Looking towards Deception Pass
Tom and I are heading off on one of our quarterly retreats this morning – taking the ferry across to Whidbey Island and then driving up through Coupeville and across Deception Pass to Anacortes. I am looking forward to a couple of days to rest and refresh my focus.
This is a season of transition for me and I am just starting to ask myself What do I want to become in the next couple of years? Hopefully in the next couple of years I will be able to hand over my role as Executive Director of MSA to someone else and focus more on the ministry that is my passion. But what should that look like?
Transitions are challenging times for all of us. Like the photo of Deception pass, taken on a previous trip, everything seems covered in mist, and the waters over which we need to pass are deceptive, sometimes treacherous.
As we go through transitions, there is a tendency to want to hang on to what is familiar, successful and secure. It gives us a sense of value. But that may not be what God wants for us. Even as I prepare for this retreat I am reminded that there came a point in Jesus life when he needed to turn towards Jerusalem and the cross, backing away from what was surely the most successful healing ministry in the history of the world. From the world’s perspective success to failure in one easy step. From God’s perspective the most successful thing he ever did.
Which direction should we take?
As I contemplate this I wonder What might God want me to turn my back on that seems successful but is not God’s intention for me for the future? Could it be this blog? writing books and prayers? holding retreats? photography? I don’t know and I suspect that this retreat will not tell me. Get ready for change is something that I already feel God is saying to me. And that means to learn to hold loosely to everything I am doing.
So what am I hoping for from this retreat? I want to focus on not: What do I want to become but What does God want me to become? hope for a stronger trust in God so that no matter what the future holds I am willing to walk the path God sets out for me and not try to hang onto what needs to be let go of. I pray for the a heart that wants to draw closer to God and to God’s purposes no matter what that means.
So as you look at your future what do you see? Are you caught up in your own dreams for a better future or are you allowing God to mold and shape your future? Do you trust that your life and future is in God’s hands no matter what that means?
Over the last few day I have spent time meditating on my images of Jesus and trying to reconcile these with the paintings, sculptures and icons I have seen. I am also trying to reconcile them with the images of God that we as Christ followers present to the world. So many of them look as though Jesus has had cosmetic surgery done. Beautiful wrinkle free faces that look as though Jesus does not have a care in the world. It’s no wonder we buy into the promise of health and wealth and wellbeing.
Agony in the garden Ambrogio_Bergognone_1501
I went looking for other images on the internet and came across lots about statues and icons that weep, but few paintings that really depict the agony of Christ and the scars of a God who loves and suffers with us.
Today I find myself imagining Jesus with tears channelling down his face. I can see the scars in hands and feet from the nails of the cross. I can see the wrinkles etched by pain and sorrow and the heartache of being rejected and spat upon.
Then I think Where do I see these images of Jesus in our world today? Perhaps in the homeless who are finding it increasingly difficult to live on the streets. Many of them have experienced violence and animosity just because of the way they live. Like Jesus “they have no place to lay their head.”Matthew 8:20 Or perhaps we see these images in victims of domestic abuse. They too are spat upon, their bones broken as Jesus’ were upon the cross.
I don’t think we realize how much our images of Jesus are shaped by the cultures in which we live. My question for you today therefore is: What are your images of Jesus? Perhaps this poem I am an African by African theologian Gabriel M. Setiloane will help.
Jesus whipped Kenya
“Tell us further, you African:
what of Jesus, the Christ,
Born in Bethlehem: Son of Man and Son of God
Do you believe in him?”
And the answer is:
“For ages He eluded us, this Jesus of Bethlehem, Son of Man;
Going first to Asia and to Europe, and the western sphere . . . .
“Later on, He came, this Son of man;
Like a child delayed He came to us.
The White Man brought Him.
He was pale, and not the Sunburnt Son of the Desert.
As a child He came.
“A wee little babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Ah, if only He had been like little Moses, lying
Sun-scorched on the banks of the River of God
We would have recognized Him.
