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This earlier blog post reflected on waiting particularly from the perspective of Simeon, in the Bible, who had waited for the Messiah to appear. Here are some more reflections about waiting. The world learning about waiting : `Our 21st century western perspective of time and space - it was thrown by the pandemic - nothing is as it was and we all had to wait, for end of lockdown, for the vaccine, for the chance of travelling again, for normal connections with people to resume. It took far longer than we imagined. The impacts have been far worse. It is clear that we know nothing at all about so much. What are does waiting feel like?:
The ultimate waiting However, despite all these feelings about waiting, there are also much more profound times of waiting that can cut far deeper: Waiting for the second coming, waiting for death, waiting for love, waiting for conception, waiting for the 'second shoe to drop' Each of these brings great challenges as they may be impossibly distant, terrifyingly real, resignedly impossible, scarily uncontrollable, worryingly pessimistic. So, what is positive, hopefully, real and affirming about waiting? ‘`Good things come to those who wait’ - where does that phrase come from? We know that impatience and rushing can lead to the gimcrack and unsatisfying. Grabbing and forestalling the true processes can give less than the best, much less. ‘Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord’ - This from Psalm 27 is about the way to do the waiting - so it is not weak, pessimistic and pathetic but it is possible to do the waiting strong and optimistically, hopefully. There is a restfulness in waiting - a freedom in ‘there is nothing I can do’. It can be a time of receiving, slowing down. And it requires a load of trust. Trust that I am waiting in the right place, trust that ‘all things are working together for good’, trust that there is a plan even if I haven’t seen it. It helps to get a bit more understanding of time and eternity. The Psalms are a great place to go for this. What do Psalm 27 and Psalm 90 tell us about time? Psalm 27 - is about becoming free, and the way to do this is to dwell ‘in the house of the Lord, safe, hidden, set on the rock. He cries for mercy, for God not to forsake him but to lead and guide. The pslam is full of yearning and hope and ends with the glorious words (v 13,14) - and if they are reversed, it would read….’Wait for the lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord’….’ I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living’ In Psalm 90 there are many references to time. eg v4: ‘A thousand years in your slght are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night’. V12: ‘teach us to number our days, that we may gain the heart of wisdom’. V14: ‘Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days’. Another place in the Bible that helps in waiting Surprisingly, perhaps, this can be found at the very beginning and end of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. It is usual to characterise this book as a great adventure story of the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church, full of movement and drama and action. However, right at the beginning, in chapter 1, we read of a group of people having to wait, not knowing all the answers. They then have to make a journey and wait again Then right at the end of this roller-coaster of a book in chapter 28 we find that great activist, Paul waiting in Rome, in rented accommodation, using that time of waiting to proclaim the kingdom and teaching about Jesus Christ. Waiting is necessary, powerful, and worth it.....something is happening, even if we are not quite sure what! As you wait, and think nothing is happening, things are going on in the background, and perhaps if we weren’t forced to stop and wait, the really important things would not happen. Acts 1:1-11
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 28:26,30-31 “ 'Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” …. …..For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ---with all boldness and without hindrance!
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I have been reading again at the story of Jesus at the wedding at Cana - the one where things were going well, but then the wine ran out. You can read the story in John 2 At the middle of the story is Mary. She was there with her family and, as women often do, noticing what was going on. She noticed that there was a problem brewing. Something vital was lacking and the realised that something needed to be done to solve it. She knew she couldn’t do it herself : she did not have the means or resources to find some more good wine. However she did notice and know that her son Jesus was there and she did know and notice that if she told him, he would respond, would have a way of meeting the need. This is one of my favourite sayings, attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux as his principles for caring for the monks under his care,
It is is good advice in many contexts - from family dynamics to churches and workplaces. But I realised that one thing is missing from this. It is ‘Notice Jesus is here’ We are called and expected to be alert, be aware of the dynamics and needs of those around us. We can cherish and care, but we also need to turn round and remember that Jesus is there, in the middle of it all. He is able to act, miraculously, unexpectedly, if only we remember to ask him to. By noticing Jesus and asking him to act, Mary was instrumental in enriching this family celebration, in enabling rejoicing to happen. Jesus noticed the need for a solution to the wine problem , but also noticed the servants and gave them a task (not a particular easy one) so that they became part of the miracle. He noticed their need to be needed I have been considering the story of the wedding held at Cana, recounted in the gospel of John, chapter 2. There are many striking aspects to this story to ponder. One of them is the jars. They would have been large clay containers which would have to be filled and usually held water. Those jars were empty, were filled with water and then transformed. There was a space in the centre of these jars of clay. So there are challenges in this picture:
There is another story of jars and being filled: 2 Kings 4:1-7. The poor widow who only has one jar of oil. Elisha tells her to collect more jars from friends and neighbours and to keep on pouring oil. And it kept flowing
2 Corinthians 4:7. ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ Here is Zechariah, a father, looking up to God, understanding who God is, and then looking to his son and understanding who he will be. In the first half of the song he celebrates the great history of God’s dealings with his people: salvation, mercy, covenants, rescue from enemies, serving without fear. It begins with an assertion of salvation, and at this moment Zechariah can’t have known the details of what this would have looked like. He had faith that this is what God said he would do and he realised that now was the time. He is speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit, shouting a song of faith and praise, loud and clear after his months of silence. This reads like one of the psalms. Did someone write down what he said? Were the words repeated often so that they became the anthem of that household, that community? Did the priests hear this and use it as part of the temple worship: a new great form of prayer and praise to be lifted up with outstretched hands?
