Here’s a song called The Wall Song; I wrote it for a friend who had built up very strong walls all around herself, when her husband proved unfaithful. She turned inwards and grew very bitter. She would allow no-one in to her home to come alongside and befriend her. She was trying to protect herself from future pain, but unfortunately, she had shut God out too. I believe that God was trying to tell her, “Let me in, let me love you!” Those walls did come down in time.
It could well be that the scholarly walls Nicodemus had built throughout his life were about to come down too.
I asked some people recently, “if you could ask Jesus one question, what would it be?”
The first said, “Who will win the Grand National this year?”
The next person, who was unaware of what the first person had said, answered just as flippantly, ‘I would ask him to tell me what numbers to write down to win the EuroMillions lottery!”
The third, an eight-year old child, said he would ask why God chose Jesus to do magical things and no-one else?
The fourth wanted to know, when Jesus would come again?
What would you want to ask, if you could have a face to face meeting with Jesus? I’ll be asking that question again later.
Our gospel reading (below) tells how Nicodemus, a respected teacher and member of the ruling class in Jerusalem had important questions to ask Jesus, and also how he visited him, by night. It seems that Nicodemus was breaking free from what he ‘ought’ to think and believe and from what he was ‘expected’ to think and believe; he was breaking free from the pressures and responsibilities that often come with leadership, to come to Jesus with an open mind.
It’s not wrong to ask questions! He was searching for the Truth.
When asked to pass on his best advice on for future generations, Heston Blumenthal, the famous chef, said, “Question everything. If you don’t question things, there’s no knowledge, no learning, no creativity, no freedom of choice, no imagination!”
He’s right, it’s what we tell our own children and grandchildren to do.
Nicodemus was a member of an elite ruling body known as the ‘Sanhedrin’, which was made up of 70 elders. These men were top theologians dedicated to keeping every letter of the law but they were in effect the Jewish appeal court and police system of the day.
It can’t have been easy for Nicodemus to visit Jesus, who was such a controversial preacher and teacher. He was already being looked upon with suspicion by the religious elders. After all, Jesus was fairly new to the scene, a ‘new kid on the block’ so to speak, and he was wielding such an enormous influence on the people and making quite an impact.
But the questions that Nicodemus clearly wanted answers to are clearly not meant for the daylight hours, when others could be listening in, or passing judgements, or criticizing him for approaching Jesus in the first place. And of course he may have wanted Jesus to speak freely and openly, with no other witnesses around.
Nicodemus realised that the way to discover the TRUTH about Jesus was to go right to the source and discern for himself, whatever he heard.
But after hearing what Jesus had to say, after his ‘up close and personal encounter’, I suspect there was no turning back for him.
Jesus puzzled Nicodemus by saying:-
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God, unless they are born again.”
I heard a street preacher on Keswick High Street a couple of years ago. He was almost finished speaking when I sensed, out of the corner of my eye, one of his assistants sidling up to me with a pamphlet in his hand.
He smiled and asked me “Are YOU a Christian?”
To let him know I was ‘one of the flock’, I replied with a smile, “Yes I am.”
But seemingly my answer wasn’t good enough, it didn’t satisfy him.
He leaned in closer to me and asked “Ah yes, but are you born-again?”
He was really asking me if my faith was genuine, was it alive, was the Spirit of Jesus living in me, but he said it in such a smug way I felt really irritated with him. Perhaps it was because I too had made similar judgments in the past, as to whether some people were really ‘fired up’ as Christians, or simply ‘going through the motions’. (I’m actually ashamed to confess that.) But I think if Jesus had said the same words in the same ‘smug’ fashion, then Nicodemus might well have felt irritated and annoyed too!
But when Jesus spoke these words to him, I really do feel that he would have said them out of love, not by way of judgment, wanting Nicodemus to have the best of what God had to offer.
There could be very few others people around then with credentials as impressive as his; he had been circumcised, he was an orthodox Jew, a learned teacher, a member of the ruling council, aristocracy really! If anyone had a right to enter God’s kingdom he had! And yet, here was Jesus telling him that to be born again from above, and that to encounter a ‘spiritual birth’ was by far more important than a physical birth, or elite background.
