Be Still And Know

Psalm 92:11 NLT  'My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.' Within our Christian context it is perhaps difficult to acknowledge our enemies. For we are constrained by Christ to love our enemies. Here in the UK we are also taught to conceal our real feelings. Social interactions can easily be built upon insincerity. After a while we lose our ability to distinguish between what’s genuine and what’s false.   Most often we personify the word ‘enemy’. I find that I react to another person and contest what they say and who they are. They annoy me and I respond. Yet my primary enemies, as far as my walk of faith is concerned, are not other people but the internal tormentors that seek to breach the walls of my confidence in God. This provides the traffic noise that continually rumbles through my thought life. It serves one purpose: to distract me from my first love for God and divert my energies.   In reality, all such tormentors have already known defeat thr

Isaiah 61:3 NLT  'To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.' Holding on to our faith when we face difficulties is hard. It is a wonder that we still encounter the beauty and presence of God even as our heart breaks. Anyone who has faced the challenge of chronic or terminal illness or the death of a loved one, will know just how physical the effects of such an experience are. Each moment carries a reality unknown previously and the act of living becomes exhausting.  I naturally want to find someone to blame, to pour out the internal angst and pain. Yet, my experience is shared by thousands. I’m invited to step beyond my despair and search for the oil of mercy that will eventually bring healing to my wounds. This is only available from God, often the person I want to hold responsible for my extreme pain. God can ha

Luke 10:33-34 NLT  'Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.' Compassion is to feel pity for someone else. It means to experience similar emotions as the sufferer does, to suffer alongside them. And here the Samaritan, with little thought for his own safety, is moved by compassion and tends the wounds of the man beaten by robbers with olive oil, the symbol of healing and mercy.   When the coronavirus arrived there was palpable panic across the nation. But we cannot eradicate the element of risk from our lives. Sometimes the process of seeking to limit risk comes at the cost of practical social support for one another. While I can always present a case why I cannot get involved, as is clear from the priest and the Temple assistant who passed the Samaritan by, in God’s kingdom ‘the

Genesis 8:10-11 NLT  'After waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove again. This time the dove returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the floodwaters were almost gone.' How did Noah feel when he knew the floodwaters were almost gone? Was he hopeful, or afraid? Earlier this year, as the coronavirus took hold, many people found themselves confined to cruise ships. What had no doubt been a dream holiday rapidly turned into a nightmare. Their ship, marketed as luxurious living, became a prison from which they might not escape. As Noah gazed out upon the endless waters surrounding the ark, I imagine he felt marooned and uncertain how God’s purpose might work out. He must have been delighted to receive the olive branch carried back by the dove, a sign of hope that judgement was past.   The olive tree is remarkable. It is robust and long-living, with an average lifespan of 800 years. It grows well in very poor soil and can withstand drought, and is a sign of

Luke 18:13 NLT  But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” In a number of liturgies the words, Kyrie eleieson, Christe eleison are said following the congregational prayer of confession. The words are Greek for: “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.” They are the words used by the tax collector, contrasted with the self-righteous Pharisee.   Mercy is always undeserved. In one story handed down to us we discover a mother pleading with Napoleon Bonaparte to spare her condemned son’s life. The emperor declared that the man’s crime was so awful that justice demanded his life, the mother asked for mercy, and the answer was that the son did not deserve mercy. His mother then pointed out that if he deserved it, it would not then be mercy.   The tax collector understood his need for God. There was no merit he might muster from his life that could be offered up in return f

Psalm 51:1-2 NLT  'Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.' Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried in 1950s America for espionage. The Manhattan Project, through which the USA developed the nuclear bomb, was top secret and the Rosenbergs were identified as Soviet spies. The trial was a long and bitter one, and much controversy, then and now, surrounds their conviction and execution. As the final sentence was pronounced, the lawyer for the Rosenbergs cried out: “Your Honour, what my clients ask for is justice!” Judge Kaufman replied: “What the court has given them is what they ask, justice! What they really want is mercy. But mercy is something this court has no right to give them.”  Mercy is the gift of God alone. St Isaac the Syrian wrote: ‘Never say that God is just. If he were just you would be in hell. Rely only on His injustice which is mercy, love and forgiveness.” This wa