Then there is a pivot : the focus changes, to his child. John was the first ‘person of the Way’ (the early Christians were called People of the Way): he was given the task of preparing the way of the Lord - so that Jesus could come and live in power and so that we could follow on the path of peace. The markers on the way are paced out in these verses: know salvation, forgiven sin, mercy of God shining light to banish darkness, finding the path of peace. This boy’s life was not going to be easy, and would end early and violently. He needed the same silence and seclusion that his Father had experienced to understand his calling. A prayer Lord, thank you for this glorious hymn of praise to the great sweep of your purpose. I can hear this peeling through the years and in small, sometimes quiet ways, can add my voice. Teach me to praise you more extravagantly. As I live my life on the ‘Way’, thank you for the paths that John forged : his singleminded determination to clear a way through the tangled and impenetrable complexities that we have made of this world. In all the confusion and mess, the ruins and rubble there is a way to be found. John knew this and started clearing the path so that Jesus could himself become the Way, the Truth and the Life. LUKE 1: 57-66 New International Verson In all the hill country this event was marvelled at. A baby born healthy to this old couple, the man who couldn't speak who now could, and this unexpected name: what would it mean? For Elizabeth and Zechariah the hard work had just begun - feeding, caring, disciplining, trying to understand this dear son.. In their quieter moments they must have remembered how all this began. Did they keep in touch with Mary and Joseph? Their sons were similar ages. Those two women knew, from the angel, how special they were, yet also watched as the children grew and became even more special. Their sons became the ones that people followed, while their parents waited and watched at home.
Years later, John fully realised too that he was not then important one. He watched his cousin, he understood who he was and said: "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30). That was true for his parents, that was true for him and is true for us all, before the pre-eminent greatness of Jesus. Prayer Lord I have glimpses of glory and significance but much of life is slow and hard and confusing. I try to cope by inflating my own importance. In your way of doing things, great changes come, even miracles happen. Yet, I then need to step aside and marvel at what you are doing. Thank you for the example of these elders - Elizabeth and Zechariah. Help me to be a gracious elder. This song teaches us how to praise. The focus is God, his glory, his constancy from generation to generation and his surprising priority for the lowly and humble. He notices, shows strength, overturns power, provides and helps.
How amazing that in this place, with Elizabeth there, Mary was able to praise. She perhaps shared some of these feelings and words with her cousin, and gradually let them sink in over the years until she was, in old age, interviewed by Luke. This was the distillation of all that she knew and experienced and understood. This young, ‘insignificant’ girl was able to understand these very deep truths. The connection from her to God was the most intimate. Sh somehow was able to throw off any sense of pride, entitlement, fear or guilt. There was just wonder. This is an expression of deep joy welling up. We are seen, however small and frail. The joy that Mary experienced is ours too because of the life inside her. God did great things for this “me” and for all of us, every other ‘me’. So it rolls on: the joy of generations. God’s might is so big that it overthrows the world’s might and lifts and fills and helps and remembers. There is this great chain of faith. It is good to go back to that actual account of this meeting, rather than just looking at and enjoying paintings of the event, so many that I love What strikes me, as the paintings do, is the way these two women come together and shared this time together. Elizabeth, the old woman, is further along in her pregnancy. Mary is still young and unsure and needs to be near her relative. Zechariah is still silent, so Elizabeth's loud voice must have filled the house and given them all a shock but also affirmation. What is remarkable is that Elizabeth talks about ‘my Lord’. Presumably she had heard the story of Gabriel coming - and she believed totally and ‘gathered in’ this great event, this new life growing, to herself, so much so that it was transmitted to her baby. There is this crucial blessing from the old lady to the young one: ‘blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her’. So she has great discernment, great understanding and rightly honours Mary’s belief. And by saying this would have built up each others’ faith and confidence. Images of the Visitation
