Hope and experience

Tags

belief, divine, experience, faith, hope, Thin Places

I was discussing faith issues with some friends and we were trying to work out what people were looking for in their spiritual journey. Our conclusion was that there were those who were looking for an experience of the Divine and those who were needing hope to get them through life’s journey. I am sure there are other motivations and desires but these were the two that we arrived at during our brief discussion.

In some ways the two are similar, as our experiences of the Divine, such as thin places, moments of intuition, the still small voice within etc. remind us that we live in a universe that is so much richer than our five senses can detect. And even that we are not alone. And this can give rise to hope. Hope that our circumstances can improve, hope that what we do here on Earth can have a fuller, richer meaning, hope that there is an ultimate purpose to existence.

What do you think people are looking for? Are they just answering a primeval urge to seek the Divine or are they wanting to receive something back as well?

I hope that you get to experience the Divine in some way this week.

Blessings.

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Even more about faith

Tags

belief, faith, love, trust, wonder

The word “faith” creates many impressions in my mind. From the faith to heal the sick to the faith to move mountains, the common associations come with doing things or seeing them get done. Then there is the faith that is linked to believing things that we cannot prove.

For me, though, the strongest connection to the word “faith” is with trust. Trust that the circumstances I find myself in will turn out alright, or trust that someone else has ultimate control over the universe. This is the kind of faith that I think about the most frequently.

So that then leads to questions about what does trust look like? Can trust sometimes look like inactivity? When is it time to trust and when is it time to take action yourself?

For me I think I know when I have faith at a particular time when I can go to bed at night and leave my concerns behind, or when I can get up in the morning without being preoccupied with the concerns of the future.

And that only comes about when I remember that the Divine One loves me and cares about me.

I hope that you can find comfort in that.

Faith

Tags

belief, childlike, faith, mustard seed, trust

What is faith?  Can we have too little faith?  Can we have too much faith?  Do we have enough faith?  What, or who, should we put our faith in?  If we have faith in a Divine being, what is S/He like?  Is faith quantitative or qualitative?  What does faith achieve?  Where do you find faith?  How do you get it?  Is it worth searching for?  Or will it arrive as a gift?  Is it something we do?  Or something we choose to receive/reject?  What does faith look/smell/taste/sound/feel like?

I will not attempt to answer these questions.  I guess I believe that anyone who asks such questions probably already has faith.  So, instead, I will walk you through what I think I know about faith:

• Faith is a unique thing for each person; as unique as the relationship Creator has with each one of us.
• The character of the God that we have faith in is more important than the faith itself.
• For me, faith is trusting in the faithfulness of God.
• ‘God is Love’.  I have faith in this statement and this God.
• It is impossible to please God without faith.
• In the Hebrew/Greek sacred text, faith is often talked about in the context of small things (mustard seeds, children) so it is probably more qualitative in essence than quantitative.
• What can be achieved through faith is talked about in the context of large things like moving mountains, growing big trees, enacting miracles.
• Maybe we should not ask ourselves, ‘Is my faith big/good enough?’, but instead, ‘What color is my faith? What color is your faith?’
• To believe that God loves me perfectly, sent Christ to secure my friendship and asks me merely to have an inkling of faith to receive abundant eternal life is probably not too much for me (most days!!).
• If this is too much for you at the moment, may I suggest you hang with someone who has faith in a God/dess that you want to believe in. Also, spend some time with young children (under 7) because they are our teachers when it comes to having faith.

So, please, don’t make faith harder than it is, and don’t judge another person’s style of faith and don’t belittle your own attempt at faith.  All (and any) faith delights our loving, faithful Creator.  Christians believe that when Christ returns, one of the big questions will be, ‘Is there faith on earth?’

I hope the answer is ‘Yes!’

If you would like to read more about faith, I suggest reading this blog post: Faith so Simple

Kindness

Tags

gift, goodness, kindness, love, Spirit

Kindness is soft and strong.  It is accepting of where people are and who they are.  It does not judge, but instead respects thoughts and emotions.  It acknowledges the good, the bad, the easy, the hard.  When shown kindness, a person feels safe, is healed, is accepted.  Kindness shows that one is listened to and heard.  Kindness is generous.  It can also be fierce! (‘Because I love you …’).  Kindness sometimes means being vulnerable and risking the loss of things or people.  A gift of kindness can mean loss while also delivering the most incredible peace.

Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit of God.  It is an expression of grace and a means by which we can love one another and get along together giving us a real experience of dwelling with God and each other.  Kindness feels warm, refreshing and sustaining.  It often brings with it a strong sense of being valued and belonging.