It must have felt like a carpet was being pulled out from under his feet. Nicodemus’ life was being turned inside out by this secret encounter with Jesus. Nothing would ever be the same again.
I admire Nicodemus. This expert was willing to come to grips with a teaching that was not of his established line of belief. But he desperately pushed himself on, to draw his own conclusions and make his own mind up.
Not many possess such courage.
And I suspect that because he knew the scriptures well, it may have already dawned upon him that ancient prophecies about the coming ‘Messiah’ were being fulfilled in Jesus, who taught in parables, was ministering to the poor, was healing the sick and driving out demons.
Nicodemus reasoned that all this must come from God, and NOT from the devil as some were suggesting. Nicodemus was impressed by Jesus, but he wanted to hear from his own lips who he was and what he had come to do.
As they spoke together Jesus confided to him,
‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’
Jesus had referred to a strange incident from the ancient Book of Numbers chapter 21, that happened during the exodus of Hebrew slaves across the desert hundreds of years before. The people had sinned against God and had been besieged by a plague of venomous snakes. That’s when God had commanded Moses to erect a bronze statue of a snake in camp so that all those who looked upon it would be healed!
Was Jesus suggesting that by looking towards him personally, humankind would be saved- that even he, Nicodemus, could be saved?
Nicodemus needed answers once and for all. ‘Was Jesus indeed the Messiah, or was he not? Would his teaching set his life firmly on rock or lure him into sinking sand? And if Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah, what might be the consequences of rejecting him?
Then Jesus spoke the following words (words which are now famous the world over):
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
He could not have been clearer than this. Did these words convince Nicodemus of Jesus true identity and satisfy his curiosity? ‘God gave his one and only Son…’
It appears that Nicodemus did indeed become reborn, because later he defended Jesus against accusations made by the council of Jewish elders in John’s gospel chapter 7, verse 50. Not only that, but in John chapter 19, we read how Nicodemus was bold enough to join forces with another member of the same council, named Joseph of Arimathea, and they both carefully wrapped Jesus’ dead body in a cloth, and took him away for burial. Joseph provided his own tomb for him, and Nicodemus provided at least 3-4 kilograms of myrrh and aloes. They both did this openly before darkness fell.
In daylight this time. Not at night!
Each time we pray or read scripture, it is possible to encounter Jesus. We are renewed and we are able to move deeper into his love and his ways.
Be still for a moment, wherever you are, and just imagine it’s night-time, and you are approaching a table in an upper room where Jesus is sitting and waiting to talk with you.
He looks straight at you. What kind of greeting does he give you? What does he say to you?
Bring to him your question, and simply listen, just wait upon him.
P.S. Incidentally, I once had a very big question to ask as I stood gazing over the Sea of Galilee during our visit to the Holy Land.
Life was quite tough way back then for women in ministry so I asked him, “Lord did you REALLY call me to become a woman priest, or was that just my imagination?”
There was no audible response, but as I turned around to go back to the tour bus I very nearly fell over a massive heart sculpture, and there was another and then another there on the beach. (You can see one of them in the video)
The scripture that came to my mind was, “Lord you know I love you!”
“FEED MY LAMBS, FEED MY SHEEP!”)
Prayer
May God’s peace and healing be yours this day, and may he supply answers to questions you’ve pondered over, perhaps for years, and may he satisfy your need in the hot barren desert of our world.
Amen
Bible Reading
John 3. 1-18
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Preparing for the Garden Walk of Holy Week
In the last few days of his life, Jesus moved from garden to garden from suffering to resurrection.
Join Christine Sine for a Lent retreat that reflects on this journey and prepares for the challenging week that follows Palm Sunday.
Click here to register! We are once again offering several price points to aid those who are students or in economic hardship
by Elaine Breckenridge
Cover photo: St. Non’s Chapel, near St. David’s, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Happy St. David’s Day! St. David is commemorated on Roman Catholic and Anglican church calendars, and widely celebrated by the Welsh people. In Wales, he is also known as Dewi. As he is their patron, in many cities and towns in Wales, there are parades and special activities on his feast day of March 1.
Born in the sixth century, his mother was Saint Non. As a young boy, he was sent to the family of a bishop to be fostered and was dedicated to the church. Over time, David became both an abbot and a bishop. Some twelve monasteries were founded by St. David.
