Spiritual beings and the human journey...

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”
(Stephen R. Covey)

Another great quote on journeying... sort of the antithesis to this one by Wendall Berry.

It resonated with me because a couple of Sundays ago I did a service on the Psalms and my third (and final) reflection went something like this:

The big questions ... they never really change do they? Even in our supposedly secular society... the age old questions about life and death… heaven and hell… and about human suffering ...don’t go away. People are still looking for answers.

Some of the most poignant verses in the Bible are found in the book of Ecclesiastes. In chapter three and verse 11…the philosopher says:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in our hearts... yet we cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end”.

What a wonderful paradox. We are made for eternity... it is in our hearts...yet we cannot fully understand or appreciate the purposes of God… not in this life anyway... we will always have questions.

This verse from Ecclesiastes always makes me think of Paul’s words in his first letter to the Church in Corinth… in chapter 13 he says:

“Now we see but a poor reflection ...as in a mirror (or as the KJV renders it “For now we see through a glass darkly”) then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part... then shall I know fully... even as I am known. And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love”.

These sentiments are also given expression in Psalm 139 which talks about how completely we are known by God... by the God who formed us and gave us life. So even when we struggle with the life of faith... even when we do not fully understand the purposes of God... even when we cry “Why Lord? Why me?” ...we can still know how fully and completely we are loved by him. And we can be confident that his love never fails.

Psalm 139: 1-16

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in— behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
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We humans are spiritual beings... we were made for eternity... we were made for God.
We were created to live lives of faith, hope and love... so we will ask the big questions of God…. and we will keep on asking them no matter how secular our society becomes...we will keep on asking them because we all need meaning and purpose and hope.

And we should not shy away from asking the hard questions of God… questions of life and death… of pain... suffering and loss.

Although the psalms offer no magic formulas to make our troubles go away... we find in them the reality of living faith. All our grief... all our struggles and discouragements... all our suffering and pain... all the difficult unanswerable questions ...are given a voice in these enduring songs of prayer and praise.

But the most powerful voice of all... the loudest voice echoing through the psalms is the voice of joy and praise... the voice of eternal security proclaiming in every generation the grace and love of the Lord God almighty!

(Photo of Hayburn Wyke on the North Yorkshire coast by Dave at the districtblog)

Growing up...

“It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who we are. We face surprises. And disappointments. The crucial fact is that we are different from anybody we know and admire.... It takes all one's courage to be the person one is, fulfilling one's odd and unique possibilities”.
(M.C. Richards)

I liked this quote... it made me smile to think I am odd and unique!

Growing up and learning to be who we are not always an easy process! I did most of my growing up as an adult and people don’t make the same allowances for an adult with ‘growing pains’ that they do for a teenager!

Adults are meant to have maturity sussed... Mmmm so why are there times when I feel like throwing a tantrum and yelling at the top of my lungs? And we are not supposed to go a little weird... or behave in unexpected ways... or occasionally go off the deep end.

And growing up in adulthood is full of surprises ... who would have thought I would grow up to be a Church of Scotland minister – not me! Not in my wildest dreams (or nightmares)!

I spent the best part of my teens, twenties and thirties just quietly fitting in – not growing up. I wanted to be the same as everyone else... so throwing all this conformity out the window in my 40s to train for ministry was a bit of a shock to my system. I was different whether I liked it or not... and mostly I did not... cue the growing pains!!

Now more than five years on I hardly recognise myself... but by the grace of God I am at last fulfilling my odd and unique possibilities.

A spiritual journey...

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.

(Wendell Berry)




Spiritual journeying... pilgrimage... can be an arduous voyage for both body and soul if we are not sure what we are looking for. Sometimes I tie myself in knots for no good reason at all... I think too much instead of just accepting and trusting... I worry too much instead of simply putting one foot in front of the other.

Spiritual journeying is not measured in distance... it is not about what I see or do ... it is about understanding what God has done for me. It is a journey of a lifetime based on God’s revelation in his Word and in Jesus Christ... he does this so we can know him.

Spiritual journeying is about being rooted in God... and grounded in his Word. It is about obedience and service... and trusting that he has given me all I need for faith and life (2 Peter 1:3)

Sometimes it takes a very long time to travel that inch between knowledge and understanding... where we discover what was there all along!

(Another great picture from: davesdistrictblog )

Steps of faith...

All who seek you
test you.
And those who find you
bind you to image and gesture.

