Seeing life differently

Mike and Jean, from Bristol, came to visit for a few days. The weather was good so one day we took them to parc Glynllifon about six miles south of Caernarfon.

History, art and landscape come together here. The historic gardens comprise a tree trail with over 200 trees, some planted more than 150years ago. Fifty trees are listed as of special interest. These have been sourced from round the world and have exotic names like the Tibetan Cherry, Dawn Redwood, the Roble and the Golden Twigged Ash.

Wandering through the grounds is enhanced by the “wind-up” commentary points. These are located at strategic places and lead past the Mansion (at present undergoing restoration ) along the riverside to the fountains and caves and eventually to the amphitheatre where Mike tried out his Henry V speech!

Walking back through the woods we came across the childrens mill and could not resist going behind the rushing water flowing over our heads. The picture picks us out peering through the water. With the sun glistening on the water the whole view of the wood was transformed before us.

Reflecting on this experience I cannot but pass on the wonderful lines of William Rees about the Crucifixion and suggest that seeing and living life in the light of the Cross is a totally transforming experience, one to which we are all invited.

Seeing life Differently

“On the mount of crucifixion
fountains opened deep and wide
through the floodgates of God’s mercy
flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
And heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love”
William Rees’ hymn ”Here is love

The last word

We went to a funeral service the other day. It was the only one I had experienced where the last word was a resounding Alleluia from the congregation!

This was at the requested of Joe, a Christian gentleman, well known in the locality whose life we were celebrating. The Alleluia was a great shout of praise to God for a life of more than 80years testifying to His goodness, love, mercy, patience, power and faithfulness. It spoke of the purpose-driven life which is the Christian’s calling.

The fruitfulness of this season gives similar testimony. The abundant fruit on our victoria plum tree this year is simply amazing!

Jesus said to his followers

“I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit…….by this is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples.”

Make me a fruitful Christian Lord so that the last word over me will be a resounding Alleluia to you.

Sea sickness

Today autumn has blown in! The local Irish Sea forecast was a gale warning with winds veering to severe gale force 9 with the sea being rough and very rough at times.
There will be much debris on the shoreline when we next take the dog for his exercise and, if the ferry to Ireland dares to sail, there will be much seasickness no doubt!!

I am reminded of one of George Herbert’s poems where he compares mankind after the Fall to a tossed vessel on the high sea

“At first Man was a treasure,
a box of jewels, shop of rarities,
a ring whose posie was “My pleasure”:
He was a garden in a Paradise;
glory and grace
did crown his heart and face.

But since sin has fooled him; now he is
A lump of flesh, without a foot or wing
To raise him to glimpse of bliss;
A sick-tossed vessel, dashed on each thing,
No, his own shelf:
My God, I mean myself “

The last lines are illuminating. Herbert realises that he himself is that “sick tossed vessel” affected like the rest of mankind by the sea change brought by the coming of sin into the world.

The prophet Isaiah was given a message from God, which said

“There is no peace for evil people. They are like the angry sea, which cannot rest, whose waves toss up waste and mud”

However even to him a promise of peace was made, ultimately fulfilled in Christ

God said “ I will give peace, real peace, to those far and near, and I will heal them…..I have seen what they have done, but I will heal them and comfort them and they will all praise me”

Praise the Lord all the earth!

Celebrating life

I watched from an upstairs window. The handful of sparrows was on the track below enjoying a dust-bath. They stamped and brought up the dust with their wings. Then on some signal, it seemed, they took off into the hedge nearby. I watched them do this a score of times.

Then came the next game! They moved from the hedge again but this time made for a rain pool in the track. The pool could have only been half a metre in diameter. At first they played round the edge. Could they be looking at their reflections in the water? One by one they waded into the shallow edges of the pool, fluttered their wings and once more, left, as a group, to disappear into the hedge.

At one point, another bird joined them from the hedge. It was a black cap; rather timid but wanting to join in the fun. It went round the pool edge timidly and at a little distance from the sparrows. Eventually it got the idea and fluttered the water onto its wings before flying into the safety of the hedge. The black cap was always the last one home!