Hebrews 1:3 NLT  'The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.' In certain Christian worship traditions the Nicene Creed is recited as part of the liturgy. It is a succinct declaration of essential Christian belief and was created to counter a variety of ideas that were constantly being presented about the nature of God and God’s purpose in history. Often called the ‘Symbol of Faith’, it means a bringing together of evidence to establish the truth about God. In both Latin and Greek, the word ‘symbol’ means token for identification in contrast with something counterfeit.   For the Church, Jesus is the evidence that God’s sunshine overcomes everything that we are confronted with in life. I’m invited to place my confidence in the enduring sun that forever shines behind the darkest and deepest of cloud

John 10:27-29 NLT  'My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.' Do we get wiser as we get older? I have come to realise I am a wonderful expression of God’s creativity, enjoying being infinitely known by him, while I finitely know aspects of God. These finite insights are always there, the promise and presence of eternity in a fractured, transient world. Where once I went in search of myself, I now search for God. My significance can only be in the degree to which I reflect something of the eternal sunshine of my creator. My greatest contribution to life is that deposit of the divine sunshine I leave in my wake.   Again, experience has taught me that life isn’t fair. It is irrational. How was I born with every opportunity for success, while someone else lacks food and is financi

John 1:4-5 NLT  'The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.' Bad news penetrates deeper than we can ever imagine. Our world slows, the voices around us fade and we become transfixed by the new reality we face. Every day, people receive distressing, often life-changing, news and their perspective on life, themselves and others is forever altered. Last Christmas Eve, as we were celebrating the joyful news of our daughter’s engagement, she learned that one of her dear friends had been killed in a road traffic accident, driving home to join her parents for Christmas. Who cannot imagine the scene of tragic pain unfolding in a family home that Christmas; a season of hope disintegrating into one of hopelessness.   Where, we cry, is the sunshine within such a scene? There are moments when the bleakness of life experience is overwhelming. The clouds gather, the storm ensues and summer is just a d

Matthew 5:44-45 NLT  'But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.' Nothing perhaps illustrates the difference between the perception of God and humanity than sunshine. Here we discover that God shines upon both the just and the unjust. The brilliance of a sunny day is that everyone benefits, regardless of the circumstances of their lives; the good and the bad, whether self-induced or not.  This is because God so clearly differentiates the sinner from the sin. One who kills is not a murderer, as if this is their identity. They remain a sinful person sought by God, just as the thieves crucified alongside Jesus discovered. Both initially joined with the crowd below in abusing Jesus. Then one made a request for salvation. Jesus heard and accepted him even though he had no time to make amends for his criminal life

Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 NLT  'Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning. When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.' How do you remember the summers of your childhood? I recall days of endless sunshine, playing outside with friends. Every morning, I simply pulled on a T-shirt, shorts and sandals and ran free. There wasn’t a dark cloud in the sky, only the threat of the advancing autumn school term. These I remember as rainy, cold and miserable. Even today, summer is special. I rise early and enjoy the sun filling the sky with light and warmth.   Experiencing the warmth of the sun’s rays upon the skin slows me down. I enjoy that moment of warmth penetrating my skin. I remember when Mum lived with us, she so enjoyed sitting with the direct sunlight on her arthritic shoulder, her face reflecting the joy that relief from the constant pain gave her. So with Christ, whatever the iss

Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT  'So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.' There was a time in my life when I used to react to the repetitive nature of life that returned unchanged each morning I woke. All I could see was sameness. I slowly came to recognise, however, that my depressed nature had little to do with my repetitive life. It was the way I chose to frame my daily routine. There are demands life places upon each one of us, and responsibilities, many of which are self-inflicted. I had a mortgage to service, yet I chose to buy a house. I needed work and I had said yes to the job offer. I was failing to see through the prism of my faith in God, again something I’d chosen to embrace.  Much of life is simply “patient endurance”: proving steadfast in the face of difficulties. My difficulties were all within. God gives me my life an

Philippians 1:6 NLT  'And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.' Our Oratory garden is never still. Plants are flowering and trees blossoming. As plants spread, we move them, to find the ideal space for their development. As disciples, we are the same. As a new Christian I thought the job was done: I would get on with my life, but view everything through a Christian lens. I forgot that I had turned my whole life over to Jesus. My ambitions were no longer necessarily God’s ambitions. It took time to realise my conversion was just the start of a journey that would change the way I looked at myself, the world around me and God.   Sometimes I’ve completely stagnated, become distracted and stopped the good work within me from growing. Like a plant longing for sunshine can struggle to survive in the shadow, so I allowed the shade of life events to cut me off from the rays of God’s love and encouragement. A