David is said to have been around six feet tall and very strong. He chose to live a simple life, dedicated to Christ, living mainly on water and vegetables. David and his monks became known as the “Watermen” since they only drank water and not the customary wine or mead in other monasteries. Despite his personal austerity, David was noted for treating others with respect and kindness. His words and his way of life encouraged many to join his religious community.
As David lay dying, he said these words to the people gathered, “Be happy, keep your faith and your belief, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.” As scholar Patrick Thomas points out in a discussion of David’s influence, “In any community apparently insignificant acts of habitual kindness and self-forgetfulness which display a fundamental respect and love for others can generate stability, unity and wholeness.” Earle and Maddox contend that Welsh spirituality was shaped not by ascetism but by a commitment to building community.
—Holy Companions Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints by Mary C. Earle and Sylvia Maddox
As I thought about what acts of habitual kindness and self-forgetfulness might look like; I remembered one special Lenten tradition we did in my family when I was growing up. It was called, “Secret Pals.” The five of us would draw lots until we each had a slip of paper that did not bear our name. That person would be our secret pal for the season. We were to do little gestures of kindness for our pal but in secret. For example, I remember getting up one morning and when I returned to my room from the bathroom, my bed had been made! On Easter Day it was fun to try to guess who our secret pal had been. And of course, each of us secretly doing little acts of kindness created more harmony in our household.
The life of David reminds us of the importance of living mindfully and helping others—whether it is in our families or communities or in the way we greet strangers. We may not have the means to change the world but we can all find ways to do good in our corner of it.
St. David lived in the sixth century. I think it is remarkable that he is still revered to this day. Certainly, the church has had some part in that. There are countless churches named St. David’s in Wales and in other countries too. However, it is also the poets and the artists and the people of Wales who have carried the memory of St. David forward into the present and no doubt will do so into the future.
In her book, The Celtic Way of Prayer, Esther De Waal writes about the imagination of Celtic Christians especially when it comes to remembering their favorite saints. Perhaps it is this quality of active imagination that makes the Celtic saints so real to so many. She writes that Celtic Saints are approachable, close at hand, woven quite naturally into life just the as would be any other member of an extended family. She references a poem written by the Welsh poet David James Jones (1899-1968) who is best known by his bardic or pen name Gwenallt. The poet, brings Dewi (St. David) right into his generation’s churches, schools, work places and homes.
“There is no barrier between two worlds in the Church.
The Church militant on earth
Is one with the Church triumphant in heaven,
And the saints are in this Church which is two in one.
They come to worship with us, our small congregation,
The saints our oldest ancestors
Who built Wales on the foundation
Of the Crib, the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
And they go out as before to travel their old ways
And to evangelize Wales.
I have seen Dewi going from shire to shire like the gypsy of God,
With the gospel and the altar in his caravan;
He came to us in the colleges and schools
To show us the purpose of learning.
He went down into the pit with the coal miners
And shone his lamp on the coal face.
He put on the goggles of the steel worker, and the short grey overall
And showed the Christian being purified like metal in the furnace.
He brought the factory people into his disreputable Church.
He carried the Church everywhere
Like a body with life and mind and will,
And he did small things and great.
He brought the Church into our homes,
Put the holy vessels on the kitchen table
With bread from the pantry and wine from the cellar,
And he stood behind the table like a tramp
So as not to hide from us the wonder of the sacrifice.
And after the Communion we had a talk round the fire
And he spoke to us of God’s natural order,
The person, the family, the nation and the society of nations
And the cross which prevents us from making any of them into a god.”
This poem has brought St. David into my life and made him real to me. I read this poem every March 1 and I give thanks for his life and witness and for the faithful people who continue to keep his ministry and mission alive carrying on the love of Christ. Like St. David, we too are invited to share in the ministry of doing little acts of caring wherever we are. Perhaps you will find a secret pal or place where you can do a little good in the name of Christ. May Gwenallt’s poem and the following prayer, inspire your season of Lent.
Lord, inspired by David and the Watermen,
help us to live in you as fish live in water,
help us to move in you as birds fly in the air,
help us to run to you as deer run through the forest,
help us to burn brightly for you as fire burns.
And may the fire of faith blaze afresh in us. Amen.
Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints
Preparing for the Garden Walk of Holy Week
In the last few days of his life, Jesus moved from garden to garden from suffering to resurrection.
Join Christine Sine for a Lent retreat that reflects on this journey and prepares for the challenging week that follows Palm Sunday.
Click here to register! We are once again offering several price points to aid those who are students or in economic hardship
If we haven’t been introduced before, hello! My name is Rebecca, and I’m the current Godspacelight admin. As Christine is out in Australia enjoying the summer weather and visiting with friends and family, I’ve been tasked with writing the weekly update.
A bit about my background- before I worked with Godspace, I worked as botanist across the Western US in Alaska, Washington, and Colorado. Christine and I share a love of plants and the natural world, which has likely been part of the inspiration for her upcoming retreat Preparing for the Garden Walk of Holy Week. The connection she has drawn between important moments of Jesus’ life and the ecology around him is a new angle on the final weeks of Jesus’ ministry to me, and has already prompted a lot of reflection on the significance and symbolism of the garden in my own mind. Especially for those who could use a moment to reset and prepare before the final week of Lent, I would encourage you to attend the retreat which will take place the morning of Saturday, March 25th.
Our Lent theme this season is Breaking Down Walls which can refer to removing external, physical walls, but also to internal prejudices and the limitations of our own perspectives. I enjoyed the new perspective offered by the post Lent and Rediscovering Our Humanity by John Van de Laar. He suggests alternative ways to practice Lent for those of us who may feel stifled or deprived by common Lent practices. Lilly Lewin also offers reflection questions for Lent in her creative reflection Freerange Friday: Pancake Prayers. Another post that challenges our perspective is Christine’s Meditation Monday – A New View of Mary and Martha, which expands on a passage from Mary Stromer Hanson’s book The New Perspective on Mary and Martha. She presents a fresh interpretation of Luke 10:38-42 and prompted me to reflect on how easy it is to make assumptions about the world around us without considering the limitations of our own perspectives.
One of my favorite things about working at Godspace is getting to see the Sine’s dog Goldie, so the post Beloved Pets—God’s Message of Love by Kathie Hempel was a great reflection on the important role pets can play in our lives. I also wanted to highlight another collaboration between Karen Wilk and Karen Tamminga-Paton that yielded Gathering Earth: A Hand Reflection, a beautiful poem paired with stunning artwork.
International Quiet Day by June Friesen was a helpful reminder of how silence and stillness can play a role in our church and personal practices. Life can so often feel chaotic and overwhelming, but I hope you each find moments of peace and stillness throughout the upcoming week.
Grace and blessings,
Rebecca
Pen and Paint Ponderings with Karen and Karen
by Karen Wilk (writer) and Karen Tamminga-Paton (painter)
A first glance suggests this is a bowl full of smooth river rocks. Closer inspection shows these to be a curious collection of bird eggs of all sizes, colours and patterns. They represent different continents and ecosystems; some bird species no longer exist, many are endangered. This Earthen container, reminiscent of a hemisphere, holds precious cargo, fragile and full of life!
- Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
- Black-capped Chickadee (Parus atricapillus)
- Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus)
- Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
- Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnean)
- Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinators)
- Whooping Crane (Grus Americana)
- Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)
- Common Night Hawk (Chordeiles minor)
- Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
- Long-billed Marsh Wren (Telmatodytes palustris)
- American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
- Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)
- American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
- Lewis’ Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis)
- Common Murre (Uria aalge)
- Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)
- Northern Oriole (Icterus galbula)
- Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)
- California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
- Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
- Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
- Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
- Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
- American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)
- Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
- Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio)
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
- Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
(As always, it is recommended that poetry be read aloud… and if possible with others with whom one can contemplate and respond.
ALL THE EGGS IN ONE BASKET
So many…
Yet just scratching the surface
Hundreds, thousands more, oval, round, distinct
The same, yet different, some abundant- some extinct
Magical, mystical, colours, spots,
Precious, unique, breathing, random blots
All together, all embraced
Creator’s covering, exposing, outlandish grace–
Could there really be ONE basket of all inclusive space?
All moulded, cared for, eternally cuddled,
in earthen vessel swaddled, included, lovingly muddled…
Fragile eggs.
