendar. It was pretty intense for us to spend the day on Thursday contemplating and focusing on Gethsemane and Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. Denise spent the afternoon in deep conversation with Joseph of Arimathea as he took Jesus’ broken body from the cross and prepared it for burial. I spent the afternoon in deep reflection with Jesus as he suffered in the garden and wrestled with what was to come. I also wrestled with how he had to deal with the disciples who couldn’t wait with him in prayer. It was not an easy afternoon for either one of us and we were doing all of this in complete silence!
When I spent some time walking this week and this evening with the disciples and Jesus in Mark 13:1-8, I could see myself taking in the beauty and majesty of the Temple. As we were simply wowed by the impressive stones and the design of the Temple, we just had to share our observations with Jesus! What he said next though, was cryptic and puzzling. Gee whiz, Jesus, all we wanted to do was share our thoughts about the Temple and its magnificence… what’s up with the cryptic remarks about the Temple being destroyed? All of the cryptic remarks you shared with Peter, James, John, and Andrew didn’t help matters either. How did we go from talking about architecture to this end of the ages spooky stuff? What are we supposed to do with this information you shared? And this talk about “false messiahs”? How are we supposed to know what is true and what is false? How are we supposed to live our lives in this situation? Lord, you’re freaking us out…
All you have to do is look at the headlines to see that this world is a mess. All you have to do is think of places like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia (the places that don’t make the headlines as often) where horrible things are happening and people are being tortured and destroyed for their faith or simply at the hands of fanatics who have perverted the Islamic or Jewish faiths. And don’t get me started on the various perversions of the Christian faith which ranges from pastors who believe that LGBTQ people should be killed to the greedy leaders who fleece the sheep of their flocks to line their own pockets all while crowing about the so-called prosperity gospel. These perversions of faith on all sides do nothing to glorify God or Allah or Jesus… all they do is destroy people’s lives and too many cases literally kill people… all in the name of religion.
So, I get it Lord… and haven’t there always been “false shepherds” who are out for their own gain or who believe that their way is the only way and if you don’t follow their way, you don’t deserve to live? The disciples asked Jesus when will this happen and how will we know it. Jesus’ response was less than heartening. Oh don’t worry, you will see it coming… but this is only the beginning… the “birth pains” with “more to come”.
But how are we to live? What sort of witness are we to offer… especially in these troubling times? I am thankful for the portion of Hebrews 10 that are included in the lectionary for tomorrow. While it begins talking about the sacrificial system, it lifts up hope and a way to move forward. “And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, ‘This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Hebrews 10:15-16)
What will this new covenant and placing the law upon our hearts do? How will we be called to act? Especially in times such as these? “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)
Over and over and over again… the lesson comes through… Love and encourage each other… Can you heart it? Love God and love neighbor! That is the response Christ calls us to live out. Live our lives as an offering to God. Part of the reason there is so much hatred in the world is because so many people have absolutely perverted faith. Christians… Muslims… Jews… all of us are children of Abraham. We each take our sacred texts and twist them to suit our own aims. We use our sacred texts to build walls and barriers instead of using them to break down walls and actually talk to each other and get to know each other as children of Abraham.
Politically… Economically… Racially… Sexually… Spiritually… in each of these areas we build barriers and teach ourselves to hate. Maybe I am naive. The older I get and the more I experience life and faith, the more I see both the hopelessness in the world AND the hope! In small corners and pockets, people of various faiths, races, sexual orientations, and economic strata are learning to live together and dialogue. In this dialogue, they are learning to encourage each other and work together, motivating each other to acts of love and good works. They rarely make the headlines because for some reason the media doesn’t think that such stories are interesting enough.
How then are we to respond? What are we to do when we hear of wars and rumors of wars? What are we to do when massacres happen all over the world and in our own back yards? Perhaps we are being called to do something different. Instead of turning our homes and our neighborhoods into armed camps, maybe we are being called to beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Instead of buying into the myth of redemptive violence, how about living the reality of redemptive love.
Lord, help us to live into your reality of love. Help us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. May we be transformed from a people who buy into the lies of the “prosperity gospel” and “my way or the death chamber faith” to a people who believe in the power of your redemptive love.
Dear reader, there has to be a better way… there is a better way… Shalom, Peace, Agape, Love… may God help us to encourage each other in living that better way!
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Michael Moore retired from the USAF where he was a Chaplain for 26 years. He and his wife Denise live in Estes Park, Colorado where he is the pastor of Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies. He blog at https://scotsirishpadreblog.wordpress.com.
There is much on all our minds as we prepare for Christmas this year that is not pleasant. The mass murders this last week in Paris, Beirut and Bagdad, the tragic plight of millions of refugees around the world, and our own personal tragedies of lost loved ones, friends or relatives with terminal illnesses, and other losses mean that our hearts are grieving.
