Category: Scripture reflections

The age-long minute

If you feel like Jesus may pass you by, have hope–He is coming to you.

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Sr. Dorcee, beloved3 Comments

The title of this post comes from a meditation by Amy Carmichael on Ps 107.29-30: He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.  Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.  I have to say that my first thought after reading Then they were glad because they had quiet, were: “This verse must mean a lot to parents of toddlers and teenagers!”  Amy’s reflection was other–and deeper–than mine 🙂

jesus-walking-on-the-water“Then they were glad because they had quiet;” the words were music to me.  Then in reading the different stories of the Lord calming the sea, I found this: “He came to them . . . and meant to pass by them” [Mk 6.48].  The more literal the translation the more startling it is.  As I pondered the matter I saw that this “age-long minute” was part of the spiritual preparation of these men for a life that at that time was unimagined by them–a life of dauntless faith and witness in the absence of any manifestation of the power of the Lord; and it must be the same today.  Such minutes must be in our lives, unless our training is to be unlike that of ever saint and warrior who ever lived.  Our “minute” may seem endless–“How long wilt Thou forget me,” cried David out of the depths of his–but perhaps looking back we shall in such an experience a great and shining opportunity.  Words are spoken then that are spoken at no other time . . .  We have a chance to prove our glorious God, to prove that His joy is strength and that His peace passeth all understanding, and to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge.
     And the “minute” always ends in one way, there is no other ending recorded anywhere: “But immediately he spoke to them, and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; have no fear” . . . and the wind ceased” [Mk 6.50].   
     “Then they were glad because they had quiet; and he brought them to their desired haven.”
                                                  (Edges of His Ways, pp. 143-44)

If you feel that you are in “an age-long minute”, have hope–He is coming to you and will bring you to your desired haven.

Jesus, the Good Samaritan to us

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The gospel today (about the Good Samaritan) brought the picture below to mind.  It can be found on the cover of Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis’ commentary on St. Matthew’s Gospel.  (See Books tab above.)  Good SamaritanThis is how the back of the book describes this picture:

The book’s cover portrays Christ as the Good Samaritan in an illumination taken from the mid sixth-century Syrian Codex Rossanensis. The fire of God’s mercy, poured out without reserve by the Father into the Heart of his incarnate Word, impels the Son’s eager gaze earthwards.  Christ Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, the living ‘image of the invisible God’ in whom ‘the whole fullness of divinity dwells bodily’ (Colossians 1:15, 2:9), bends down his sun-like nimbus—the very splendor of his glory, inscribed with the cross of his suffering—in a full ninety-degree angle, to show the perfection of His descent among us.  The eternal Lord of the ages thus moves into position to nurse with divine tenderness the green body of decaying humanity, prostrate with festering wounds: ‘Through the tender mercy of our God, the Dawn from on high has visited us, to give knowledge of salvation to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death’ (Luke 2:78f).  For his part, the dazzling angel has found a new mode of praise: to stand by his Master, marveling and ministering as he holds the gold bowl of grace and compassion, awestruck at the depth of the Word’s condescension.  What even angelic hands cannot touch unveiled, that Christ lavishes with open gesture upon the flesh and soul of his beloved brother, sin-wounded man.

Sometimes I just sit and meditate on how I am that green man lying in the road and try to imagine Christ standing over me pouring out His mercy–that even the angels cannot touch–upon me.  Peguy says: “It was because a man lay on the road that  a Samaritan picked him up.  It is because we lay on the road that Christ picks us up . . .

Disheartened over your failures and mistakes?

“Have you ever looked back over a month and felt more than a little disheartened over the failures and mistakes–the blots on the page you had meant to keep so white?” (Amy Carmichael)

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Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

Another gem from Amy Carmichael–she’s always such a witness to hope for me:

Isaiah 52.12  The God of Israel will be your rear guard.

    Have you ever looked back over a month and felt more than a little disheartened over the failures and mistakes–the blots on the page you had meant to keep so white?
    There is a most beautiful and tender meaning in the words “rear guard” which again and again has comforted me.  It may be new to some of you.  It means to gather.  The Revised Version margin has, to gather you up.  An army as it goes forth into new territory needs a Vanguard to protect the van [Note: a van is the foremost or front division of an army], and a Rearguard to protect the rear, so our glorious God use us these two words in speaking of His loving work to us-ward.  The Lord will go before us.  Our Vanguard is the Lord.  And the Lord God of Israel will be our Rearguard–following after, not only to defend us, should the enemy attack in the rear, as he often does, but to gather us up if we flag and are wary because of the way.  And if He gathers us up, He gathers up also the things we have dropped, our poor fallen resolutions, mistakes, everything, and deals with them Himself.  There is eternal love and tenderness in these dear words, “The Lord God of Israel shall gather you up.” Not only that, The glory of the Lord shall be your Rear guard (Is. 58.8). 
     So, as we travel on into another month we need not fear, Eternal Love is our Vanguard, the glory of Eternal Love is our Rearguard.  The everlasting Arms of Everlasting Love shall gather us up.

As for God, His way is perfect

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Some thoughts from Amy Carmichael that have inspired me time and again:

Ps 18.30: As for God, His way is perfect.

God is love, so we may change the word and say, As for Love, His way is perfect.  This has been helping me.
     One of the ways of Love is to prepare us beforehand for any hard thing that He knows is near.  Perhaps this word will be His loving preparation to some heart for a disappointment, or for some trial of faith, or some secret sorrow between the Father and His child.  As for Love, His way is perfect.  (Edges of His Ways, p. 131)

If we take this word seriously, it will be life-changing.

“Sit here, please.”

A reflection on the second reading for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Just a short reflection on yesterday’s second reading from James.  It struck me as I was reading it that I am that “poor person in shabby clothes”–perhaps not so much exteriorly, but definitely interiorly–but I can have great hope for when I come to Christ’s “assembly”, he will pay attention to me (and to you) and say, “Sit here, please.” 

“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature . . . for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance.” (1 Samuel 16.6)

“It was in every way a hard time for David . . .”

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Well, no one has told me that they’re tired of my Amy Carmichael quotes (or maybe you’re all just being nice to me), so I’m going to share a couple more today and tomorrow.   They tie in nicely with yesterday’s post, “Being honest with God.” 

Ps 4.7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

Psalms 3 and 4 were written when David fled from [his son] Absalom [cf. 2 Sam 13ff]; and if, as some think, Psalm 4 was written at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, the harvest and the vintage were over, and the rich stores of corn and new wine were at Absalom’s disposal, while David had nothing or very little.  It was in every way a hard time for David, and it was not surprising that many said there was “no help for him in God” and “Who will show us any good?”  We all know times of trial when the voices within and without talk like that.  But David’s faith breaks through, and he can honestly say, Though hast put gladness in my heart more than when corn and wine increased.  It is not difficult to have gladness in our hearts when we have what we want–corn and wine may stand for whatever we most enjoy doing or possessing–but God asks for something far more than this.  He wants what David offered Him when he wrote those words more than.
     What David offered to his God was a heart that was utterly satisfied with His will.  There were no private reservations, no little whispered “if”–if only I can be where I want to be, and have what I want to have, then there will be gladness in my heart, O God; he did not say that–he did not even say, By Thy grace I am glad, I am as glad as I should be if I had those stores of corn and wine.  He went further, he flew right out of all the restricting thoughts that might have caged his spirit, up and up into the free air of God, and he said, Thou hast put a new kind of gladness in my heart.  It does not depend on what I have, it is more than that sort of gladness.  It is a joy that is entirely independent of circumstances.

To be continued tomorrow . . .

Being honest with God

If you can’t be honest with God, how can you truly be honest with yourself?

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Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

I was just conversing with Diane H. re: the post, “This God–His Way is Perfect.” (See comments on that post.)  This morning the Scripture reading for the Office of Readings was Jeremiah 20:7-18, a long passage which I will not quote in its entirety here.  It starts with:

You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped;
   you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.
All the day long I am an object of laughter;
   everyone mocks me. . . .
The word of the Lord has brought me
   derision and reproach all the day.

An honest statement if ever I’ve heard one.  Jeremiah, of all the prophets, lived a life of great foreshadowing of the Suffering Savior.  Not just his words, but his very life was an icon of Christ in His suffering.  And, as we read here, he was obviously very honest with God.   

Then, in this passage, he continues to speak with honesty:

But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:
   my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph . . .
Sing to the Lord,
   praise the Lord,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
   from the power of the wicked!

Jeremiah was able to rise above his experience at the moment to proclaim what is true–and honest–despite his circumstances.  A few verses later, we find him again crying out to the Lord, telling it like it is:

Cursed be the day
   on which I was born! . . .
Why did I come forth from the womb,
   to see sorrow and pain,
   to end my days in shame?

I couldn’t help thinking of Jesus’ own struggle in the Garden and His honesty with His Father at that time.  If you can’t be honest with God, how can you truly be honest with yourself?  Jeremiah was working through his circumstances, looking for God’s perspective, and that requires complete honesty.  It takes a lot of trust to be completely honest with God.

“Is this not the Carpenter?”

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I read this piece by Amy Carmichael this morning.  Sometimes her language can feel a bit stilted, but it’s always worth it to me to plow through.  This one is on an obscure–at least, I would consider it obscure–passage in Zechariah, chapter 1, verses 18-21.  Here are verses 18-19: “And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns!  And I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these?’  And he answered me, ‘These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.'”

Amy comments:

“I see such difficulties, I hardly know how to go on.”  Most of us have said this, or felt it, at one time or another.  We have it here: “I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.”  “I saw . . . four horns’–those powers that scatter and shatter and spoil, the cruel powers that blast good work, and discourage souls, ‘so that no man did lift up his head”–“I saw” them.  [The Scripture passage continues:] “And the Lord showed me four carpenters”–those powers that put right what is wrong, that frighten away, terrify the evil powers–“the Lord showed me” them.
       We see the horns ourselves, but until the Lord opens our eyes we do not see the carpenters, and yet they are as truly present as the horns.
       “All power is given to Me in Heaven and in earth . . . .and lo, I am with you always” [Mt 28:18,20]–“all the days and all the day long.”  “Is this not the Carpenter?” [Mk 6.3]

“Is this not the Carpenter?” . . .

Of whom shall I be afraid?

How can the psalmist say he is not afraid though a host encamp against him? (Psalm 27)

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Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

Though a host encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
   yet will I be confident. (Ps 27:3),

That verse from Psalm 27 poses a question: how can you not be afraid if a host encamps against you?  Derek Kidner, in his commentary on this psalm, proposes the answer: look at the next verse:

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
   that will  I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
   all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
   and to inquire in his temple.

 “The best answer to distracting fears: to behold and to inquire–a preoccupation with God’s person and His will. It is the essence of worship . . .”

And so let us try to go about our days, doing our best to be preoccupied both with God’s person and His will.  Then we will shall be confident “though war arise against me.”

(For another take on this psalm, go to Cloister of Love under Blogroll–to the right.)

On every one of them

“I found rest in remembering the hands laid on every one of us, not one of us overlooked, and the hands laid upon us are wounded hands.” (Amy Carmichael)

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Sr. Dorcee, beloved1 Comment

An encouraging meditation from Amy Carmichael:

Luke 4:40 He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them.

This verse took life for me one day lately.  I was reading in the Revised Version and looked up the Authorized, to see if I was reading something new, for it felt new.  But no, I must have read it hundreds of times before.
     On every one of them.  It comforted me to know that He does not look upon us as a mass, but as separate needy souls.  I remembered the terrific attack that is always on the love that should hold us together, and I read over and over again John 15.9-17.  I know well that the devil hates and fears strong love.  If he can weaken us there, all goes.  For us, to weaken means to perish.  I found rest in remembering the hands laid on every one of us, not one of us overlooked, and the hands laid upon us are wounded hands.

He heals the lame