Reflecting on what I had witnessed, the whole event was a celebration of life; a dance of joy and delight in the sunny interval between the rain showers. The pleasure of watching this was like a flash of glory on my senses and mood. As CS Lewis would have said “in receiving what I had witnessed I was experiencing something from a divine source. I was being touched by a finger of that right hand at which there are pleasures for evermore.

Gratitude would exclaim “how good of God to give me this” Adoration would say “what must be the quality of that Being whose far off momentary light-flashes are like this?” One’s mind must run back up the sunbeam to the sun.”

To realise life as you live it and to give glory to life’s Giver must be an ultimate for any human being.

Grounded

On finding a kestrel, dead on the lawn.

Kestrel; grounded, at my feet
Slain; never to rise again.
What an end to beauty on the wing!
What purpose can you now serve
Broken link in vital chain?

Are you not part of brooding strong
Whose story touches warrior –kings?
Through ages long; wild and feared
We have known you near

Dust to dust, you go from sight
Yet what pleasure you have brought
To eyes of men and eyes of God
This must be said of you
“You gave your best and now
it’s time to take your rest.”

Promises, Promises

Another month, another marriage! This time George and Tamsin make their promises to one another and before God. And what promises!!

Turning to each other, the bride and groom took each other’s right hand and make promises:
‘to have and to hold
from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part’
The couple then exchange rings as a ’sign of their marriage’
‘With my body I honour you,
all that I am I give to you,
and all that I have I share with you,
within the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’
These promises make up a solemn pledge setting them in a covenant relationship with each other. If two people are simply living together, either partner may abandon the other without accountability. The covenant involves a promise to obey God and to be faithful . As someone has said

Livi ng by covenants is God’s method to anchor our lives and provide security for us

The marriage relationship is the closest we can experience and in the Christian understanding it needs to be founded on Bible teaching to be successful. Hence the need for prayer throughout its course and the support of other Christians in the local Church.

George and Tamsin will find true success in their marriage as they mature in these matters and may God’s banner of eternal love be always over them.

Marriage is a tough call

Our recent trip to Mansfield to witness the marriage of Anne’s niece set me thinking about the beauty and depth of the words of the marriage service.

Words so easily slip off the tongue, even when we are under scrutiny! I understand the need for haste on the part of the vicar when given a 30minute slot but I do hope the meaning of Christian marriage outlined in the first part of the service are given the thought they deserve. More than this I pray that the words of promise and covenant between the bride and groom will have come from hearts of mutual love and trust in God to enable the commitment they demand.

Here are some of the words heard and spoken on that day by Heather and Chris and by 1000’s of others taking their marriage vows in Churches round the country

“Marriage is a gift of God in creation
through which husband and wife may know the grace of God.
It is given that as man and woman grow together in love and trust,
they shall be united with one another in heart, body and mind,
as Christ is united with his bride, the Church.

The gift of marriage brings husband and wife together
in the delight and tenderness of sexual union
and joyful commitment to the end of their lives.
It is given as the foundation of family life
in which children are [born and] nurtured
and in which each member of the family,in good times and in bad,
may find strength, companionship and comfort,
and grow to maturity in love.

Marriage is a way of life made holy by God,
and blessed by the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ
with those celebrating a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Marriage is a sign of unity and loyalty
which all should uphold and honour.
It enriches society and strengthens community.
No one should enter into it lightly or selfishly
but reverently and responsibly in the sight of almighty God.”

Marriage is a tough call! However God promises grace and strength for every life- circumstance and has special blessings for those who honour what he has given and choose His way. There are millions of married couples (including Anne and myself) round the world who can testify to His amazing faithfulness in the marriage relationship.

Sonnet sleuth

The test was to find 14 locations around Stratford town centre and link them to Shakespeare’s sonnets! The booklet provided by the Tourist Centre contained the relevant sonnets; the morning was fine; so we set off.

The example given in the booklet helped us to get started. Finding the building in Chapel Street shown on the map provided we spotted the number 56 on the yellow marker fixed to the building. Looking up sonnet number 56 in the booklet we read the words “come daily to the banks…” The building was the HSBC bank! So the answer for that sonnet was “bank” The idea was good and it helped us to see the town on foot, which is by far the best way to see any town. We ran short of time so we did not actually finish the route suggested! Anyway we enjoyed the trail and here is the full sonnet we started with

“Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said

Thy edge should blunter be than appetite,

Which but today is feeding allay’d,

Tomorrow sharpen’d in his former might;

So love, be thou; although today thou fill

Thy hungry eyes even till they wink with fullness,

Tomorrow see again, and do not kill

The spirit of love with a perpetual dullness.