Kindness looks like the Good Samaritan; the person who understands what it means to love God, love themselves and love others (their neighbours).  When Christ’s listeners asked ‘Who is my neighbour?’ (i.e. Who should I be kind to?), Christ answered with the story of the Good Samaritan and a question, ‘Which person in the story do you think was a neighbour?’

Kindness is often recognized by actions and sometimes magnified by attending to the small intricate things in the life of another.  Developing a kind thought-life and affirming others with kind words are also important expressions of love.  Other virtues that accompany kindness include generosity, integrity, steadfastness and compassion.  We should be able to receive kindness as well as give kindness and it should be a virtue devoid of superiority or inferiority.  Self-righteousness, selfishness and judgementalism oppose and hinder kindness.  Kindness can be used as an agent of change when we ask the question: ‘How can I bring kindness, love, grace into this awkward (or challenging, or volatile) situation?’

Why be kind? Because our God is kind.

The Hebrew sacred text says,

‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ (Jer 31:3)

The story of Ruth as told in the bible is full of kindness and in Colossians we are instructed to be kind:

‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.’ (Col 3:12-14)

Shalom, and may we remember to consider the Lovingkindness of God often (Psalm 107:43) and not conceal it from others (Psalm 40:10).

Peace

Tags

Christ, love, peace, shalom, well-being, wholeness

Peace is something we all want, even if it is amongst an adrenaline-filled pacy existence.  As our lives are filled with appointments, visual stimulation and stress, we become aware of our essential need for calmness alongside our busyness.  Is this a possibility?

In English, the word peace implies a rather passive picture of the absence of disturbance or hostilities.  It conjures up pictures of a personality free from internal and external strife.  However, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom and this word has a much fuller meaning.  It rests heavily on the root slm which means to be complete or to be sound.  It speaks of wholeness, of life, of health.  It refers to right relationship between two parties or people.  The word, shalom, implies prosperity, success, fulfillment and victory over our ‘enemies’.  It refers to things that are quite disparate, like wellness of body and an absence of war.  Encompassing so much meaning in the nature of the word, shalom is as complete a word for well-being as we could find.

In Jewish communities, shalom was (and still is) used in both greetings and farewells.  It is meant to act as a blessing on the one to whom it is spoken: ‘May your life be filled with health, prosperity and victory’.  And what a wonderful blessing that is!

Some Christian gatherings include a time when people pass the peace to each other. When I first came across this small ritual, I panicked.  I had no idea what it meant; whether I had peace to pass, who I was suppose to pass the peace to if I did have peace to pass, how many people I could pass the peace to before I would risk being left with none?  I jest a little.  Passing the peace in a church simply involves shaking another person by the hand and saying ‘peace be with you’ and they reply ‘and also with you’.  This greeting is also founded on the word shalom and affirms the Christian belief that Christ has established a pure shalom between Yahweh (god) and humans through His living, dying and rising experience.  In believing and receiving Christ, each person is given friendship with Creator and an eternal shalom.  This speaks of a well-being freely given based on grace and faith instead of good works or rule-keeping.

When shalom is used as a verb , it conveys both a static and a dynamic meaning; to be complete or whole or to live well.  This implies that it is both a state of being (a gift given to us) and a state of doing (a gift received by us).

Now that I am totally overwhelmed by the beauty, generosity and love contained in the meaning of this word,  I must sincerely pass shalom to each one of you:

‘Shalom’.  

And may we all have the courage and humility to receive it.

At the cross-roads

Tags

direction, discernment, faith, Lost, pathway, wisdom

I was thinking about this again today…

God and me

We were recently on a car rally where we were sent around some beautiful countryside, navigating with the aid of a tulip diagram. These are simple schematic images of how an upcoming intersection will appear. Of course, the 3-dimensional reality is spectacularly different from this simple line drawing and so there is a challenge in first recognising the intersection and second navigating through it.

People sometimes talk about “being at the cross-roads” as if they have magically arrived at some moment in their life where they are faced with a clear cut decision. A decision that is a significant change or where they can choose to keep going along the current path. I think that life is seldom like that. Decision points can build gradually, or they can sneak up on you, or they can arrive suddenly and demand an immediate response.

Perhaps the most “cross-roads” like moments are when you are…

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Of Wonder and Worship

Tags

consciousness, cosmos, creation, God, universe, wonder, worship

I was reading recently an article that discussed the insistence of Ignatius that we give God reverence.  The author was uncomfortable with how this might be lived out until he learnt that the correct translation of the term “reverence” from the Spanish was to include a happy consciousness of the divine and an awe suffused with love – which really sounds quite delightful!

