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Ma tha Gàidhlig agaibh , bhithinn
mi glè thaingeil ma tha sibh a'cuir
thugam ceartachaidh mo iomrallan
Monday
19 December 2011/Diluain 19 an Dubhlachd
2011
Happy
Christmas to all!/ Nollaig Chridheil gu h-uile duine!
I have
become so dissatisfied with the translation of the French version originelle of ‘O Holy Night’ (Cantique
de Noël) into English that I am offering here an alternative, which is designed
to be closer to the powerful French rendering. The original version follows my
English one, so you Francophones can
check it out.
Christians,
be still, the midnight hour is chiming,
When
God as man comes among us to dwell;
Cleansing
the stain of our first sin, restraining
The
wrath of God and the shadows of hell;
The
earth in awe and hope is gently trembling
On
such a night that brings a Saviour’s birth –
People,
bow down, behold your liberation!
Nowell, nowell, your Redeemer comes to earth!
Nowell, nowell, your Redeemer comes to earth!
Oh,
may the light of faith within us burning
Now
guide us all to the child where He lies,
As
long ago the star so brightly shining
Led
Eastern princes, beholding the skies;
The
King of Kings, laid in a lowly manger!
O
rulers all, full of your pomp and power,
Against
your proud disdain, from thence God is speaking,
Before
your Redeemer, oh come and humbly bow!
Before
your Redeemer, oh come and humbly bow!
See,
our Redeemer from oppression leads us,
The
earth is free, heaven’s gate opens wide;
Those
once enslaved are brothers now to Jesus,
His
love unites those who once were chained and tied;
How
shall we tell the gratefulness we owe Him?
For
us He came, He suffered, bled and died!
People,
arise, proclaim your liberation!
Nowell, Nowell, the Redeemer glorified!
Nowell, Nowell, the Redeemer glorified!
Trans
© Colin Symes 2011
Minuit, chrétiens, c’est l’heure solennelle
Où l’Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu’à nous,
Pour effacer la tache originelle,
Et de son Père arrêter le courroux.
Le monde entier tressaille d’espérance,
À cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.
Peuple, à genoux, attends ta délivrance
Noël! Noël! Voici le Rédempteur!
Noël! Noël! Voici le Rédempteur!
De notre foi que la lumière ardente
Nous guide tous au berceau de l’Enfant,
Comme autrefois une étoile brillante
Y conduisit les chefs de l’Orient.
Le Roi des rois naît dans une humble crèche;
Puissants du jour, fiers de votre grandeur,
À votre orgueil, c’est de là que Dieu prêche.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur!
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur!
Le
Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave,
La Terre est libre et le Ciel est ouvert.
Il voit un frère où n’était qu’un esclave,
L’amour unit ceux qu’enchaînait le fer.
Qui lui dira notre reconnaissance?
C’est pour nous tous qu’il naît, qu’il souffre et meurt.
Peuple, debout! Chante ta délivrance.
Noël! Noël! Chantons le Rédempteur!
Noël! Noël! Chantons
le Rédempteur!
Wednesday
7 September 2011/Diciadain 7 na Sultaine 2011 1742
Just back from lovely holiday in the south-west of France (the Corbières, in the Languedoc.) Very warm,
bathing in the Med, peaceful and reflective walking on the Cathar
Path, visiting the birthplace in Narbonne of France’s most prolific songwriter,
Charles Trenet, writer of my very favourite French
song La Mer. (Hear Trenet sing it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHYj1-3QrrY)
Visited
Carcassonne, mediaeval walled cité and some of the étangs,
the lagoons south of Narbonne, (see left) watching flamands
roses, the flamingos, in their beautiful plumage and flight.
Now
back into the saddle; on Monday evening, a good meeting of Street Pastors’
management group, with James Duce and Sandy Scrimgeour of Ascension Trust Scotland encouraging us in
the ongoing vision. And today, at Network Leaders Prayer in Bishopbriggs, a
wonderful tme of encounter with God by His Holy Spirit
in worship, just freewheeling with Him in tongue-song and psalm-reading and
singing. Great to be in His presence together.
Monday
20 June 2011/Diluain 20 an
t-Ògmhios 2011 1034
Musing
on the recent remarks from the Church of England about the possibility of the
appointment of openly gay bishops, subject to their living in celibacy, brings
for me into even sharper focus the insupportability
of the territorial church concept. Being by conviction and practice a believer
in the believers’ church principle, I cannot begin to imagine how you can
conduct church on the basis of including all-comers, whether disciples of Jesus
Christ or not, and of whatever belief system, and keep the nation happy. The
legacy of the magisterial reformers to the national churches has been one of
compromise, infighting and political control of the Body of Christ by the
‘empire’ all through its experience. The state invariably seeks to mould the
believers into its own shape and belief, and this results in vast amounts of
time being spent negotiating a way through the untenable compromises which
these systems have created.
The
Church of Scotland in particular has suffered from this malaise since its
inception. Given that I have vast love and respect for brothers and sisters who
are Presbyterians, from the word go, I see that the ideals of Calvin for a
Christian polity where church and state would work together were immediately
sabotaged in Scotland by a megalomaniac monarch in James VI and I who
continually bit the Presbyterian Church in the face, and were then exacerbated
by his Stuart and Hanoverian successors who only fleetingly let go of their
hold on power. Only in the Disruption of 1843 did the Scottish church at last
rid itself (temporarily) of the terrible dead hand of government interference,
coming then the nearest she ever could get to a gathered, believers’ church
conviction.
The
current situation for the Kirk is terrible to behold. But it is not unexpected,
given the history of the territorial churches and their need to keep the nation
and wider society happy. It is worthy of note that the Roman Catholic church,
having divested itself of this need, is able to be far more outspoken and
prophetic than any of the national churches are able to be, which is giving it
something of an edge on taking a clear,uncompromising
but Christ-echoing stance.
It is
time for the original vision of Luther to be grasped, for the church to be a
visible assembly of believers, a gathered body of disciples, as at the
beginning, to which people feared to join themselves because of the weight of
the presence of God among them, yet still fully engaged and in mission to a
world in the grip of nihilism and the culture of death. The Lord is undoubtedly
pruning the dead branches away from His people, and this can only be aided by a
rejection of a church set-up which has always shown itself to be at odds with
the costly way of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Friday
17 June 2011/Dihaoine 17 an
t-Ògmhios 2011 1035
Col In Europe 26/5/11 to 7/6/11
This feedback is intended to give you the chance to scan or read in
depth more. The highlights are in bold and the detail in normal type. So
if you want to know the highlights, rather than the detail, please go for bold.
Thurs May 26
Plane to Paris; surprise link up with Paul Stevenson
Paul was on his way to live in Paris near his girlfriend’s family.