Let this sad interim like the ocean be

Which parts the shore, where two contracted new

Some daily to the banks, that when they see

Return of love, more blest may be the view;

Else call it winter, which being full of care

Makes summer’s welcome thrice more wished, more rare”

True love always involves a mutual admiration and delight in each other. Sometimes the sweetness of love is diminished. Its edge becomes blunt and there is always the danger that it’s spirit may be killed off by “a perpetual dullness”

*Shakespeare could have been familiar with the Bible’s Song of Solomon; who knows? There the perpetual dullness is portrayed as a separation of the lover from her beloved.

“I searched for him, but I did not find him; I called for him but he did not answer me”

The return of the lover; the renewed union and mutual giving of one to the other; the utter dependence of the one upon the other is a blessedness that can only be God given and God sustained.

How apposite therefore that St Paul compares the Church to the Bride of Christ

“Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her having cleansed her by water and the word that he might present her to himself all glorious, holy and without blemish”

What a vision of union and communion this is! And its fulfillment is certain at Christ’s return! Hence the last message in the Bible is from Christ himself who says “Yes, I am coming quickly” Amen, says John, Come Lord Jesus.

Do you not want to be there; eternally in Christ’s holy Presence; as part of his holy Bride? The invitation is for all who would come to Christ now and own him total allegiance in love and obedience. This is how the Bible closes

“The Spirit and the Bride say Come…let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

How can anyone be so earthbound as to reject such a grace filled invitation?

*Follow up this thought at www.reformation21.org/shakespeare-as-a-christian-writer.php

A life in my hand

We set about to do some pruning. One bush in particular needed drastic cutting. As we proceeded I found a nest about ten feet high. Feeling inside I touched new life. A fledgling was there, asleep. Then I touched an egg. I had to take a look. Sensitively I fingered the egg into my hand and on examination discovered it was the characteristic turquoise blue egg of the hedge sparrow. What a wonderful find!

Still more wonderful was the fact that the eggshell had a small crack in it and the bird was about to be hatched! I restored it to the nest and mused that I had held in my hand the throbbing life of one of nature’s lovely creatures.

The Psalmist wrote of God
“You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for you fill me with awe: wonderful You are and wonderful Your works. You know me through and through. My body is no mystery to You. How deep I find your thoughts O God, how inexhaustible their themes!”

Clearly the man was overwhelmed by the wonders of creation and the very life that pulsated through his body. His acknowledgement that God was his Creator was to him a matter of personal trust in an all wise and loving God. It brought him an assurance of protection and care and a restful spirit. He knew that his life and times were in the hands of his God, Who was his Strength and Song. This is my testimony too. I trust it is yours!

Kite Flying

Rachel came over from Spain to spend some days with Andrew who lives near Winchester. We thought we might try to find Watership Down one day but ended up walking up Beacon Hill, a well known landmark a little distance away.

Anne is not good at steep climbs any more. She gets very breathless. So Andrew and Rachel pressed on ahead and we took it slowly. A man, who must have been in his fifties, passed us going down the hill. We learned later that he was in training for the three peaks race ( climbing the highest peaks in Scotland,England and Wales) So he was going up and down beacon Hill six times in succession. The very thought of all that effort made me admire his determination.

While on the top of the hill, we took turns at flying a kite Andrew had carried with him. There was not that much wind but sufficient to remind me that working with the wind is better than trying to pull against it!

Interestingly Christ compared the work of God’s Spirit in the human heart to the wind
“You ought not to be astonished when I tell you that you must be born over again. The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So with everyone who is born of the Spirit”

In addition there are continual warnings in the Bible about resisting what God wants for us. He is always seeking us out as a Good Shepherd would seek out a lost sheep. His voice may sometimes be heard very faintly. At other times, as CS Lewis wrote, “in our suffering it seems as if he is using a megaphone to get our attention”

The new life Jesus came to bring us can only be received with the empty hands of faith and gratitude and it can only be sustained as we learn to cooperate with the leading and moving of the Spirit in our lives.