This passage that is so well known, read every Christmas time. and with so many wonderful paintings showing the annunciation - the angel coming and Mary’s reaction. In the account there is this wonderful link between one miraculous baby and another. Elizabeth was old, Mary very young. The same angel comes, half a year later, to shine the light of heaven on this small, insignificant person living in a town in a distant part of the Roman Empire with no power and influence - young and just starting her life. The Catholic Church and tradition puts so much on Mary’s shoulders. I wonder that she can bear it. She is the accepting receiver of God’s power, the Holy Spirit coming to create. This is scandalous, impossible, deeply unlikely and unlooked for. And just as Gabriel explained to Elizabeth what John would do, so he explains to Mary that this child would become a great and all powerful king. That makes it all even more impossible. What about the phrase - ‘no word from God will ever fail’. Does it link to the fact that God sent an angel............who is this being, what did he look like. He is clearly a messenger...why is he always painted with wings? In Daniel 9 he is mentioned and it talks about swift flight, so that presumably is why. A messenger brings a word....and in this case it is from God, directly and specifically and the truth of what he says is visible, tangible, in these two babies growing in their mothers’ wombs. There is nothing conjectural about this, there can be no questioning that what he said was true. And So the word didn't fail. The babies did both go to full term and were born safe and well. And what the angel said they would be, and do, would come to pass - although not entirely how it may have seemed when their parents first heard. Mary would only see the ‘throne’ eventually in heaven. . Elizabeth would presumably not live to see her son grow to be a man and to baptise Jesus. A prayer: Lord, thank you for the words of assurance and confidence in this most momentous account: The Lord is with you; dont be afraid; his Kingdom will never end; no word from God will ever fail. Some thought about timelines...Elizabeth was very old, so perhaps 40 or even 50. She would have to be 70 or 80 when John reached manhood and may well have died by then,
Mary was perhaps 16 or 18, so she would be in her late 40s when Jesus started his ministry. And then, Luke was writing at least 30 years after Christ’s death. So even if her was collecting material before then, Mary would have to be around 70. But Luke was with Paul in AD 50 - so he was involved then and could have been talking to Mary and others from then, or even before then. If you didn’t know, you would assume that this book is going to be all about John. Here is the God ordained and signalled story of how he came to be born.
I love that he was to be a joy and delight to Elizabeth and Zechariah. They matter in this story - their faithfulness and service. We are not told whether they had other children - presumably not in their old age - so this man would bring them joy even though there would be no daughter in law or grandchildren. He would take up the mantle of prophet and they knew, from their devotion and study, what an important, vital role that was. The themes of joy and of the Holy Spirit at work are introduced here and Luke emphasises them throughout the gospel and Acts The mention of Elijah by Gabriel...and the ‘prepare for the Lord’ - priest Zechariah would have known well the prophecy in Isaiah 40 I am struck by the silence and seclusion. The silence is so telling. Zechariah was not to go around telling people what was happening. Perhaps he did write things down a bit, but this was the work of God and the only way to stand before this is in silent awe. He doubted, so fell silent.... and Elizabeth was able to testify ‘the Lord has done this for me’ A prayer: Lord there are strange resonance with these times. Like Elizabeth we are in seclusion - and perhaps it will be for five months....And Zechariah was forced to lay aside his priestly role - he could not speak out, for nine months. All the things he thought he knew were silenced by the mightiness of God’s command and will. His fierce religiosity and devotion to God was broken into by this messenger sent straight from God, to him. The miracles start as they mean to go on:
The heritage - the chain of witness of the chosen people The breaking the mould starts here - Zechariah silenced, Elizabeth carry a child in old age. If you didn’t know what was to come you would think that this was a story about this new prophet. Surely this is going to be a story about him. What about Zechariah and Elizabeth? He and, I am sure, she prayed for children even though it seemed hopeless. They remained faithful to their calling and heritage and they were very old. Yet he and she are chosen - seemingly random in world terms but not in God’s - Gabriel was getting ready to come. Far more is being set in place than even this miracle . God knows that Jesus, even Jesus, needed commissioning and validating. This child needs to be chosen and born to be the forerunner, the path clearer. A prayer: Lord, thank you that your great patchwork of life extends back and forwards. Thank you, although it is scary, that you are in the business of calling and choosing. That includes the very old. Surprises can come even when they seem impossible. The same happened to Sarah and Abraham, Hannah and Elkanah. It is as if either the waiting, or the unexpected are how you choose to work. |
WhatsoeverThe posts are 'postcards' on my journey through faith and art. The name 'Whatsoever' comes from Philippians 4:8 in the Bible : Categories
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