Do you ever get a glimpse of the code? What would it take to re-boot your life?
We are Church. Jesus makes sure of that in coffee shops, bus stops, and while people are washing the dishes. The Church is for everyone. Heaven has an open door policy and that starts now.
How can we respond to the issues which challenge our own sense of being, and create congregations where all are welcome though?
I don’t have the answer, but I am sure the way to it is found by shedding the scales of terror, religiosity, and legalism to flourish in a state of metanoia fueled with Love.
If we are to be like Jesus and to minister to those who are different, marginalised and treated as outcasts, then we need to do more than label our churches and websites with messages of ‘all are welcome’. Jesus commanded that we should go out and meet people where they are. For me, this conference has been the start of a process in which to come to greater awareness of how I can be an ally, to reach out and to let transgender people know that they have a place in the Church.
Look for the glimmers, the nuggets of Joy. Learn to ‘Click the links’ which transform doom scrolling through life into a joy filled search. Then our gatherings will glow.
An old reference, but which pill would you choose?
“Harvest”
Plants give up their fruits
for us to consume
(among other animals)
So, we give up our fruits
for others (the rich?)
to consume.
Is this exploitation;
oppression? Our labour,
our products – what we
produce
in value
used
indiscriminately ( a rare
pleasure to choose to whom
we give, and even then,
is it a choice?)
Or:
is it humility
and service? Always
seemingly,
replenished
by that life-giving stream
a
life-giving stream of
many waters
replenishing, replenishing
Spirit of God
bestowing gifts
of understanding.
How I want
To understand.
The relationship between the language we use to describe what we see, and the way in which we see things is an ages old topic of study. Think about the sentence you just read. When I used the word ‘see‘ you hopefully understand I mean more that just ‘visually observe‘. Sight is a very important sense for humans, so much so that when someone says “I see your point now” we understand that they understand. However we do not intend to imply that those who have visual impairments are unable to understand. Or that those who are unable to tell you what colour the horse they are imagining is, do not know what a horse is.
Consider then the importance of liturgy. If the use of words to describe everyday things is prone to misunderstanding, how much more so when we are thinking about divinity? Imagine the words used are like a scaffolding to help people hold together while we build each other up, constructing a house of prayer, what happens if there is a wrongness in our use of language? Simple mistakes might be quick to observe and remedy. Long term systematic wrongness might be more difficult to identify, and like the famous leaning tower, still hold together but be wonky. The building still holds together, but would you want to move there?
This video is a discussion that takes time to step back and think about ways in which language has been used. Recorded during lockdown it is an example of how stepping back to reflect helps us transform our experiences.
Either an artist strives for beauty – to reveal or represent it, or their art depends on beauty just as shadow is light obscured. Nordic Giants are described as performing “Dressed in feathers and shrouded in a ubiquitous fog the pair look more like residents of Middle Earth. The award-winning short films that accompany the live performance are each one a work of art; by turn poignant and powerful, dark and uplifting.“* and the shadow is the first thing you see when you look at the video thumbnail.
Take a moment to click play, tune in, and step sideways to escape the relentless grip of Chronos. Can you see the beauty, the salvation calling?
(Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break Silence Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City)
I encourage you to read the speech in full. There is darkness in it, and a recognition of the mirk which surrounds us. Nordic giants have found the beauty in it though. They have used this to see the world they live in and write what they see. More than this I think they encourage everyone to look for themselves.
In the blink of an eye those teenagers will inherit the world we leave for them, just as we have inherited a world we did not choose.
…We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time...
But what do you do when the light is switched on and you can see? There are many colours of witness. They cannot be imposed upon you. When you live in the light you will see, and in seeing find your path.
It is a sad fact that because of comfort, complacency, a morbid fear of communism, and our proneness to adjust to injustice, the Western nations that initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world have now become the arch antirevolutionaries. This has driven many to feel that only Marxism has a revolutionary spirit. Therefore, communism is a judgment against our failure to make democracy real and follow through on the revolutions that we initiated. Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. With this powerful commitment we shall boldly challenge the status quo and unjust mores, and thereby speed the day when “every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”
This is not an encouragement to build motorways and a concrete future at the expense of the environment. Beauty is more subtle and complicated than that. When you are overwhelmed by a work of art, you are not bulldozed. It is a moment of #SensingSpirituality. It can be a lightbulb moment, as described in John’s gospel where he introduces Jesus as light. Those that see with this light are unlocked to fulfill the hope and potential which has been placed there since the beginning.
So take some critical moments of time and dream of possible futures, and be gentle with yourself and others when you work to make them happen.
And just before you go, here is another Nordic Giants track with another speech to inspire you.
Kate is off to Holiday club this morning. Volunteers from St. John’s congregation will be spending a week working with young people.
They will be led and supported by Janice, and hopefully your prayers too! It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Towards the end of the summer holidays perhaps parents particularly appreciate this service offered by churches.
The theme is “The Lion King”. Kate will be posting frequent updates to guide your prayers. You can get in touch here to be sent e-mails form her, or if you are on the St John’s prayer WhatsApp already they should be sent to you.
It’s the summer, but just in case you are unable to take time out to stand on a bridge and watch the water, here is some light to bathe in.
There is something important about the way in which just experiencing somethings builds us up. Or simply brings a smile to our faces and a good feeling. If you fancy some more thought though, then ways in which we can use and learn from water are discussed further here (#SensingSpirituality).
While I’m working on a report about all the activity over midsummer, here is a wee glimpse of some of the other art I have been working on.
Working notes!
This is a set of nine illuminations described as fruit of the Spirit. Drawing them has helped me think about the presence of God. Perhaps a little like the disciples walking down the road to Emmaus. The presence is there, and experiencing it is like tasting fresh fruit on a warm and tiring day.
Following that story though, the question I have for the Church in the cultures I live in is; does the manner in which we break bread and share wine reveal the presence of Jesus in these every day experiences?
The collection of 9 illuminations is available for download via my patreon site.