He eludes us still, this Jesus, Son of Man.
His words: Ah, they taste so good
as sweet and refreshing as the sap of the palm raised and nourished on African soil,
The Truths of his words are for all men, for all time.
“And yet for us it is when He is on the cross,
This Jesus of Nazareth, with holed hands
and open side, like a beast at a sacrifice;
When He is stripped naked like us,
Browned and sweating water and blood in the heat of the sun,
Yet silent,
That we cannot resist Him.
“How like us He is, this Jesus of Nazareth,
Beaten, tortured, imprisoned, spat upon, truncheoned,
Denied by His own, and chased like a thief in the night,
Despised , and rejected like a dog that has fleas,
for NO REASON.
“No reason, but that He was Son of his Father,
OR . . . Was there a reason?
There was indeed . . .
As in that sheep or goat we offer in sacrifice,
Quiet and uncomplaining.
Its blood falling to the ground to cleanse it, as us:
And making peace between us and our fathers long passed away.
He is that LAMB!
His blood cleanses,
not only us,
not only the clan,
not only the tribe,
But all, all MANKIND:
Black and White and Brown and Red,
All Mankind!
“HO! . . . Jesus, Lord, Son of Man and Son of God,
Make peace with your blood and sweat and suffering,
With God, UVELINGQAKI, UNKULUNKULU,
For the sins of Mankind, our fathers and us,
That standing in the same Sonship with all mankind and you,
Together with you, we can pray to Him above:
FATHER FORGIVE.”
icicles on seeds
The northeast coast of the U.S. is battened down in preparation for an epic storm. Its not just the humans that need to be prepared either. Even the trees have work to do in preparation for the winter blasts.
Here in Seattle the days are exceptionally warm for January – yesterday it was over 60F. It is probable that we will have cherry blossoms and daffodils early this year. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that we do not get a late freeze. If we do it could kill our fruit trees because this warm weather has lulled them into believing that spring is already here and they have become vulnerable to any more winter blasts.
Have you ever wondered about how trees survive wintery blasts or why an early warm spell followed by freezing temperatures can kill trees that survive far colder temperatures in a usual winter.
The answers are astounding with powerful implications for our faith.
…trees are large, tall, and immovable. They have no choice but to face everything winter can throw at them. And yet, as you travel north throughout the world one thing is ubiquitous: forests… (read the entire article)
Find a comfortable place in which to sit. Cut out as many distractions as possible. Focus on your breathing. Take a deep slow breath in from the depths of your abdomen and hold it for a moment. Then breathe out slowly. Relax your body and your mind.
Read the prayer above imagining the presence of God surrounding you. Read it again and visualize Christ walking beside you as a friend, guiding and comforting you.
What is Your Response?
How aware are you of the surrounding presence of God? How do you respond to the idea of God as companion and friend?
Iona cross with Bishop’s house in distance
The photos above were taken on the island of Iona off the West Coast of Scotland, where Columba established a monastery in the 6th century. My husband I are very attracted to this stream of Christianity which believed that all things were under the lordship of Christ, and all aspects of life were ways to share in God’s purposes.
Belief that the One who called them to conduct the affairs of the kingdom was actually with them and enfolding them as Father, Son and Spirit kept them from dividing life into sacred and secular realms. Spiritual and material, heaven and earth were seen as so interpenetrating that Celts embraced a unique sense of time. Eternity was always present in some way and invited people’s awareness, gratitude and praise. Time itself was seen as God’s creation and gift, so that ordinary moments could share in the rhythms of God’s reign (Drinking from the Wells of New Creation, Kerry Dearborn, 126)
What Is Your Response?
Read through this quote several times. What glimpses of God’s eternal world have you caught sight of today? Sit quietly in the presence of that gift. Offer prayers of gratitude and praise to God. Write down your response.
Finish your time of reflection by watching this following Celtic blessing by John O’Donohue.