He is going to be trying some urban mission there in a Paris suburb.
TGV to Dijon for evening meeting
Arriving at 2040, it was straight into a meeting of the housegroups
of the Eglise Evangelique
Baptiste 
de Dijon pastored by Assene Merabti, who
is an old friend. I was working with a dear brother, Philippe Delplanque, who has a prophetic ministry , originally from Roubaix in the
north, but now living with his wife, Monique in a mobile home in the beautiful Ardeches area of south-west France. I opened the subject of
covenant for the weekend and Philippe shared words for people, starting
with Fr Jerome, priest of the RC church in which we
were meeting!
We prayed for all the housegroups, and listened to God’s word for
them. A great start. I was glad to be staying again
with Jean-Claude and Annie Petit, in their lovely house up in Fontaine-Lès-Dijon, near the birthplace of St Bernard of Clairvaux.
Friday evening May 27 Meeting with Responsables,
Dijon
Meeting with key people in the church.I
spoke on the face and presence of God, and coming near to Him and He to us.
Philippe shared words for a number of folks.
Saturday morning, May 28 meeting with youth, Dijon
I spoke on the character of Mephibosheth from 2 Sam 9, and the
principle of hesed; Philippe had a number of dynamic words for young
folks, and we prayed with some after the meeting. Then we went to Subway
opposite the station for lunch, which is run by Jean-Claude’s son-in-law,
Silver. (pictured below)
Saturday
afternoon and evening, May 29 meeting with leadership team, Dijon
I spoke about the adventure with God and seeing it through with Him.
Philippe shared a number of words. We were at Florence and Jean-Yves’ house, to
the east of Dijon. A very lovely setting, where we ate
outside.
Sunday morning, May 30 main fellowship meeting Dijon
I spoke on God’s hesed and the Holy Spirit making us ready for
Christ. Philippe also had a number of words for folks there. A
lovely sense of God’s presence. Jonathan Cordelier led worship (son of
Bruno and Catherine, whom we have known for a number of years.) Particularly
powerful was the singing of Chris Tomlin’s ‘Our God is greater’ (Dieu admirable in French.) Fellowship
meal afterwards, good time to chat and share. Philippe and Monique left
by train to Lyon mid-afternoon.
Sunday evening, Flannigan’s Pub,
opposite Dijon cathedral.
Time to relax and reflect with some of the guys;
strong discussion and sharing about future, against a loving background.
Monday May 30 Tracing Anabaptists in Zürich and Zollikon
Leaving Dijon
by TGV to Lausanne, thence by tilting train through Switzerland to Zürich,
started exploring the sites connected to the Anabaptists for my research. Found
the memorial to Felix Manz’s martyrdom by drowning
on the Schipfe Quay,(pictured
left) only a few minutes’ walk from the
station. Sat and reflected there a while in beautiful sunshine – see video for
more detail. Amazed by view of snowy Alps in distance from
city centre.
Visited the Grossmünster,
Zwingli’s church at the start of the 1500’s, where with the original Swiss
Anabaptists he led Bible studies which led to their radical views on believers’
baptism and severing church-state links. No mention of the Anabaptists,
although saw a copy of the Zürich Bible, printed by Christopher Froschauer
who later became an Anabaptist and publisher to Balthasar Hubmaier in the move
to Moravia.
Visited the Neustadtgasse
behind the church, where Grebel baptised Blaurock
in Manz’s house (exact number not known). Going down
to the S-Bahn station, found an Evangelical Free
Church in Trittligasse, just down the hill from where
first baptisms took place; the witness continues.
Caught the train two stations south along Lake
Zürich to Zollikon, beautiful and peaceful village. Just three or
four minutes’ walk from station is 23 
Gstaadstrasse, (pictured left) first meeting place
of Anabaptist congregation, with Gedenktafel
(memorial plaque) on side of house. Then walked uphill in
serious heat to cool down in the portico of Zollikon Reformed Church.
The plaque outside reminds that this was a centre of the Wiedertäuferbewegung, the Anabaptist
movement from 1523 to 1525. Unfortunately the church was not open, but very
much worth the journey. Returned to Zürich centre for train
to Feldkirch in Austria. Overnight
there, passing en route through Liechtenstein, whose ruler Leonhard
afforded the Anabaptists shelter on his lands in Moravia.
Tuesday May 31
Feldkirch Austria to Bratislava via
sites in Innsbruck and Vienna
Left Feldkirch to travel on Railjet train through the Arlberg Pass. Was engaged by
a delightful Austrian eight-year-old who sang and drummed well on the table,
though it was a challenge to follow his Vorarlberg accent! Arriving in Innsbruck,
made for the Goldenes Dachl (the Golden Roof), where there is a plaque to the
1536 Martyrdom by burning of Jakob Hutter, founder of the Hutterites. A beautiful city, surrounded
by the Alps.
Continued by EC train, ‘Rote Nasen’ (Red
Noses) named for the clown doctors’ charity in Austria, heading for Vienna.
Train passed along the Inn Valley, then crossed part of Bavaria in Germany to
go round the high Alps, and on to Salzburg, where it re-entered Austria.
Although at one point the train was eighteen minutes late, by Vienna it had
reduced the delay to five, having raced along the new high-speed stretch around
Linz.
Just time in Vienna to visit the memorial plaque in the old city
wall at the Stubentor to Balthasar Hubmaier,
leader of South German Anabaptists who had set up the colony in Nikolsburg (Mikulov), Moravia, but who had been captured by the
authorities on his return to Austria and burned for his faith. The quote on the
plaque is powerful and still relevant – ‘Christus ist nicht
gekommen, dass er metzge, morde
und brenne’ – ‘Christ did not come to butcher,
murder and burn.’ The plaque is one things which has stuck in my recall of
this trip overall.
Underground line 3 passes below the Stubentor,
and getting back on it brought me to Simmering, at the end of the line, and the
interchange station for the regional train to Bratislava in Slovakia.
Thinking back on how fraught this crossing used to be in days of the frontier,
it is amazing that one can get on a local suburban Vienna train, and end up
fifty minutes later in the capital of a neighbouring nation! We crossed the
Blue Danube, and headed west until we crossed the Morava river and into
Slovakia.
Greeted by Father Rasto at Hlavna Stanica (Central Station) we quickly went round the corner
to the Redemptorist monastery for the
regular weekly meeting of Calvary Community. I shared on the need for
the refreshing presence of God, and prayed with folks at the end. The worship was
good, led by Jana. It was strange to be immersed immediately in another
language and tradition, yet feeling completely at home in the Lord with them.
After the meeting, supper and a catch-up with Rasto, which was
great, then off to bed.
