IT IS WRITTEN
Happy is the one . . . who takes delight in the law of the Lord, and meditates on it by day and by night.
Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.
Psalm 1:1-3
Happy is the one . . . who takes delight in the law of the Lord, and meditates on it by day and by night.
Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.
Psalm 1:1-3
The Beginning of Happiness
It is now well over 20 years ago since I first became conscious of God's tug on the leading strings of his Law. It began with an awareness that commencing a new relationship after separation and divorce from my husband was untenable, that it would be committing adultery, and that, no matter how much I might wish otherwise, the vow of marriage - taken in the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - could not easily be set aside.
This awareness was so strong that I did not question it. It was more than awareness, it was knowledge. I knew. I knew God did not like the separation from my husband; I knew staying with my husband was impossible; I knew there was a boundary and that to breach that boundary by entering into a new relationship would somehow be a trespass against my own best interests; I knew that whatever I decided was critical to my future. And I knew that the choice I had to make was so self-evident that it was hardly a choice. Without even a murmur of regret, I chose for God.
At that time I was not attending church. Yet without any difficulty, and in the absence of any institutional or familial guidance, I held to the certainty that I was choosing for God.
Far from feeling limited or confined by the consciousness of this new boundary, I felt somehow that I had been liberated into a new space, a vast and exciting terrain in which everything was unfamiliar but to which I had a right to belong. I was no alien here.
It was probably about seven, perhaps nine years later that I knew I was being asked to keep the Commandments - specifically what are generally known as the Ten Commandments, the Ten Words or the Decalogue. By this time I was attending a home church and was regularly reading the Bible with considerable enjoyment if not deep understanding. Not that immersion in the books of what Christians call the Old Testament - or even the Gospels - was encouraged. The home church movement is as much influenced by Pauline theology as the Anglican diocese in which I now worship, with an emphasis on doctrines of grace, faith and belief. But a call is a call, and so I set about finding out what these Commandments were. At that time I could have listed perhaps five or six, but not in the order that they are given in Exodus 20.
I took to the task quite lightly. I remember thinking that at least I didn't covet! How wrong, how very, very wrong I was. I was to discover and face (and heal) some entirely dark and unlikable aspects of myself - while experiencing the most intense joy. Happy is the one indeed . . .
It is now well over 20 years ago since I first became conscious of God's tug on the leading strings of his Law. It began with an awareness that commencing a new relationship after separation and divorce from my husband was untenable, that it would be committing adultery, and that, no matter how much I might wish otherwise, the vow of marriage - taken in the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - could not easily be set aside.
This awareness was so strong that I did not question it. It was more than awareness, it was knowledge. I knew. I knew God did not like the separation from my husband; I knew staying with my husband was impossible; I knew there was a boundary and that to breach that boundary by entering into a new relationship would somehow be a trespass against my own best interests; I knew that whatever I decided was critical to my future. And I knew that the choice I had to make was so self-evident that it was hardly a choice. Without even a murmur of regret, I chose for God.
At that time I was not attending church. Yet without any difficulty, and in the absence of any institutional or familial guidance, I held to the certainty that I was choosing for God.
Far from feeling limited or confined by the consciousness of this new boundary, I felt somehow that I had been liberated into a new space, a vast and exciting terrain in which everything was unfamiliar but to which I had a right to belong. I was no alien here.
It was probably about seven, perhaps nine years later that I knew I was being asked to keep the Commandments - specifically what are generally known as the Ten Commandments, the Ten Words or the Decalogue. By this time I was attending a home church and was regularly reading the Bible with considerable enjoyment if not deep understanding. Not that immersion in the books of what Christians call the Old Testament - or even the Gospels - was encouraged. The home church movement is as much influenced by Pauline theology as the Anglican diocese in which I now worship, with an emphasis on doctrines of grace, faith and belief. But a call is a call, and so I set about finding out what these Commandments were. At that time I could have listed perhaps five or six, but not in the order that they are given in Exodus 20.
I took to the task quite lightly. I remember thinking that at least I didn't covet! How wrong, how very, very wrong I was. I was to discover and face (and heal) some entirely dark and unlikable aspects of myself - while experiencing the most intense joy. Happy is the one indeed . . .
BLOGSKeeping the Sabbath
'Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.' Hmmm. The whole issue of holiness seemed just so big and inscrutable. MORE . . . Feed My Sheep How often and how long must Jesus suffer our disregard? How many times must he give, and give, and give again, only to be ignored? MORE . . . Time Lord #1 Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, ‘God is not in things of space, but in moments of time’. MORE . . . The Name ‘You are not to take up the name of YHWH your God for emptiness.' MORE . . . The Love Test #1 I don’t know about you, but a lot of what I hear and read in relation to love of God is about how much God loves me. MORE . . . The Love Test #2 Why is it that spiritual insights are always accompanied by such a sense of surprise? MORE . . . Time Lord #2 The Commandment to remember and keep the Sabbath is a law that maintains the fabric of time. MORE . . . |
MEDITATIONS
THE DECALOGUE
To teach the Ten Commandments as a moral code is to miss their true purpose. We should learn the Ten Commandments as we learn a foreign language, with application and constant repetition. But unlike a foreign language, we soon find that the Ten Commandments are themselves the teacher, and the language they teach is . . . MORE . . . 
THE SABBATH
The Sabbath is like a magnet. If you can grow inside you even a small nugget of desire for the Sabbath, as evening draws near on a Friday you will be dragged ever more strongly into the force field of the Sabbath magnet. And at dark you will slap right up against it, and be well and truly stuck. What bliss! MORE . . . 
THE EUCHARIST
Belief can be misleading. It can start and end in the head. It doesn’t make for a sustaining meal. So why feed people doctrine when God has provided the eucharist? Why fantasise about God when you can actually taste God? And what is the flavour of God? MORE . . . LECTIO DIVINA
Died childless
Not only do I have few 'spiritual children', those I might lay claim to are badly malnourished. Then my contemplation took a more positive turn: If I were dying now, would a 'pregnancy' test prove positive? MORE . . .
Get up!
I had a sudden perception of myself as lying dead, and Jesus speaking to me, ‘I say to you, get up!’ But unlike the son of the widow of Nain, I did not get up, I remained as one dead. MORE . . .
You do not
How do I welcome Jesus? The ghastly answer is, I don't. Rather, I summon Jesus into my presence, at my chosen timing, and with the expectation he will obey my imperious commands . . . MORE . . . |
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