A couple of days ago the sunrise out our front window was absolutely breathtaking. I rarely notice it because my office where I spend most of my time during the day, faces west. However at this time of the year, the sun is usually emerging when we sit down for breakfast. I take so many photos of sunsets that it is wonderful to be reminded that the beginning of the day is just as breathtaking. I thought it would make a perfect background for this prayer which is my favourite from the week. After all the sky and the changing light of the sun is one way that God speaks to me.
This morning I took some photos of my candle and its reflection in the window. I noticed that if the camera focused on the candle the reflection dimmed. If I focused it on the reflection the candle dimmed and all the messiness of my desk emerged in the photo.
As I sat here contemplating it I wondered: How often do I focus on the reflection of God’s light rather than on the light itself? How often does the clutter in my life distract me from God’s true light?
I know that sometimes reflections are beautiful and enhance a scene, and even this morning it was the reflection that had me reaching for my camera. But at times, like this morning, focusing on the reflection can distract me from God too. And if you are wondering yes it did that to me this morning. I was distracted from my morning prayer rituals wanting to capture the reflection before the light of the day brightened and the reflection itself disappeared.
So what is distracting you from the true light of God today?
It is time to get ready for Lent. Ash Wednesday is February 18th, and as usual I need your help in providing daily reflections for the season. This year our theme is Stop Playing Games and Join God’s Reconciling Work During Lent.
The good news of the gospel is God’s desire to reconcile all things to Godself. This is an holistic plan, that embraces not just our inner transformation and reconciliation to God but restoration of creation, the making of peace where there is enmity, healing where there is brokenness and renewal wherever the image of God is distorted. Our creator has begun a process of redemption to restore all things to what they were meant to be.
For in him (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross (Col 1:19-20)
The question is how do we get there? As Kerry Dearborn asks in her inspiring new book Drinking from the Wells of New Creation What transforms approaches to reconciliation from being empty verbal niceties or guilt-assauging “quick fixes” to dynamic expressions of the gospel? (68)
She believes that through the Holy Spirit, God’s love has flooded our hearts, united us with God and empowered us to participate in the reconciliation established by God through Christ’s life, death and resurrection. She goes on to explain that it is the imagination that opens the heart’s floodgates to both receive and release the Spirit’s love to others. First the imagination is the solvent breaking down old ways of seeing the world. Second its creative facility offers us a new vision of life and hope, reshaping our desires and expectations around God’s vision of reconciliation. Third its integrative power connects heart, mind and body to this new vision and catalyzes responses. (69)
It is this good news and the power of the imagination to reshape and transform our responses so that God’s great plan for reconciliation becomes central to all we are and do, that we want to engage in through Mustard Seed Associates’ programs this year. I also plan to make it the central theme of our Lenten reflections.
This is a big topic and one that we will obviously only be able to scratch the surface of. There are so many areas in which we need to see reconciliation. God longs for us to draw close and embrace the inner restoration and reconciliation to the image of God within us. God also desires racial reconciliation, economic reconciliation and reconciliation to the land and our calling to be good stewards are but a few of the areas we hope to touch on.
As we begin our journey together I am reminded of Native American activist Richard Twiss who, not long before he died said to me: “We don’t want you to invite us to your table we want you to invite us to sit down and create a new table together.” In the same spirit, Diana Butler bass says: Tolerance allows divergent opinions to exist; hospitality welcomes and invites others into dialogue in a spirit of love and trust.
For reconciliation there must be open collaboration and hospitality that opens our hearts and our minds to the reconciling love of God. That is just what we want to do and we hope that you will join us on the journey.
As I prepare for a series like this I am reminded of the story of the great banquet feast where the servants go out into the highways and byways to invite people to attend.
So this is your invitation to you to come to the banquet feast. Stir your imagination and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you. Do you have a story of reconciliation – within yourself, to God, to others, or to God’s world you would like to share? Sign up to contribute to the Lenten blog series this year. Leave a comment below and I will send you details of how to submit your article.
Do you know of others whose stories should be told during Lent this year? Invite them to be a part of this too.
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