I would rather sense you
as the earth senses you.
In my ripening
ripens
what you are.

I need from you
no tricks
to prove you exist.
Time, I know,
is other than you.

No miracles, please.
Just let your laws
become clearer
from generation to generation.

I am quite a fan of Rainer Maria Rilke and the sheer simplicity of these lines appeals and challenges ... is the Word of God enough for us or do we bury it in demands for experiential proof? Do we stifle it with meaningless ritual and tradition?

Or do we cling on to what we know of God through his Word in each generation... trusting that he has spoken all the words we will ever need to hear?

(Great picture - "Well worn steps of faith" from davesdistrictblog)

Frustration ...

This past week has been full of 'frustrations'... things totally out with my control coming one on top of another.

So by the end of the week I was wrung out... tired and weary... as on top of everything else I was moving my eldest daughter into her own house... then my son broke his collar bone and (very sadly) two members of the congregation died.

Add into this ‘mix’ my agreeing to do back to back weeks of pastoral cover for colleagues (despite still commuting to my own charge) and picking up a pastoral cover funeral on day 1 and in day 2. (Sorry this is turning into a ‘moan post’ which wasn’t my intention).

But I have held on to the prayer in the previous post ... particularly the first three lines:

May today there be peace within...

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

And today the aptness of these lines hit home.

We had a baptism this morning and my all age talk was about ‘mustard seed faith’ (based on Matthew 17: 30 and Mark 4: 30-34) about all the potential that is stored inside a tiny seed (and in a small child)... about the infinite possibilities of our lives... how even weak faith can move mountains.

As I was conducting the service I felt at peace... I am exactly where I should be... doing what I should be doing.

And it is just amazing... wow... today I made the sign of the cross on a little child... baptising her in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

I get to say those wonderful words:

“it was for you that Jesus Christ came into the world… for you he lived and showed God’s love. For you he suffered the darkness of Calvary’s cross. For you he triumphed over death and rose in newness of life and ascended to reign at God’s right hand. All this he did for you even although you cannot understand it yet. And the word of scripture is fulfilled… we love because God first loved us.”

Just over five years ago I made a response of faith and obedience to God... I put my trust in him and began a walk of discipleship ... and my faith was even smaller than a mustard seed. But in the past few years I have seen and done amazing things... things beyond my imagination... and I know there is more come.

So in the midst of circumstances beyond my control... I need to keep reminding myself of "the infinite possibilities that are born of faith" and to trust in the words of God... in particular the ones that tell me that I love because he first loved me. How do I know this... well because of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes I feel just like a child... that there are so many things I don’t yet understand. But understanding is not key to faith. I don’t need to have all the answers... all I need is to trust God. based on what he has revealed of himself to me in his Word and through the Word made flesh ... Jesus Christ.

And my 'frustrations'? Well they are still real and unresolved... But I’ll let you know how it all works out.

Peace and laughter...

May today there be peace within...

May you trust God that you are exactly where you
are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones,
and allow your soul the freedom to sing,
dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

This came in an email today... as did the picture. Although I have had this prayer sent to me many times (and I have posted it before) I really needed to read these words at the end of what has been a rather wearisome week.

And also today I am really thankful for friends who make me laugh... and who are helping me to keep it all in perspective.

Days of struggle...

"I feel that I am like Jacob wrestling through the night, and sometimes it feels like a very long night. And perhaps it goes on so long because like Jacob I have not recognized with whom I am wrestling. I have still not learnt to recognize God in his many guises: I have been made blind and deaf by my own concerns and needs and anxieties, by my pride, by my desire for security. But when I give up wrestling with God I can look around me and say like Jacob, "Truly the Lord was in this place and I knew it not." (Genesis 28.16)" (Esther de Waal)

This quote which I found on Barbara's blog sums up where I am at the moment... I am wrestling with God and with myself.

I find myself in tune with Barbara’s comment on this quote. She says: “The point of Jacob's engagement is not the wrestling and the point of my engagement is not pinning God down on some question. It is the jaw-dropping realization that God is always interacting with me upon this holy ground, at times leaving me limping”.

It is good to know that in periods of doubt and struggle... when I search for truth and light ...God is always right there with me. I can depend on him and on his great love for me revealed in Jesus Christ.

In the midst of searching and questioning ... there is still certainty. At the heart of mystery... God draws close. He is with me in every time and place...even when like Jacob... “I knew it not”!