Wednesday June 1st Bratislava, visiting Anabaptist lands
and meeting with couples
One of the
fullest and busiest days of the trip; at 8am, my good brother, Dr Tomas Veselovsky came and fetched me in his car, and we headed
north to Velke Levare,
where the EU has designated the Anabaptist Quarter there (Habansky Dvor) an area of special
historical interest. Arriving early, we had time to look around in the
morning sunshine at the beautifully kept former Hutterite settlement, with its
meeting house and museum, now part of the Zahorskie Muzeum. A phone call
to Pani Michelikova brought
a smiling lady on pushbike from the town hall to specially open the museum, as
I had pre-arranged. The museum was fascinating. (pictured
left) What was most surprising was
that, although many of the Hutterites converted to
Catholicism in the 1700s, they still kept their traditions and structures into
20th century, continuing with the Elders council and even a school
for the ‘Habani’ community.
In the museum were artefacts of the Hutterites,
including examples of their fine carpentry, textile and ceramic work. They also
had a knife-making forge, powered by a mill in the village. Upstairs in the
house, it was possible to see the beamwork marking
off the bedrooms of the families, running the length of the house.
Finding favour with Pani Michelikova, we were able to arrange for the meeting
house also to be opened, allowing us to see where the
community worshipped; it has since been turned into a Catholic chapel, but the
simple wooden pews are testimony to a more radical story. We also got a peek
into the parish house next door, which was originally the Prediger’s
(Preacher’s) house.
As we were
leaving the chapel, it was explained to us that the gentleman opening the
chapel for us was a Pan Kleinerdle,
(pictured left) and his name bears witness to his descent from the original Hutterites of Velke Levare. This was an extraordinary turn, and I was able to
capture the moment on film, shaking hands with a descendant of Anabaptists
in Slovakia!
From Velke Levare,
we headed north into Czech lands, and to Velke Bilovce, where the winemakers called Habanske
Sklepy (Anabaptist Cellars) are located. At
first, there was little sign of life, but then a lady emerged and sold us some
bottles of the company’s label. Tomas asked then if it would be possible for me
to view the original seventeenth century cellars, as I was researching for my
thesis on the Anabaptists. A gentleman was then kindly sent to escort us,
showing us down into the underground vaults of the 
Anabaptists’
winemaking industry, when they were here centuries ago keeping the vines of the local
tolerant landowners. (pictured left). This was a very
special moment for me, and I soaked up the atmosphere of the musty, brickwork
cellars, where Christ’s disciples had followed the motto displayed in the new
reception ‘Give to your wine all love and time, and you will win the
heart of each to whom you offer it.’
Heading south again, we lunched at the Patronka
Brewery, enjoying home-brewed beer, and I, a trout, tasting of the river. Tomas
left me after lunch to go back to his daughter, as this was Children’s Day in
Slovakia. I decided to follow some childhood interests, and visited the
Bratislava Transport Museum in the original Bratislava railway station, dating
from 1848, just between the monastery and Hlavna
station. At that time, the Vienna to Pressburg
service (Bratislava was in Austria-Hungary then, and called by its German name)
was one of the earliest steam services in this part of Europe; a horse-drawn
service then ran on to Trnava to the north.
A very enthusiastic old gentleman in an engineer’s cap took it upon
himself to show me round the railway exhibits, which I yielded to, since he
seemed to know which covers to open to reveal inner workings of locos which I
wouldn’t otherwise have seen. I couldn’t help sensing a yearning in him for the
old socialist system as he proudly pointed out the noble Czechoslovak steam
giant with the communist red star on its nose. He also showed me a fascinating
inspection vehicle, a motor car without tyres or steering wheel, to ride the
rails to check their integrity. I was only disappointed there were no old trams
or trolleybuses in the museum; they are kept in an old city depot elsewhere.
In the evening, I shared with the families and married
couples of Calvary Community on the space between us in marriage, stealing
some of Ann’s material, which was very well received. I then also prayed with
some of the couples after. Present at the meeting were Villo
and Eva, the couple who had first hosted me in Bratislava years ago en route to
Podolinec. They invited me to a second meeting of
the evening, of their small group in Dlhe Dely, up on the hill to the west of the city. I had such
a great time with them, a group of folks in their fifties, like myself, some of
whom I had met years ago in Lanckorona and Presov at family conferences. I shared again with them the
message I had given earlier, and then we prayed for one another, each couple
coming for prayer. Such a close and tender time with Jesus.
It was a late bed, though, and Villo ran me back and
let me in to the quiet monastery, having the key as his job is as a
receptionist here.
Thursday June 2nd Bratislava to Lanckorona,
Poland
Continuing across the continent, I joined the international
Budapest to Warsaw ‘Moravia’ express at Bratislava just after ten in
the morning, and was soon heading out of Slovakia and across Czech lands, 
following the
Morava river up through the vineyards which we had
visited the previous day.
Conversation with my fellow-passengers, two young Hungarian men,
was not possible, so I settled down to reading. Rasto had given me Christoper West’s commentary on John Paul 2’s
Theology of the Body. As the train rattled through Ostrava and on to the
border, I was so gripped by the late Pope’s insights into the integration of
spirit and body in man, and his flesh as a sacrament. For him, the nakedness of
the Sistine chapel was not shameful, but glorious, given that the original,
unashamed man and woman were icons of God’s glory, not to be hidden away. The
terrible curse of pornography, he says, comes from the animalising of human
flesh, denying that the body abused this way is a somebody.
Only in the integration of body and spirit can we truly know another human
being. Marriage is the imaging of the unity of God in Himself,
the nuptial reality of Christ and the Father. I soaked up what I was reading,
and time flew as we eventually reached Bohumin on
the Czech-Polish border.
At Bohumin, we spent a leisurely hour,
being detached from the rest of the train which had brought us, leaving just
two coaches bound for Warsaw, (see left) bereft of an engine. After a while, an
express from Warsaw drew in, whose loco would take us
back into Poland. Eventually, the neighbouring platform was taken up by
the arrival of the Prague-Warsaw express, to the front of which our coaches
were carefully attached, the Czech motorman giving directions to the driver
reversing us onto the leading coach, until the couplings kissed with a
satisfying click, like joining up my old model trains in days gone by. Then it
was off again, at something of a reduced rate. The Polish railway system seems
to be ailing, and the state of its tracks mean high
speeds are not possible.
Changing trains at Katowice, the poor state of the network in
Poland was even more obvious. The station is dirty, unkempt and with few
staff in view. Some Australian tourists were getting help from Polish
travellers, looking for the Krakow train. Eventually it arrived, a sorry sight,
going under the name of ‘Cheap Railway Lines’, and living up to it! It was
dirty and very slow, crawling along for no apparent reason other than the
poorly-maintained rails. Compared to the Slovak intercity coach just left
behind, this was an apology for a train.