Acknowledging our pain through song, ritual and liturgy can be a helpful way to deal with loss and pain during the Christmas season. Increasingly churches are recognizing this and facilitating grieving through Blue Christmas services.
Last year I posted this resource list for those that are looking for appropriate songs, and liturgies. Katie Kennington Steer later wrote this beautiful poem/post as part of her personal grieving. This year I thought I would focus on creative activities that might enhance the experience and enable you and your congregation to process their own grief. They could be used to create prayer stations for the service or alone as a single focus.
The Empty Chair
An empty chair is a powerful symbol of loss and can really facilitate our grieving. Creating a prayer station composed only of empty chairs or having empty chairs at the front of the sanctuary are both simple but powerful worship tools. If you have a small group of participants you might like to suggest each person grabs one of the empty chairs and sits it next to them at one point in the service. The image above is from a memorial service Peter Majendie constructed following the Christchurch earthquake of 2011 – heart rending and effective.
Use Lots of Candles
Four candles are often lit in Blue Christmas ceremonies: 1) One candle is lit for those who have passed, giving thanks to the memory that connects them to us this season; 2) One candle is lit to redeem the pain of the loss; 3) One candle is lit to honor ourselves; and, 4) One candle is lit for the gift of faith and hope symbolized in the Christmas story. However the lighting of candles by each of the congregation and the creating of a prayer table for all those we have lost can provide an even more compelling statement.
Create a Collage
Ask people attending the service to bring photos of those people or situations for which they are grieving. At one of the tables have a large sheet of cardboard on which people can paste their photos to create a collage.
Remember
Provide ribbon or paper for people to write names or prayers on. Our church does this for All Saints Day and the ribbon then hangs in the sanctuary until Advent begins. If you have an artist in your congregation who can create a collage from these ribbons and prayers. In the photo above we used small rocks instead, writing peoples’ names on them and then putting them in the bowl around the candle. At the end of the service people took out their stones to take home.
Symbols of Pain and Suffering
Our good friend, Mark Pierson, is one of the most creative worship curators I know. I still remember him using zip ties and barbed wire crosses in a worship service that had all of us grieving for the abandoned and despised in our world.
Zip or cable ties, are used as handcuffs in many parts of the world and can effectively be used as symbols of bondage either in our own lives or in the lives of the suffering people around the world that we identify with.
One possibility is to give each person a zip tie at the beginning of the service. After a period of quiet prayer and reflection encourage them to come to the front where a chain link fence or screen has been set up. Participants attach their cable tie to the fence as a symbol of identification of the suffering of people unjustly treated, or senselessly killed around the world. They then pick up a barbed wire cut off cross to take back to their seat as a reminder that Jesus accepted us and came to earth to relieve our suffering and pain. The barbed wire is also a symbol of our willingness to accept responsibility of the suffering of others and to do what we can to alleviate it.
Symbols of Hope
Most people do not want to leave a service with a feeling of despair or hopelessness. Providing a table at which they can create a memorial for the season that gives them hope is one way to turn hopelessness into hope. You might like to provide paper and pencils for people to draw or doodle with, rocks for them to paint or plants to create gardens. Alternatively ask them to bring journals and photos to the event. Provide a table at which they can create artistic images of their loved ones or of the situations they are grieving.
Art journalling like this is becoming more and more popular. Creating pages with the images of those we love who have passed away, decorating them and using them as a focus for prayer during the season can be very healing. Personally, I am discovering more each year how healing a memorial garden or stone can be too and offering this creative exercise to others is something that I increasingly do at retreats and other events.
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Resources from Godspace for Advent and Christmas
Godspace has a variety of resources available for celebrating this season.
Lean Towards the Light this Advent & Christmas + Advent Cards Bundle compiled by Christine Sine and Lisa DeRosa
A Journey Toward Home: Soul Travel For Advent to Lent compiled by Kristin Carroccino and Christine Sine
Waiting for the Light: An Advent Devotional compiled by Ricci Kilmer, Susan Wade and Christine Sine
Prayer Cards – more than Christmas gifts. These have been used for daily devotions, grief counselling, small groups and congregational prayers.
Check out the entire resource list here for more ideas for Advent and Christmas.
Godspace has a number of Advent resources available for both free download and purchase. Visit our store.
Why does Jesus “wait 2 more days where he was” (Luke 11:5) after he heard that his good friend Lazarus was ill? After all he healed Jairus’s daughter and the unknown widow’s son immediately, yet he waits until he knew that Lazarus was dead before responding. Why come quickly to the death of a stranger, but slowly to the death of a friend?
Part of the reason I am sure is that he knew that the raising of Lazarus would have dire consequences for his own life. In fact it was this act that turned the tide for the Pharisees, triggering their plot to kill Jesus because. They were afraid that the Romans would destroy their nation because of Jesus’ “revolution” (Luke 11:48).