Hard, smooth, strong
Holding, hiding
Tiny life,
sheltering
Eggs in one basket teach us
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
But you can judge a bird by its shell.
“Patience is a virtue” –might they tell?
“Trust the life inside.” – all will be well…
Size, colour, shape don’t matter when
we all struggle to crack open, be born and then
To eat, walk, find shelter, thrive
As those who were meant to be,
bright, beautiful, alive!
Eggs-
Birds of a feather resting,
Darting, dashing, squawking
In the reeds, in the trees
By the road, by the seas
Robin, osprey, pheasant, jay
Plumage, wings, beaks, array
Soar, float, waddle, dive, on the way
Whistle, hoot, chirp, and call
Red/green, fast/slow, big/small
Eggs in a celestial basket–
Aren’t we
all?
Preparing for the Garden Walk of Holy Week
In the last few days of his life, Jesus moved from garden to garden from suffering to resurrection.
Join Christine Sine for a Lent retreat that reflects on this journey and prepares for the challenging week that follows Palm Sunday.
Click here to register! We are once again offering several price points to aid those who are students or in economic hardship
by Christine Sine
A few weeks ago I read a fascinating article that talked about how chemical sprays – both pesticides and fertilizers – negatively impact pollination by altering the electrical field around flowers, making bumblebees less likely to land on them. What flowers have electrical fields around them? That’s not the way I think about them.
There are other aspects of a flower’s appearance that are not what they seem when it comes to how insects perceive it. When I watched David Attenborough’s fascinating documentary Kingdom of Plants I was particularly intrigued by the very different view that insects have of flowers. Their ultra-violet viewpoint totally transforms what the flower looks like.
Ultraviolet view of flowers
We see the flower on the left, the insect sees the image on the right beckoning it to come and pollinate. Unfortunately a large number of the beautiful hybrid double flowers that we so enjoy don’t have the flashing landing strip lights that say here is the place to come for some yummy pollen. Some of them don’t even have pollen. So as much as I like these flashy hybrids, I always make sure there are plenty of flowers that I know will attract birds and bees and other pollinators.
So what does this have to do with Mary and Martha, with Lent or with Women’s History month which we celebrate in March? Well part of what I love about my changing perspective of God’s world is that it opens me to new perspectives of the scriptures and to new understanding of the historical place of women in the narrative.
A few years ago Mary Stromer Hanson in her book The New Perspective on Mary and Martha – Do Not Preach Mary and Martha Again Until You Read This! questioned our interpretation of the story where Mary is praised for sitting at Jesus feet and Martha is reprimanded for working hard in the kitchen as told in Luke 10:38-42. First we read into the story things that are not really there, like our assumption that Jesus arrives with a hoard of disciples and forces Martha to scurry around getting a meal for them. However, all the text explicitly states is that Jesus entered a village and was welcomed by Martha. Hanson suggests that this was actually a one on one conversation.
Hanson believes that Mary and Martha were both ministry leaders in the church – Martha with a “house church” and ministry in her local village, Mary as a kind of traveling evangelist, spreading the good news of Christ to other villages. She suggests that the King James version of vs 39 is more accurate than others. It says “And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.”
According to Hanson, since “sitting at the feet” is a figurative description rather than a literal one, Mary is not necessarily physically seated before Jesus’s feet while Martha addresses him. In her presentation, Hanson said that:
“Sitting at the feet,” as in Acts 22:3, is the traditional vocabulary of discipleship. So both Martha and Mary are known as “sitters at the feet” or disciples of Jesus. This is a figurative description, not literal.
Martha addresses Jesus directly in Luke 10:40 because Mary, again according to Hanson, isn’t even there. While Martha is struggling to keep up with the local village ministry, Mary is traveling around ministering abroad. Martha wants Jesus to deliver a message to Mary when he encounters her in his travels, asking her to return and assist Martha in the village ministry.
Hanson also proposes an alternative translation of verse 42. She translates tēn agathēn merida (literally, “the good portion”) not superlatively (as in “the best portion”) but rather positively (as in “a good thing”; cf. The New Perspective, p. 31). In other words, Mary’s choice of ministering abroad isn’t necessarily better than Martha’s choice of ministering to the village; Mary’s choice of itinerant ministry is equally good. Hanson’s contention is that both Mary and Martha were prominent leaders and Mary probably had a very effective evangelistic ministry in drawing others to follow Jesus. (Read Hanson’s entire paper here).