Hebrews 4:14-16a NLT  'Since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.' Every Lent I ponder the temptations of Jesus. There, he was invited to satisfy his human appetites; for food, recognition and power. All three, over the years, have tried to draw me from my first desire to serve God. There is always that small yet persistent inner voice that justifies slight adjustments, so that I might apparently love God and myself at the same time.   I find it easy to look beyond myself to establish a frame of reference against which to measure my decisions. But the reference points I select owe little to God. I’m also consistently invited to consider God who is within me when making my decisions, and these may well fly in the face of the external landscape, together with its a

2 Timothy 1:8 NLT  'So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.' Do you ever feel that, as a Christian, you are swimming against the tide? Our culture has largely abandoned the idea of God, and our faith is accepted only as a private preference, just as someone might choose golf for recreational purposes. Yet even golfing appears to gain greater understanding than any pursuit of the Divine.   All of us want to get on with others. Our lives are lived within a web of relationships, created by the contexts within which we find ourselves. From neighbours to work colleagues, classmates to family, we need to ensure we’re accepted if we are to function effectively. This relates both to the outward necessity of getting on with co-workers to our own inner need for self-esteem and belonging. Yet, Paul makes it clear that while following Jesus doesn’t ch

2 Timothy 1:6-7 NLT  'This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.' Years ago, I moved to Leeds for work. Just after I’d moved, my car died. Wondering how I’d get to work, everyone in church said: “Catch the bus.” This was a revelation. The bus stop was outside my front door and I discovered not only were the buses frequent and reliable – everyone travelled on a great public transport system – but that Yorkshire folk, unlike my south of England experience, all chatted with complete strangers without a second thought. Travelling, therefore, was a great community experience.  In my view, a great public transport system is essential for a successful society, although during the Coronavirus crisis this wasn’t the case! But what does an effective Christian community demand? While God’s promise is unique for each individual, Christianity isn't a private faith.

1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT    'So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.'     If Peter is to be believed, all earthly trials are a means of testing our faith that it might grow deeper roots into its source, God alone. It’s not that the storms are imaginary. Nor will some powerful prayer instantly deliver us from the raging storm surrounding us. I have cared for a loved one through a degenerative neurological condition, eventually holding her hand as she passed into her eternal joy. One thing I did observe was that as her physical strength waned, her spiritual fortitude increased. The base mortal form that had housed her divine essence was transformed into the priceless gold of resilient and enduring faith.    Fire will burn, yet will also purify. Despondency may well be both the sign and the sourc

1 Peter 5:7-8 NLT    'Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.'   As a young man I was all emotion; reactive, angry and self-conscious. My encounter with God was so very real the memory clings to me still, redolent with the great joy I experienced upon first bowing the knee to Jesus. While the bending of my physical frame proved easy, it took time before I recognised that my will rigidly resisted acknowledging a new landlord. Here was the initial ground of my battle with God and self.    What worries did a young overachieving man face in the 1970s? Especially one who entered the University of Oxford and inhaled its heady atmosphere of self-confidence? There was much growing up to do. Slowly God chipped away at the granite that enfolded my heart.     While God wooed me, the enemy sought to intimidate me, and I often cowered when confronted with the real me. Yet, des

1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT    'The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.'    Temptation is an inner compulsion to do something. I can control it, until I give in to it. Then I am subject to its consequences in ways that I wasn’t while only tempted. Temptation is never sin, but the physical fulfilment of temptation is. All of us are tempted, and all of us sin. The consequences vary in the degree to which they impact me and the world around me, yet each is equally offensive to God, and a denial of his grace. My long-term challenge is in identifying what’s temptation and then in resisting its allure.    Sin, those times when we’ve fallen to the allure of temptation, can be the reason for our despondency. I often feel I’ve failed God, myself and those who trust me. I do, of course, have the opportunity to confess and find forgiv

Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT    'So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.'    Have you ever been tempted to run away from life? It can be a seductive thought, appearing to offer instant relief. Why not quit my job, walk out on my relationship or abandon the church? A temporary relief from pressure, with perhaps some moments of euphoria, then quickly gives rise to a whole new set of challenges I’d not anticipated.     Israel experienced this as the euphoric celebration after crossing the Red Sea gave way to the discomforts of the wilderness. As Moses reminded them, their only way forward was to reinvest their trust in God’s long-term strategic plan. What was true for them is true for me. I have a choice to make, and there is nothing comfortable about it. I can let my fears run their course and become blindsided to the will of God. Or, with some great difficulty, I can look for the inner c