What Is Your Response?
To move slowly, to count the cost and consider the consequences of following Jesus is something we all need to do at transformational points in our lives. Look back on your own life. When was the last time that you “waited two days” to count the cost of the transformational work Jesus still wants to accomplish in your life?
Church of Saint Lazarus, Larnaca, Cyprus
When we visited Cyprus some years ago, I was surprised to see icons of the raising of Lazarus all over the place. According to Orthodox tradition, sometime after the resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumoured plots on his life. He came to Cyprus and was appointed by Paul and Barnabas as the first Bishop of Kition (present-day Larnaca). He is said to have lived for thirty more years and on his death was buried there for the second time.The Church of Agios Lazaros was built over his tomb.
Obviously, Lazarus resurrection not only had dire consequences for Jesus, it had huge implications for Lazarus too. Maybe Jesus didn’t just spend time thinking about what it meant for his own life. Maybe he was just as concerned about the disruption it would cause for Lazarus. I think that during those two days he counted the cost not just for himself but for Lazarus and his sisters too.
What is your response?
We long to see the lives of those we love transformed. We long to see them come out of the graves into resurrection life, but how often do we count the cost that this transformation could mean? It could alienate them from their family, or community. I could force them to flee their homeland. More importantly, how often do we accept the full responsibility of these consequences and commit ourselves to help those we love through the transformation of their lives?
Think about those whose lives you have touched in a transformational way. Is there someone who comes to mind for whom this transformation had disruptive consequences? How seriously did you take the responsibility of helping them through that transformation?
Perhaps someone comes to mind who is still struggling with the consequences of their commitment to Christ. Are there ways in which you could mentor them through this disruptive season?
Now watch the video below. Read through the lyrics and think about what it means not just to count the cost for yourself but also for those to whom you bring Christ’s resurrection power. Is there some new commitment God might ask of you?
What does it mean to be a pilgrim? To be a pilgrim means leaving behind the comfortable easy path in search of something more.
It means going beyond the known borders of my life in search of
what is real and true.
To have no permanent home here on earth
But to always, always
Be on the way…
A small knapsack, filled to the brim with essentials is all I have. Part of this journey is answering questions like:
What are my essentials?
What feeds my soul and gives me joy?
What can I let go of and give away?
How do I share the gifts God has given me?
How do I share the life God has given me?
I wonder who will be my companions on the way? Who will walk with me today? And with whom will I walk? Can I be a good companion loyal and true?
I’ve learned to accept those who come my way for a while and when they need to take a different path to let them go. I pray their pilgrim journey will lead them home. I hope the path is clearly marked and they will have good companions on the way.
True companions.
I hope my pilgrim journey leads me home as well and that I can be a true companion.
I follow one step at a time.
Sometimes I stand still for what seems like eternity.
Waiting, waiting for a sign that it is time to move on.
Other days I’ve hardly unpacked my few possessions and it’s time to pack up and depart again. Tired and weary the best I can do is trust there is a path and to seek to follow as best I can.
At times like this, when my journey follows unfamiliar, solitary and seemingly dark paths I feel lost, forgotten and afraid. The next steps seem risky and precarious. The way ahead is hidden and my motives unclear.
Yet, I know I don’t walk alone, Jesus, my hidden companion, and sometimes silent guide loves me and the path ahead is neither dark nor unknown to him. And though he is silent, the way dark, and the path unclear I trust there is a path and that Jesus directs my steps. Confident of his love, I wait when he tells me to wait and follow when he beckons me onward, seeking to follow as best I can and trusting him to lead, guide, protect and direct me to the right path. It’s often not the way I would choose. Given the chance I would choose the easy path, the clearly marked way. Yet, I press on trusting this particular way will lead me more quickly and safely to my journey’s end than any path I might choose.
-Paula Mitchell
It is good from time to time to reflect with God in prayer where we’ve been and where we are right now as followers of Jesus. Spend some time in prayer you might ask God for an image of your life at the present moment.
Ponderings:
What kind of path are you currently on?
• Where does it seem to be leading?
• What’s your sense of Jesus as you walk this path?
• Who have been your companions on the way?
• When have you found yourself lost or off the path?
• Have you traveled other paths? Faced a fork in the road? Where have you/are you facing places of choice?
• Is anything weighing you down? What do you no longer need? What is essential for this stage of your journey?
• What do you need for the next stage in your journey?
Lord we grieve with the people of Paris.
We grieve,
for the lives lost in senseless violence.
Our tears are shed
for those who have been wounded.
Our hearts ache
for those who are consumed by hate.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have mercy.
Lord give wisdom,
to those who must make decisions.
Lord give your strength,
to those who seek to protect.
Lord give guidance,
to those who must respond.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have mercy.
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