I am increasingly convinced that many of our interpretations of Biblical stories need to be revisited. Just as our perception of the world around us needs to be revisited. Flowers are not what we first perceive them to be and new information continues to be gathered to broaden our understanding and the ways in which we respond to them. Gospel stories like this one are the same. We always need to have our eyes and our ears open to new facts that help us to understand the complete story. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). We do indeed see through a glass darkly. All of God’s creation tells us so.
Preparing for the Garden Walk of Holy Week
In the last few days of his life, Jesus moved from garden to garden from suffering to resurrection.
Join Christine Sine for a Lent retreat that reflects on this journey and prepares for the challenging week that follows Palm Sunday.
Click here to register! We are once again offering several price points to aid those who are students or in economic hardship
by June Friesen
Quiet Day, also known as National Don’t Utter a Word Day, is observed annually on February 25th. As I was scrolling through my computer looking for things on stillness and being quiet I discovered there is a day set aside for quietness. It is also an international day. As I pondered this I was also intrigued that we hear little about this special day and even less people seem to ever talk about practicing a quiet day. Several years ago when I was in a program of religious study one of the disciplines that was taught was ‘to take time away and just sit….observe…..listen…..be…..’ Even though I have always been a person who has not liked much noise around me whether in my home or anywhere else, this was intriguing. It was not something that I was taught as a child or a young person, especially in the religious realm. Now this is a time that I value highly as it gives me opportunity to clear my mind and spirit as well as it opens my spirit to creativity and wonder. So I did a bit of research and I found three quotes that hold great gifts of wisdom. Let me share them with you.
“Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.” – Plutarch
“The quieter you become the more you are able to hear.” Rumi
“Quiet people have the loudest minds.” Stephen Hawking
I had thought to add just one of these quotes however they seem to compliment each other. We will refer to them a little more later.
Let us also look at a time of quiet in the life of Jesus.
As I thought about quietness in the Scriptures I was reminded first of all of the time immediately following the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 4. Here we find Jesus going out into the wilderness/desert by Himself for forty days.
1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”
4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”
5-6 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.”
7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”
8-9 For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.”
10 Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”
11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs.
I find it interesting that it tells us that Jesus fasted and prayed alone to prepare Himself for the time ahead of Him. While I am sure that part of that was the tests from the devil, I am sure it was also a time where His spirit was one on one with the Father and the Spirit as He prepared for the three years of ministry here on this earth before His death and resurrection. In the gospels there are times that it says Jesus withdrew from the crowds for a time alone, sometimes with His disciples and sometimes alone.
When one is reading the whole of the Scriptures we find that there were others who also spent time alone with God, some it was a part of their job such as David the shepherd, while others it was a time away from people for preparation or work such as Moses spending time in the wilderness before he was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. It was at these times that these people were open to God’s preparation as they were then called into ministry for Him.
So today we are challenged and encouraged to lower the noise level around us, around the world, in the environment. Have you ever heard someone refer to the noise of the city as pollution? As I was writing this I was conscious of all of the noise I heard even though I was inside my home with all the windows and doors closed. I hear people yelling, people talking, a cat meowing, planes overhead, cars going by (some more noisy than others), an occasional dog bark etc. I then remembered how during the beginning of covid when there was a curfew in effect in our city for a few weeks and how quiet it was. It is amazing how desensitized we have become to noise and often we do not even realize the gift of quiet. It is a gift as it not only gives one’s ears a rest as well as it also gives one’s mind and spirit rest.
Did you know that if you reduce the noise level around you and in your home it will also reduce your stress? If I am home alone it is usually quiet – there is no radio, stereo or television on. It is not that I mind if they are on occasionally or it they are being listened too or watched however they are not needed just for noise in the background. This may be a practice that you could try sometimes and see how you like the quiet. Some churches practice quiet as a part of their services or they have ‘quiet days’ when they offer time on the campus and/or in the church to just ‘be’ with God alone.
Maybe today could be a day when you try one brief practice of quiet in your home, workplace or outdoors. Choose to eat your dinner in silence. Take a walk or sit alone as you have a lunch or coffee break at work. Take that time to allow your heart to be filled with gratitude to God for His amazing blessings.