To make it worse, I was misinformed on the train as well. I had
noticed the train was headed for Krakow Plaszow, an
alternative terminus in the south of the city. Enquiring, I was told that the train
would go back to Krakow Glowny, the central station,
after a five minute stop. However, eventually arriving, having crept around
Krakow at a speed slower than the tram I subsequently caught, it was clear that
everyone was detraining, and the staff going through the train confirmed that
this was journey’s end!
Striking off into the city by tram, I was quickly in the new tunnel
tramway station under Central, and into the Galeria Krakowska, the shiny new consumer temple of Poland. I was vexed
to find there were no trains to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska after five in the evening, so I made for the
bus station, and found a comfortable PKS coach to take me in fifty minutes into
the Beskid Hills, and to today’s
destination, Lanckorona.
Later, after I had spent some time over tea with Jurek and his wife, the team arrived from Edinburgh.
Chris and Sarah, Donald and Ashley came down the drive in Andrzej’s car and the happy reunion took place over a
late kolacja.
Friday June 3rd
This morning,
having free time, we decided on a walk up to the pilgrimage site at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. (left) The impressive seventeenth century Catholic centre was
the vision of Nicolas Zebrzydowski, who built two
pilgrim paths, one of Jesus and one of Mary, leading to the Basilica of the
Resurrection, the last point. By a miscalculation, we missed the path, and
ended up at the Basilica without seeing any of the key chapels! It was also
growing hotter as we went.
Having spent a while resting at the end of the path, we decided to
trace the Jesus’ path in reverse, looking into the finely decorated chapels on
the way. One of the most impressive was the heart chapel, built in the shape of
a heart, depicting the meeting of Jesus and Mary on the way to the cross.
By the time we got to the Cedron Brook
and the end of the walk, we were exhausted, but the looked-for restaurant
turned out to be closed, and so we trudged, Ashley painfully, back up the hill
to the base in sweltering sun. ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen’, they say – as well as
Scots…
By late afternoon, folks were arriving for the weekend
conference on ‘Worship and Nations’; they were coming from near and far –
Krakow, Tarnow, Warsaw, Silesia and Kielce – to hear teaching on how we can be
priests and kings to our God. The first session in the evening was less well
attended, some folks being still on the road to get here. It was a good first
time together, and Chris shared on the theme of the weekend ahead.
I was sharing a room with Wojciech, one
of the kitchen staff, who is going into orders, and Stasiek,
whom I have met before, a young guy from Krakow.
Saturday June 4th Lanckorona
The first full day of the conference. I was opening
up with a session on the intercession of Jesus, and spoke of His wounds
interceding for us in the presence of the Father, and when we intercede, we are
joining in His intercessions for His bride, for whom He has paid the price, and
awaits only the time for the Holy Spirit to have completed her preparation for
their meeting together at His coming.
Bohus arrived from Slovakia around 1000, and shared in the
second session of the morning. He was fulsome in his honouring of Andrzej’s role in the work in Slovakia, and I felt
something beautiful in the room as he told their story. It was good to have him
there.
During the morning, I had been asked if I would serve at the
altar for mass that evening. For some reason, I felt a check, perhaps
worrying about my reputation. But when I
realised that it was the first mass of Father Marcin,
a dear Francsican brother and leader of the
ecumenical section of the brothers in the Krakow monastery, I melted and knew I
needed to serve him in this most memorable moment. Chris had already said yes,
anyway and reminded me that we ahd first done this
together in 1984 at a leaders’ mass in Kadłub! I realised then that the Holy Spirit is no
respecter of our divisions.
In the afternoon, Chris shared on the state of the world at
present, and the need for mission, and how the world population has
increased exponentially.
After dinner, then, in the lovely balmy cool of the evening in
front of the Lanckorona house, Chris and I
enrobed, and served the elements to Father Marcin at
his first mass. John was our skilled teacher. He knew all the symbolism by
heart, and what touched me particularly was that the putting of the hands
together in prayer in front of the server symbolises the integration of body
and spirit in humanity, and in Christ.
We got through without too many mistakes, and when we kissed the
hands of Fr Marcin at the
end, he graciously returned the honour. It was a glorious moment of unity under
the trees in the evening calm.
We prayed with folks well into the darkness after mass; with
some with serious illness, with some to be encouraged in their gifts. What a
sense of God’s presence there!
Sunday June 5th Lanckorona,
Poland to Podolínec, Slovakia
Saying goodbye to all at Lanckorona,
Bohus and I set off south for the mountains and Slovakia. It was a quick
transit, the roads to Zakopane being greatly improved
in recent years.
Passing through
Nowy Targ, Bohus took a
detour to a small village in the Podhale, on the way
to the border. This was Łopuszna, and in
the cemetery there is the grave of Professor Jozef
Tischner. (pictured
left) It blessed me so much that Bohus shares this love of place and memory,
knowing that I would appreciate this stopping at the place of resurrection of a
great man. Tischner was a friend of John Paul 2, and
a partner in conversation with him, leading to a sharpening of the blessed
Pope’s thinking in many areas. Tischner spent much
time writing in secret in a bacówka ( a bothy) in the forest near the village, and is now openly
recognised by a prime place in the graveyard in this Podhalski
village.
As we drove on, we passed a sign saying Harklowa
and I realised we were a short hop from the village where teams from Edinburgh
spent so many happy days in the eighties, in underground Oaza camps. We drove up into the village of Szlembark, and I recalled the building of the new
church there, now with a lovely wooden spire, and the barn where we met, now a
newly rebuilt house. It was wonderful to see it again, having not been there
for so long.
Passing on from Szlembark, we headed past
the Czorsztyn Lake, made by the damming of the Dunajec valley about a decade ago; this was not here when
teams came twenty five years ago from Scotland. And high on a rock overlooking
the lake is the castle of Niedzica, which I
had first encountered in the novel ‘Poland’ which so caught my heart up in the
story of this nation.
Quickly over the border, unimpeded by guards or barriers, we
were soon above the Poprad valley, looking down on Podolínec from above, before running down to be there for
dinner.
It was lovely to see Bohus’ family again; Janko, Klara, Jozue
and Rachel. Janko has won a place at university to
study French and English, and will begin there next term. He is a fine young
man. Jozue showed me his tiny baby trout caught in
the potok (the stream) which was swimming
around in a plastic bowl in the bath!
At the First
Sunday fellowship before the main meeting, I shared with the community
about the vision to be a pan-generational people who see the vision through
to where all generations can enjoy community life in the Spirit together,
in the presence of the Lord. As we then worshipped and shared in preparation
for the evening gathering, a theme of river, well and spring emerged in the
pictures.
In the evening, the church was packed for adoration; it was
so good to be in Christ’s presence with so many worshipping people. At one
point, a spontaneous song in the Spirit rose up and carried on for a long while
– you alone are all I need… I
cannot describe how the glory of God comes in these times. It is so moving to
be in.
I shared on the intercession of Jesus, but that He has
broken through the dam of sin holding back the Spirit, and now the river of God
is inundating us, culminating in the tidal wave of the Spirit at Pentecost,
whose sound is the gift of tongues, the sound of the rushing waters of God.
Having greeted a few of the friends who had come, including Hanna
from Sabinov, I made a quick move to bed, as next day
was to be very long and full.
Monday June 6th Podolínec to Zahorie, then to Bratislava
Waking up at
0300 was more like waking from a quick nap than a proper sleep. However
this was a full day ahead, and at 0330 we set off. Seeing the Tatras at this time of day though was awesome, the pink of
dawn touching the blue of the mountains. (see left)
Mist hung in very valley, like clouds that had fallen out of the sky. We
stopped for coffee, and then headed on, going for my benefit through Cerchoviec, where the Slovak Robin Hood ,
Janosik, was arrested and despatched. (Jozue has a small pigtail which recalls that of Janosik, like many small Slovak boys!)
We arrived at the Parish House in Rodošovce,
slap back in the lands of the west of Slovakia settled by the Anabaptists.
Vineyards again were everywhere. We spent the morning sharing the good news
of Jesus with all the kids in the local Skola
Zakladna – elementary school. Palo was
amazing with them – especially the older boys. He would pick the obvious
ringleader in a class, and make them interact with him – he had them eating out
of his hand. They do this all so well, and the kids seem to enjoy it. Almost
the whole school was in the church at 12pm for the mass. I, meanwhile, was
lying down!
Having had lunch in the Mill Restaurant, we set off for Bratislava
and TV Lux there, the Slovak Christian TV station. It was on the way to the
interview that I found out this would be a live interview! I had assumed
it would be recorded, but no, we were doing live TV. I gulped, but realised
this was just another part of the adventure. In fact, when we arrived at the
studio, a big placard announced that this was ‘dobrodruzstvo
z televiziou Lux’, the adventure with TV Lux! OK,
Lord, I hear you!
The interview
was on the theme of John Eldredge’s books, Wild at
Heart and Sacred Romance. He had been in Slovakia in April for a
conference, and this was a follow-up to that event. I was amazed to hear that
in Slovakia, a country of five million, thirty five thousand copies of Wild
at Heart and Captivating have been sold. That is a real saturation
level for a book in one language!
The presenter was named Zuzanna, and helped
is through the format. I was going to speak in English, and Bohus would
translate. But it was great to be able to follow the Slovak, with the Holy
Spirit’s help. I always find in these situations the Lord helps comprehension
amazingly. I shared about how John’s books really impacted us in Edinburgh and myself personally. You
can see an archive recording of the programme on http://www.tvlux.sk/archiv/play/3688 (programme 190 of Doma
je Doma – ‘Home’s Home’ but only with Internet
Explorer)
Before we knew it, it was over. As we were leaving, the
presenter’s husband came in. He asked if I remembered him, and in the
‘small world’ moment that followed, I learned that he was Jaroslav Chanas, brother of a priest
friend of mine, Stefan, from Kosice, and that he had come and visited us in ’97
in Edinburgh at ECF! This was a lovely moment of God’s linking heart as we
realised the journey that God has had us on to bring us here. Jaro now works for the TV company,
helping to deliver great quality Christian television for Sklovakia.
Would that we had as good here!
Just when I thought I had an evening free, Rasto mentioned that
there was a little ‘informal gathering’ back at the monastery, since
leaders from both River Fellowship and Calvary were together, and were wanting to share a little. It was a wonderful time
together, sitting outside in the warm air of the monastery courtyard as hearts
and hopes and fears were shared.
Being invited to share my heart, I was just able to encourage them
concerning the unique communities they had, and the way that God has led them
so far. We then considered what God was doing among them, and prayed for one
another, Rasto dismissing us with his blessing.
After a beer, being so overwhelmed with the long day and many
wonderful meetings, I crept off to bed, leaving the others to chat on.
Tuesday June 7th Bratislava to Krakow and home to
Edinburgh
Another day, another few hundred miles! We left Bratislava just
after eight, and headed up the motorway to pick up Andi
from her home near Trnava, where her dad had made us
a second breakfast, including cucumbers and peppers from his extensive garden.
It was a good hour before we got under way again!
We crossed Slovakia by a new route for me, passing Trnava, the original mission base of Cyril and
Constantine (better known as Methodius).
I listened carefully to Bohus’ recounting of their story, coming as a
mainly lay team (only Cyril was a monk) at the invitation of Prince Rastislav
to bring the best of Byzantine scholarship and mission to the Slavic peoples of
the region, giving them an alphabet and written language. They also got
Slavonic accepted as a liturgical language by Rome, something unheard
previously in the Latin-dominated west.
We continued along the beautiful River Hron,
past Banska Bystrica and Zvolen, before heading up and up into the Low Tatra mountains, which despite the low cloud were
beautiful and imposing. Down the other side, to Liptovsky
Mikulas, and we were shortly in Poprad,
on the new motorway, before gaining the familiar Tatra-dominated
road to Podolínec.
After a meaty soupy lunch, Bohus and the family decided to
accompany me to the bus at Nowy Targ,
before going for a treat to celebrate Janko’s birthday.
This time we crossed the border into Poland by the Jurgów
crossing, which takes the pass through the magnificence of the High Tatras at Zdiar, still with
snow on the peaks.
Across the
plain to Nowy Targ, and we
arrived within minutes of the departure of the Kraków
minibus from the oh-so-familiar bus station, with its memories of Szlembark days and packed buses to Zakopane
and Harklowa! Saying goodbye to the family, I hopped
aboard a minibus which was in Kraków in quick time
given the new roads, and soon was sitting in the early evening sunshine on the Market
Square under Adam Mickiewicz’s statue, listening to the fireman-trumpeter
proudly playing the six o’clock Hejnał,
(pictured left) recalling the Tatar invasion of the thirteenth century.
Then back along Florianska Street, where a young
Russian accordionist moved me to tears with his beautiful voice and plaintive
song; he earned his five złoty so
well.
Finally, the last train on this trip, the airport shuttle to Balice, John Paul II airport. The last ten
minutes of the journey again are at snail’s pace, because of the parlous state
of trackwork, but the trains are modern and
comfortable, and a bus connects to the terminal.
I did have Fr, Marcin’s
magisterial dissertation out to read, his work on the Lanckorona
School of Evangelisation as a response to John Paul II’s call to a new
evangelisation, but sleep got the better of me, and as we flew, I was dreaming
of the joy of this adventure, this dobrodruzstvo
with God that we are all part of….
In this amazing thirteen days, I realised that I had crossed
fourteen borders, into France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria,
Germany, back into Austria, Slovakia, Czech, back into Sloavakia,
back into Czech, Poland, Slovakia, back into Poland, and UK! And I had shown
my passport just three times (in and out of UK and once into
Switzerland….) How different to thirty
years ago, when we first crossed overland into Poland with so much time spent
at border points, most of which no longer even exist (and even one state, East
Germany, has disappeared off the map!)
Friday 20 May 2011/Dihaoine
20 a’Chèitein 2011 0908
The
time of my departure draws nigh, to Europe. I find myself thinking over so many
things about the trip – the journey through the Alps, the visit to the
Anabaptist dwelling-houses in Slovakia, the sharing among friends I love.
I was
meditating this morning on a hoped-for visit to the Grossmünster
church in Zürich, where Huldreich Zwingli gathered a
group of students around him to study the Scriptures in the original Hebrew and
Greek, as well as Latin and German. I realised a great similarity to our modern
desire to find Christ and His ways through the Scriptures. These young men were
not ready to just accept a systematised form of dogmatic tradition, which made
the Bible out to be a ‘closed book’, all worked out and codified by the
hierarchy of the Roman church. They wanted to wander in the texts for
themselves, and hear the Spirit of God leading them, into risky and even
dangerous places (in terms of punishment meted out to those who dared to oppose
the ruling elite) where they would drink from the water of life in their own
cupped hands.
It is
inspiring to consider how every generation must take that same journey they
took, and how still we can tend to present to one another the Scriptures as a
systematic, easily- apprehended set of propositions, rather than as the deep
and mystical narrative of the unfolding relationship of God with mankind, as
well as of mankind’s terrible failure to comprehend Him.
For
the radicals in the Grossmünster, in the early
1500’s, Scripture had been presented as a neatly-manicured garden, surrounded
by wild forests. They refused to stay in the confines of the garden, and found
that the forest was full of beauty, adventure and danger; and they met Christ
there, a Christ who sustained them through death itself.
Friday
15 April 2011/Dihaoine 15 a’Ghiblein
2011 1556
This
morning I was at one of the most impacting funerals I have ever attended, that
of Father Roland Walls of the Community of the Transfiguration in Roslin, who died on 7th April and whose funeral
was at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. I knew Fr. Roland as one of my
occasional lecturers, first, at New College. I remember, as a young, quite
fundamentalist evangelical being very impacted by this warm, glowing,
dishevelled, humorous man who was, of all things, a protestant turned Catholic!
In several visits to Roslin with friends from New
College, I was even more bemused by his way of living in the tumble-down wooden
bungalow, as I remember it, and the garden sheds in which he and Brother John
Halsey slept. But what most impacted me was the chapel,
two garden sheds knocked together, walls covered in icons, where Fr. Roland
invited us for midday office. I know now that it was this more than anything
which sowed in me what was referred today as ‘the Roslin
seed’, the heart for ecumenical involvement, and the idea that there was more
to Christ’s people than my narrow tradition had told me.
The
funeral mass, led by celebrant Cardinal Archbishop Keith Patrick O’Brien was
notable in that it was also attended by the Episcopalian Bishop of Edinburgh,
Rt. Rev Brian Smith and addressed by a former Moderator of the Assembly of the
Church of Scotland, John Miller. The homily was given by a young Franciscan
father, Johannes Kupper from Germany, and in the
congregation were people from across the church spectrum, including Roy Searle,
Trevor Miller and Andy Raine of the Northumbria Community whose foundation was
so influenced by Roland’s input. I was accompanied by Iain Archibald also of
Community Church Edinburgh, and met after the service Mike Taylor, of Haven
Fellowship, whose connection with Fr. Roland went back to YWAM days on the Isle
of Cumbrae in the 1970s! Thus, as well as Catholic,
Episcopalian and Presbyterian brothers and sisters, there was a former
president of the Baptist Union and leaders of New Churches as well! I know Fr.
Roland would have been thrilled at that.
Particularly
moving, during the eucharist was to see Bishop Brian
praying for Cardinal Keith Patrick, and vice versa, and then John Miller,
former Moderator, laying hands on the Cardinal and praying, and again, vice
versa. On reflection, it left me thinking that, despite our divided practices,
the Spirit of God seems to be jumping over our doctrinal walls and joining our
hearts. The Eucharistic division was always a pain for Roland – it was one of
the reasons he joined the Roman Catholic church, to
bring the experience of the broken body of Christ into the Community at Roslin.
At the
end of the mass, Brother John Halsey read something Fr. Roland had written some
years ago, his ‘testament’, which bears recording here for those who are
reading this; it was a wonderful legacy to leave those of us there this
morning, as we retired into the busy Edinburgh daylight to see the hearse
bearing his coffin awaiting the final journey to his burial in the cemetery at Roslin.
Testament to My
Sons and Daughters
Whom I bless in the Threefold Name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I
bequeath to you my vocation which I received from God and unworthily fulfilled
in this life. In His mercy He called me to shew His
Love for all creatures and His Compassion on poor Man. He called me to sing the
Praises of His Love, to study and to speak of His Love, in words but also
through silence. He shewed the
quiet tenderness of His Love which is Himself.
Keep
therefore LOVE to be praised, shewn, and treasured in
silence – bring all things, all mankind, all circumstances into the Light of
that Love. Keep to the poverty of LOVE which is the secret of joy, and by which
you will make many rich. So great is this calling that I leave you that to fail
in it is worth more than success in any other. Keep to Love as LOVE keeps you
and still keeps my poor soul that in earthly life so often betrayed HIM whom it
loved.
May
He who was transfigured by LOVE, transfigure us all as He brings us to GLORY.
AMEN.
Thursday
14 April 2011/Diardaoin 14 a’Ghiblein
2011 1824
Came across an interesting Hebrew expression last evening, tikkun olam, which
means ‘making the world straight’, or repairing the world. The concept is found in the aleinu prayer at the end of the Jewish prayer
service, and Jews believe that mitzvot or fulfilment
of the Law contributes towards to the tikkun
olam. What grabbed my attention is that there is
a Jewish interfaith magazine called Tikkun to which
several leading Christian speakers are contributors, including Brian McLaren and
Richard Rohr. I came across it, because Ann’s current marriage counselling doyenne
Hedi Yumi, a lovely Jewish
woman, calls her training in marriage Tikkun
as well (although the pedant in me would prefer to see it written tiqqun as the middle letter is a doubled qoph!) While
finding it attractive, my only slight hesitation is that it could tend to
present our efforts as the means to ‘repair’ the world, in a rather humanist
way, rather than seeing Christ as the Rescuer from the bombsite of even our
best efforts.
I
received the latest edition of the international magazine of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków,
edited by my friend Dr. Maria Kantor. It has a fascinating article in it
reporting on an award ceremony in recognition of work in improving Jewish-Polish
relationships, but what hit me was the sentence about the Podgórze
ghetto being liquidated in 1943, with 300 being shot on site in the Kraków suburb and the rest being taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The aftershocks are still 
there in the
earth.
Spent this afternoon walking through Dumbiedykes in prayer with Ben
Williams. (The pic is of the lovely ceramic at 45) number plaque We sat a
while in the Bauks View gardens, a beautiful little
haven in a very urban landscape, - the picture is of flowers in the garden -
and spoke to Tom Bonallo, whom I know from Southside
Association, who was tidying up the garden by shifting a fly-tipped mattress
from the grounds. As we were chatting, Liz Dixon happened along, just coming
from her volunteering at the Braidwood Centre with mums and toddlers. Ben, Liz
and YT retired to the Richmond Café and shared a brew, which was a lovely
happenstance. Lord, thanks for such moments.
Wednesday
13 April 2011/Diciadain 13 a’Ghiblein
2011 1137
I was
in the west yesterday, south of the Clyde in the morning with Neill Shaw in
Paisley, and north of the Clyde in the afternoon with Alistair Macindoe,
interviewing them for my dissertation research. It is so fascinating, hearing
the different stories of churches from their leaders, yet finding there are
common threads joining us together, and linking us to the first free believers’
churches of the early sixteenth century. Alistair really surprised me when he
shared that his New College PhD supervisor described to him what we were doing
as akin to the Radical Reformers – that one is definitely finding a way into
the thesis!
Last evening,
it was great to get together with a number of other intercessors to pray
together at King’s Hall. Coming out of it, this morning, I felt inspired to
make a new facebook page called so that people can
add their own prayers, or join in the threads of others, to increase our
engagement with prayer.
Chaidh mi an-dè gu h-iar na duthcha airson chèilidh air mo
chàirdean ann an Phàislig agus ann an Cille Phàdraig, ri taobh na h-Aibhne
Chluaidh. Bha e glè inntinneach a bhith gan eisteachd na eachdraidhean aca mu
dheidhinn thùis nan eaglaisean aca.
Monday 11 April
2011/Diluain 11 a’Ghiblein 2011 1023
Just
some more on my plans to pilgrim across Europe in the trail of the Anabaptists
at the end of May/beginning of June; I shall be an interrailer again for
a few days!
Leaving
Dijon on Monday May 30, having had a weekend there with the folks at Fontaine
d’Ouche, I shall be travelling by TGV (quel chagrin!) to Lausanne,
thence by SBB Neigezug (tilting train) across Switzerland to Zürich,
arriving there early afternoon, to visit the Großmünster, where Zwingli, Grebel,
Manz and Blaurock studied the Scriptures together, stopping on the banks of the
River Limmat to reflect at the place of martyrdom of Felix Manz, drowned there
for his teaching on believers’ baptism on 5.1.1527.
Then I hope to
make a short visit to the nearby village of Zollikon, on the banks of the Zürichsee lake, where revival
broke out and many were baptised in the wake of the choice to break with the
state church. A plaque on the house at 23 Gstadstrasse there marks the place of
one of the early meetings of the believers’ baptist assemblies. Returning to Zürich, I will be taking an ÖBB
(Austrian Railways) Railjet service to stay overnight in Feldkirch, just across
the Austrian border and a stone’s throw from the tiny state of Liechtenstein.
The
following morning, taking another Railjet from Feldkirch, there will be time
for a quick stop off in Innsbruck, to visit the place of the martyrdom of Jakob
Hutter in 1536, in front of the Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl)
there. Thence, a later Railjet will take me to Vienna, to briefly see the
plaque there at Stubentor where Balthasar Hubmaier was burned at the stake in
1528. I should arrive in Bratislava, Slovakia in time to share at the evening
meeting of Calvary Fellowship at the Sts Cyril and Methodius church, linked to
the Redemptorist monastery.
On Wednesday
morning, 1st June, I have
the foray into Hutterite lands around Veľké Leváre, visiting the
Anabaptist house (Habánsky Dom) there and if time permits, to visit the
vineyards of the Habánske Sklepy (Hutterite Cellars) just across the border
into Czech Republic, where the wine of that name is still produced. I then
return to share with the Calvary Fellowship families on Wednesday evening,
leaving Slovakia on Thursday morning to travel north by Eurocity train to
Katowice, and thence to Kraków to join up with the team from CCE for the
weekend with the community at Lanckorona. I am also hoping, lastly, to end the
time away with a First Sunday at Podolínec, Slovakia, before flying back to UK
with the team on Tuesday evening 7 June.
Sunday
10 April 2011/Didomhnaich 10 a’Ghiblein
1758
I’m excited to have been granted a
special opening of the Habánsky Dom (Anabaptist House) museum in Veľké
Leváre, Slovakia when I’m there on June 1st during my pan-Europe Radical Reformation
trundlings... It’s one of
a number of buildings that were part of the Hutterite settlement there in the
seventeenth century, to the north of Bratislava. There are pics of it on the
site of Zahorske Muzeum at http://www.zahorskemuzeum.sk/?q=page/38
Friday
8 April 2011/Dihaoine 8 a’Ghiblein
2011 1015
Spent
the evening yesterday at the Polish Community meeting at King’s Hall; it is so amazing
being able to walk into a little piece of Poland on our doorstep, and I so
appreciate worshipping in Polish. Stefan Boron was speaking last night on the
wheat and tares (chwast i przenica) and it was fascinating what he
brought out about the similarity between the two, and how until they are full
grown, it’s hard to tell the difference. But the wheat has the fruit, while the
tares grow tall but spindly. There’s a lot in that.
The
Catholic folks are preparing themselves for the big occasion on May 1st
– the beatification of John Paul II; there will be special vigil prayers and
masses over the few days leading up – I may well drop in to the the cathedral
and pray.
I was
thrown in at the deep end at one point last night, leading a small group for
prayer, but nothing improves language ability like having to take
responsibility! And the folks in the group were so gracious, putting up with my
pidgin Polish. Bogu niech
będą dzięki!
Thursday
7 April 2011/Diardaoin 7 a’Ghiblein
2011 1246
Actually rode this freshly reliveried 334 from Glasgow Queen Street
to Edinburgh Waverley last week coming back from EA meeting at Cowcaddens. It
was the first time I had seen one out of the old SPT carmine and cream which
looks so out of place east of Airdrie.
All stations between Bathgate and Airdrie now open, so we called at
Drumgelloch, Caldercruix, Blackridge and Armadale en route
home.
