Where?

 

Lenten Prayer by the Trappiest monk Thomas Merton.

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

 

 

The Visit

The Pope, 84, felt ‘duty bound’ to make an historic visit to Iraq and met the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, 90. He asked that Christians and those of other faiths particularly the Yasidis may be allowed to live in peace and security as there has been religious and sectarian violence against them.   

The Pope delivered his message at the site of the ancient city of Ur, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, who is revered in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

An inter-faith service brought together representatives of Iraq's religions, including Shia, Sunni, Christian and Yazidi clerics.

"We believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion," the Pope said.

"Indeed, we are called unambiguously to dispel all misunderstandings. Let us not allow the light of heaven to be overshadowed by the clouds of hatred."

 

O God, you are the source of life and peace.

Praised be your name forever.

We know it is you who turns our minds to thoughts of peace.

Hear our prayer in this time of crisis.

Your power changes hearts.

Give to us:

Understanding that puts an end to strife;

Mercy that quenches hatred, and

Forgiveness that overcomes vengeance.

Empower all people to live in your law of love

Amen.

 

Take up our lives and walk

 

Lenten Poem by Ann Weems

Lent is a time to take time to let the power
of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events get up
and walk around in us,
a time to intensify our living unto Christ,
a time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,
a time to place our feet in the streets of
Jerusalem or to walk along the sea and
listen to his Word,
a time to touch his robe
and feel the healing surge through us,

a time to ponder and a time to wonder….
Lent is a time to allow
a fresh new taste of God!
Perhaps we’re afraid to have time to think,
for thoughts come unbidden.
Perhaps we’re afraid to face our future
knowing our past.
Give us courage, O God,
to hear your Word
and to read our living into it.
Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven
and give us the faith
to take up our lives and walk.

 

Singing for Joy

 Ann-Marie writes

Psalm 96. 11-12

 

“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad

  let the sea resound and al that is in it

  let the fields be jubilant and everything in them;

  let all the trees of the forest sing for joy”

 

The best time to walk in Broxbourne Woods is when everywhere is carpeted by bluebells. Not too long now! However it was still good to be there when snow was on the ground. Every season brings its own delights in the woods.

 

These woods are part of Hertfordshire National Nature Reserve. One of their priorities is to gradually replace conifers and restore the natural old forests with large spaces allowing for the flora and fauna.  

 

A short loop walk suitable for all can be found in Pembridge Lane, just off Brickendon, where there are two car parks and a marked walk to a sculpture trail.

There are nine wooden sculptures to spot created out of oak by a local craftsman who was inspired by nature and local history.

 

The carving of the Roman Centurion is very close to the old Roman Road Ermine Street, once the main road from London to Lincoln and York but now a glorious footpath through these ancient woodlands.

 

 Enjoy God’s handiwork.

 

 

 

Half a World Away

 

A Lenten Confession – I have been watching some trashy television. Only after my work is done and I want to relax, of course. The lockdown has its effect and I want to escape. So I have been following Australian Married at First Sight.

It wasn’t my idea initially, but my husband suggested it. References were coming up frequently on the newsfeed on his mobile phone. He says it is absolutely on trend. It’s a bit Genesis 2&3 in reverse, the temptation which is offered and grasped but this time the man initiates it and the woman can be the one to pretend she is not guilty. That works for me.

The series is about relationships, where men and women are brought together for a “marriage” without any prior meeting. The couples are allocated by “experts” who analyse data about each person and match them up. Then they have eight weeks of getting to know one another, ultimately deciding whether to marry for real.

One fascinating aspect is that each person confides regularly to the camera, and therefore to me, just what is going on in their mind. Oh the uncertainties, the joys, the changing perceptions. If only we could normally be so clear and open with our feelings, facing our difficulties and rejoicing in the good stuff. We could really have a healthy, open life, as clear as the Australian outback. But later we see the subterfuges, the unwillingness to change and (literally) embrace a new life.

The participants have many different stories which they bring with them. Some have broken marriages or other significant relationships behind them, others have had limited experience of loving relationships. For some there is a barrier to trusting others, for others there is an element of selfishness; and some seem genuine. There are elements of people wanting to dominate the group, of some preferring to run their relationships against the rules, of denial of involvement, and even of betrayal. Where have I heard that before?

It’s all too much. There have been forty-one episodes. Thankfully I only joined at no. 35. I began my viewing thinking that they are half the world away and I could just laugh incredulously, as I do. And at least it looks as if the fame has brought most of them a wealthy situation in life. But the pain of rejection was there too, the demand of changing oneself too exacting to make a difference for a happier future.

This Lent, how willing are we to examine our lives under God? If our way of living and relating to others was followed by cameras for eight weeks – or forty days and forty nights – what would be the result? God does know us through and through, and his call to love is there to hold and guide us, to bring us through all that threatens our well-being. In offering our true selves to God – rather than being in denial of our spiritual needs – we can be lead into God’s ways of faith, hope and love which alone last for ever.

Psalm 23 Redux

 

This I know:

My life is in your hands.

I have nothing to fear.

 

I stop,

breathe,

listen.

 

Beneath the whirl of what is

is a deep down quiet place.

You beckon me to tarry there.

 

This is the place

where unnamed hungers

are fed, the place

of clear water,

refreshment.

 

My senses stilled,

I drink deeply,

at home in timeless territory.

 

In peril, I remember:

Death's dark vale holds no menace.

I lean into You;

Your eternal presence comforts me.

I am held tenderly.

 

In the midst of all that troubles,

that threatens and diminishes,

You set abundance before me.

You lift my head; my vision clears.

The blessing cup overflows.

 

This I know:

You are my home and my hope,

my strength and my solace,

and so shall You ever be.

 

In Carla A. Grosch-Miller, Psalms Redux: Poems and Prayers,

​(London: Canterbury Press)

Are you Happy?

 

Apparently being grateful adds years to our lives! University research has shown that a group of participants who were asked to write down five things for which they were thankful once a week tended to feel more optimistic and more satisfied with their lives than the control group. Other studies show that on days when people express their thankfulness, their blessedness, they experience more positive emotions, helping people cope with stress, inhibiting invidious comparisons with others and making them more likely to help others. In this last year we may have sometimes found gratitude difficult, but in these challenging times there remains so much to be thankful for, and faith in God offers positive hope even in the hardest times.

In material terms we are better off, better informed, usually freer, and live longer lives than in the past  and yet somehow because we now think of happiness solely in terms of self gratification we feel less good about ourselves because we live in such a consumer driven society that encourages our discontent, making us compare what we have with others, suggesting that we are somehow less if we don’t have X or look like Y or do Z.

Happiness and blessedness are  almost synonymous in the Bible and they are understood as living in relationship with God and others. It means doing well, living in harmony with all of creation. Only in the last couple of centuries has happiness been seen in terms of feelings or private experience. When Thomas Jefferson included the word happiness in the American Declaration of Independence he took it for granted that happiness was in relation with others, doing good for others. Happiness that focusses only on ourselves would be in classical and Biblical terms, a contradiction. So it should be no surprise that Jesus links love of God, our main priority, with the command to love others as ourselves.

Accept O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendour of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen