17th August 2022            A Candle in the Window            Peter Millar

Words to encourage us in these times.          This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Proclamations of goodness:

O Christ, there is no life in the sea,

there is no creature in the ocean,

there is nothing in the heavens,

but proclaims your goodness.

There is not bird on the wing,

there is no star in the sky,

there is nothing beneath the sun

but proclaims your goodness

From one of the Iona Community’s Worship Books

Many years ago I bought a metal craving in the wonderful Iona Community Shop on the Island of Iona. The carving shows a copy of one of the birds drawn on the edge of a page in the famous Book of Kells, which is now in Ireland. Part of that extraordinary illuminated manuscript was crafted on Iona. The Celtic peoples lived close to the land and all living things, and they know that birds travelled freely between heaven and earth, possessors of secrets, heavenly messengers. Eagles with their ability to look at the sun brought prophecy: storks brought souls to earth, and owls brought secrets to the night. It was a world-view, different from our own, but thankfully millions of us are today awakening to these ancient wisdoms. Our Christian friends and many others of all faiths, all those centuries ago, grasped a fundamental central truth. In my own understanding, this truth carries both simplicity and profundity. It reminds us that everything around us on land, sea and earth -- not least a bird soaring on the wind -- proclaims the sheer goodness of the Creator.

Go gently my friends,

feel the good earth beneath your feet,

celebrate the rain, wind and sunshine

knowing that you are on holy ground,

               held securely in the wonder of God’s creation.            pm

 

Be thou a guiding star above me,

Be thou a smooth path below me,

And be a kindly shepherd behind me.              Celtic traditional

Sowing love:

A few days ago, Hazel, a friend of  almost 50 years, now living in London, who has given her life of deep love to the work of the L’Arche Communities throughout the world, sent me these lines written, many years ago, by the late Dutch author, spiritual teacher and pastor, Henri Nouwen (1932-1996).  Through the long years of my cancer, I have learned many inner lessons about human brokenness and our shared vulnerabilities. This discovery, as many others have found, is a rich blessing in any life. These are Henri’s words taken from his best-selling book “You are the Beloved: daily meditation for spiritual living”:

You know something about brokenness. You know about the broken world. You know about brokenness in your country. But most personally, you know it in your more intimate life. You know we are broken people and we suffer very intimate pains. The pain of a desire for intimacy that hasn’t been fulfilled... the pain of a relationship that did not work ...the pain of an addiction that is so hard to confess... the secret pain of loneliness that can bite us so much... and what I would like to say to you is don’t be afraid of your pain, but dare to embrace it.

If you are wounded, and I know that you and I are, put your brokenness under the blessing. We are called to give our lives to others, so you and I can bear fruit. And all brokenness, and all dying, and all suffering is there to allow you to enter into solidarity with the whole human family, and to give yourselves to others so that your life can bear fruit. God asks you not to have a successful life but to have a fruitful life.

Artistic resistance will aid our victory:

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, has said the “artistic resistance” of a home-grown orchestra performing on the opening weekend of the Edinburgh International Festival will help spur his country to victory over Russia. In the programme note written for the concert by the Ukraine Freedom Orchestra, Zelensky said the entire country defied Russian aggression, but the arts were a critical point of resistance “because the seizure of territories begins with the seizure of people's minds and hearts, and music can be a powerful weapon against invaders”.     Mike Wade  - writing in a UK newspaper article.

Note: In some of the 3rd of August Candle in the Window reflections, for some reason unknown, this piece was not printed out fully. I hope the full text is OK this week. Peter.