Thursday
7 April 2011/Diardaoin 7 a’Ghiblein
2011 0600
Here,
creaking out of the engine shed, comes the old blog, steamed up for another
run, a whole five months after the last entry! No way I am doing a
retrospective, just some current things going on. Completed the Story notes (http://www.cce.uk.net/what-we-do/sundays/sermons/the-story/
which got up to 368,102 words at the last count! – now
I can concentrate on the dissertation.
I am
now a Facebooker so if you have comments about the blog, you can put them on my
page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=606686059
(though
I’ll have to be your friend for you to do so!) Or you can email your comments
to me .
On
Tuesday, for the first time I walked the George Square labyrinth. A beautiful Spring morning, with the daffodils out. It’s a prayer grid,
marked out along the same pattern of the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral,
originally a way of entering on a mini-pilgrimage, in a time when the wars of
the Crusades meant that it was impossible to do the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
It was
a great aid to intercession and prayer; an enforced, slow, winding walk, moving
back and forth along the paths which eventually lead to the centre, which
represents the journey into God, and then out into the world. As I was walking,
I was aware of how akin to life itself this is, an intricate moving forward and
back, sometimes nearer the centre, sometimes very distant from it. It could feel
at moments as though it wasn’t leading anywhere, and then at others as though
great strides forward were being made. I was using my rosary beads to lead me
in with the chaplet of the Divine Mercy, and then using them on the way out, as
is my wont, to intercede for those I pray for and care for. The rhythm of the prayer synchronised
beautifully with the reaching of the centre, and then the walk back out from
it. The only other users while I was there were children with parents,
fascinated by the pattern, one kiddie following the path around on his
stabilised bike. I found it, though, a great way to pray and will no doubt be
back.
Yesterday
I was at Bishopbriggs for the regular monthly Scottish Network leaders prayer
at Bishopbriggs; the guest speaker was Peter Neilson, who brought us such a timely
and thought-provoking Lenten meditation on ‘the parabola of grace’, the
downward journey of Philippians 2, the kenosis (self-emptying) of Christ. Here
are my notes from the talk;
Seasons of the church calendar can be a way of living in the Big Story – (good for new believers, for example) Lent is one of those seasons, so these thoughts are linked to that time of journeying with Jesus.
Phil.2.5ff – Paul
is possibly writing into a scenario of conflicted church in Philippi.
Story of Donald Eadie in
wheelchair – forced by spinal condition into a place of vulnerability, unable
to work conventionally, but he embraced God ‘in the darkness of holy Saturday’.
God saying, beware of losing your soul in the midst of plans and agendas . What
would it mean to choose the way of vulnerability, rather than having it thrust
upon us?
When identity is tied up with what we do we find it hard
to be vulnerable. We build walls so as not to be hurt, but we will try and save
ourselves; we can't save ourselves and be safe The Celtic way is about living
dangerously and not being safe. There is also a challenge to live locally
rather than travel about. God says you will only hear me as you stay close to
the edge. But what is the new edge the new shore which will keep is in the
liminal place?
Phil. 2 is about the downward and upward journey in the
parabola of Grace He comes down to lift us up. And then we are called to the parabola with Him
To sin is to disobey the downward and to distrust the upward call.
There is a call to be there and keep vulnerable among the
poor, for instance By taking the downward call we make
space for others to hear the upward call. He is able to lift from below. Our
attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ who was willing to give up all. Is
our leadership our opportunity for control and safety and identity? Or are we
willing to let go and head toward the uncertainty? Leadership is about kenotic
reality (story of St Aidan giving away the gift of the horse – a barefoot
Christianity) What does it mean to be among people
where our reputation counts for nothing or we are unknown?
Leadership is about being the servant of servants and
being made in the image of man We are so seduced by
leadership, by the temptation of living up to my own image. Leadership is about staying close to the
ground (the humus) What does it mean to be grounded Leadership -
not about laying down the law but about laying down your life . Jesus asks ‘Do
you love my people or are you just looking for others to fulfil your plans?’
The downward journey maps Jesus' journey and gives us the map for our journey.
It's the Father who then lifts up , not us .
Richard Rohr - first half of life is about ascent then
the second half is about descent, about humility and generosity. It’s a shift
from life onstage to life offstage. God wants us to take the downward journey.
Vulnerability is God’s call to us .
I had
an image from the Lord yesterday which I am exploring; it’s really about how we
can use Scripture as liberating or inhibiting. It comes out of recent study, and tussling with a relevant hermeneutic,
particularly for some of Paul’s writing in the light of present-day context.
In Fig 1,
the Scriptures are the pot in which we are rooted as the Church. They form the
soil for our coming to Christ, bringing the story to us,
we cannot do without the repository of their light.
In Fig
2, the Scriptures, or rather, the use of a restrictive hermeneutic of the
Scriptures, inhibits growth, because we are forced to see the context of
Scripture as sacrosanct, thus legalism comes in and stunts the development of
the plant.
In Fig
3, the plant is transplanted into the wider garden, but with the same soil from
the pot in which it was originally rooted. The roots still grow through that
‘storied earth’ of the Scriptures, but now are contextualising faith into a
wider scope than the potbound plant allows. In this way, the Church is rooted
in the Scriptures, but not inhibited to the context of first century history.
This is why slaves can be emancipated and why slavery is now seen as injustice,
where in the Scriptural context, slavery is part of the cultural wallpaper. It
is also why women and men together express God’s image in the earth, both as
necessary partners in the stewardship of creation, whereas the Scriptures are
written in the context of keeping women in the background, in keeping with the
cultural norms of the day, norms which we rightly today see as unjust in the
same way as slavery is seen as unjust.
Sharing
this with Jamie Davis yesterday, (who has landed a research post with N T
Wright in St Andrews, a great outcome from a tough recent time for him) he
reminded me of the picture of story, that we are continuing the narrative,
faithfully, but in a new day and time.
I am
still mulling this over, so if you are reading this and either a) feeling I am
keeling over into heterodoxy or even heresy or b) this is making sense to you,
let me know! You can Facebook your comments at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=606686059
if
you a friend, or email them to this link
if you are not a Facebooker.
Thursday 4 November 2010/Diardaoin 4 na
Samhainne 2010
Just
an entry update to put my blog back in orbit – I have been giving myself this
year to my daily commentary on Scripture, which is on the CCE website at http://www.cce.uk.net/what-we-do/sundays/sermons/the-story/ I didn’t realise when I started how addictive
Scripture can be – the overall work is now up to 258,000 words, and still with
57 days to go to December 31!
Anyway,
back to the Bible…. Gum beannaich an
Tighearna thusa!
If you would like
to comment on Col's blog, mail me at colin@colinsymes.co.uk