Creation often draws wonder and awe, even from those who would claim to be atheistic, agnostic or non-spiritual.  Such is its magnitude, complexity, beauty and ingenuity that few of us are left unmoved when immersed in it or when taught about its mysteries.

One of the capacities of the human brain that sets us apart from the “other” animals is our ability to wonder.  You don’t expect to see a dog gazing at a sunset in longing, or a bird captivated by a mountain range.  Clearly some part of our brain function has been set aside for wonder, and dare I say it, worship.

I know people who struggle with religion that prescribes worship of a Deity, regardless of one’s circumstances.  I think they see it as servile and not in keeping with how a Deity would want their creation to relate to them. Or perhaps they feel uncomfortable with its expression, such as singing, dancing or other physical actions. And yet I wonder how many of them have a profound wonder for the Universe and everything in it, and delights to understand how it works. To me, that is very close to Ignatius’ reverence and not too far off worship as well.

Blessings

Sacred moments

Tags

divine, kairos, moment, sacred, spirituality, Thin Places

Some time ago we talked about Thin Places – those times in life when you felt that you could “see through the veil” and have an awareness of the presence of a divine being. These can be special times as they help us along our journey. In recent times however we have been aware of Sacred Moments – those times that are like Thin Veil places but are even more specific for an individual. They may be short-lived or take some time. They may come without warning or be part of a searching process. They may be profound or hidden in the prosaic moments of life.

If you are privileged enough to encounter one you might be shown the vastness of the universe and yet paradoxically feel your uniqueness in that vast scheme. It can seem like, for an instant, the universe stopped its motion, just for you. These times can be difficult to understand and may not be easy to put into words, yet they are sacred to the individual.

Sometimes Sacred Moments are markers on the journey, helping you to see fresh paths or new directions. Sometimes they allow you to feel especially held at a time of personal doubt or grief. Sometimes they are just a gift to help you keep on track. Sometimes they simply defy description.

Perhaps one way to describe them is that the Seeker has found you. Oh, what a moment!

Acknowledging the divine within

Tags

divine, spirituality

“Namatse” is a greeting common among the Hindus of Southern Asia. It is typically spoken and simultaneously performed with a palms-touching gesture and it means “I bow to the divine in you”.

What a wonderful way to greet a friend or a stranger! A simple recognition that we are all capable of carrying something of the Divine within us.

While Christians believe that they have the Holy Spirit within them, those of the New Age believe that they are part of the Divine itself. However you view this particular aspect of theology, it is worth considering just how wonderfully made all living creatures are, and in particular, how blessed humans are as we are capable of being in touch with the Creator.

I find it changes my view of the people I meet if I try to see the Divine within them, if I see this particular encounter as being somehow inspired. It doesn’t happen often but when I think that way my antennae are awakened as we meet, I am primed for what the Divine may be revealing through this person.

And while we are looking for the Divine in others, perhaps we should even take a moment to “namatse” to ourself in the mornings!

At the cross-roads

Tags

discernment, faith, guidance, trust

We were recently on a car rally where we were sent around some beautiful countryside, navigating with the aid of a tulip diagram. These are simple schematic images of how an upcoming intersection will appear. Of course, the 3-dimensional reality is spectacularly different from this simple line drawing and so there is a challenge in first recognising the intersection and second navigating through it.

People sometimes talk about “being at the cross-roads” as if they have magically arrived at some moment in their life where they are faced with a clear cut decision. A decision that is a significant change or where they can choose to keep going along the current path. I think that life is seldom like that. Decision points can build gradually, or they can sneak up on you, or they can arrive suddenly and demand an immediate response.

Perhaps the most “cross-roads” like moments are when you are deciding on a course of study or considering your first job after leaving school. The choices can be quite clear cut and mutually exclusive and the moment of decision can be stark. After that, future decisions about vocations can start with a gnawing dissatisfaction or can be thrust upon you by retrenchment or sacking.

In a similar way, other life decisions can grow organically in your thoughts or can arrive “out of the blue”. Sometimes things can just feel right or can just feel wrong and you move into the decision with a hunch or intuition, other times you can decide quite objectively by weighing up the pros and the cons. Some of my friends claim they make their best decisions when under stress!

I sense my life is moving through a time of change and decision and I spend some contemplative time wondering about the type of changes ahead and the changes I would make if I could. In some way I hope that this prepares me for the process of change, with its grieving and its anticipation.

My time in communion with Creator helps me to consider life’s flow and the inevitable changes in direction that occur. I try to discern what are “good” choices and what may be for me stagnant paths. In that way I hope I am less surprised by what happens in life.

I hope you can seek and find guidance along your path.