IN THE QUIET
God, help me still the racing thoughts of my mind,
Help me still the movements of my hands and fingers
And may they rest peacefully for while,
Help me still my feet from running to and fro
And even from wiggling as I choose to rest for a moment or two.
Help me sit with a restful, relaxed pose
Embracing Your embrace O Spirit –
Yes, in the quiet let me rest –
Let me wait –
Let me listen –
Let me hear –
Let me be –
Let me lean back –
Back into Your presence O God –
Feeling Your heart beat through mine –
O how beautiful it is O God –
Just to be –
Just to be alone,
Quiet with Thee.
Amen.
I encourage you to make a copy of this little prayer – save it in your phone or carry it with you – and from time to time – take a moment and just be quiet and alone with God.
Writing and photos by June Friesen. Scripture is from The Message translation.
Preparing for the Garden Walk of Holy Week
In the last few days of his life, Jesus moved from garden to garden from suffering to resurrection.
Join Christine Sine for a Lent retreat that reflects on this journey and prepares for the challenging week that follows Palm Sunday.
Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration before the Lenten fast begins. It’s also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day, a day to clean out the pantry and use up all the butter, sugar etc before Lent begins. Cleaning out your fridge and your pantry is a great Lenten practice. It’s an opportunity to give away unexpired food you wont use to a food pantry as a Lenten practice.
If you haven’t had a chance to have pancakes or you haven’t ever had pancakes as a part of your Lenten practice, make a batch for breakfast or dinner and then Consider the Ingredients of your Pancakes as Prayer Practice.
As we begin Lent Consider the things that make up pancakes… Consider these Ingredients
Pick one or two that resonate with you.
What is God speaking to you about through the ingredients?
What is God’s recipe for you this year for Lent? Ask Jesus to show you!
Flour
Sugar
Eggs
Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
Butter or Oil
OR Pancake Mix
FLOUR… the staff of life
It its the main ingredient
It makes pancakes, breads, and cookies!
Add Baking Powder or Yeast and it Rises!
Flour comes in lots of forms:
Bleached
Whole Wheat
Gluten Free
Almond and Rice Flours It also comes pre-sifted…
CONSIDER:
What does God want to mix up in your life this Lent?
What does Jesus want to make new?
What does God want to create, make, bake?
What does God want to sift into your life? Does your life need sifting? Or reheated?
SUGAR… the sweetness of life
adds sweetness
too much makes us fat
too much causes inflammation
there is real sugar and there is artificial sugar
things can be exchanged for it, like applesauce, honey, molasses
CONSIDER: What areas of your life need sweetening in a good way?
How can you bring sweetness to the world?
PINCH OF SALT:
Are you felling salty or in need of salt today?
Are you bringing flavor to your world or just leaving a bitter taste in people’s lives?
EGGS:
they provide the protein
might cause an allergy attack
multiple ways to cook them outside of a recipe for pancakes CONSIDER:
Are you feeling scrambled ? too busy? need focus? Are you feeling allergic to life, to God, to people?
Are you feeling dried out and over cooked?
Talk to God about this!
BUTTER, OIL, FAT…
Gives life it’s richness, and makes Julia Child smile! Butter makes everything taste better
What is the richness, the good flavor that Jesus wants to add to your life this Lenten Season?
Imagine the Pancakes cooking on the griddle. Perfect pancakes, light and airy, browned just right.
Picture them stacked on a plate,
Rich butter on the top.
Perhaps with blueberries or strawberries added in.
Perhaps filled with chocolate chips and topped with whipped cream!
The butter melts.
The syrup flows.
Imagine this to be a gift from Jesus to you!
Allow this image to represent the
The Richness and Abundance of God’s Love you…
The Richness and Abundance of Jesus’s Love for us today and always!
Let’s taste and receive this Love today and each day between now and Easter. AMEN
NOTE: my original inspiration came from the AD for the Iona community shrove tuesday service. You can purchase the service here. If you don’t know the Iona community, they have great resources for prayer and liturgies too! I’m taking a group on pilgrimage to Iona THIS AUGUST 28-Sept 4, 2023. I would love you to join me! Find out more Finding Your Thinplace Pilgrimage
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