Seeker

My last post 'Hearing the Call to Freedom' was a story of how a young bird recognized a familiar call. It got me thinking again about hearing God's call, that can so easily be suppressed by the many voices competing for our attention. In a post I wrote some years ago, I wondered whether today's  always-connected digital age prevents or helps people to hear from God? During the lockddown due to the current coronavirus pandemic, I sometimes feel more distracted than ever before by the images, sounds and words coming to me through my PC or smartphone.  Do all those messages, tweets, shared  music, news feeds and visual media add to a constant noise that stops me hearing God’s word? Do all those online services, zoom meetings, however good or well intentioned, amplify or mute that still small voice of God. A whisper of a word that I would hear if only I would stop for silence? I've found myself remembering the story about Elijah in I Kings 19 and how he e...

I belong to a small 'Contemplation and Faith' group. We meet once a month for an hour, which includes 25 minutes of silent contemplative prayer. We do this in a church, sitting in a circle around a lighted candle, although we could meet anywhere. Over the last few months we have have used a word or phrase from the Lord's Prayer to act as a focus. Nearly a year ago we began with 'Our Father' and at our next meeting we will have reached the doxology which Protestants usually add at the end of the Lord's Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. In our monthly meetings, at the end of the silence we may share with each other something about the experience - or not - there is no compulsion. 25 minutes now seems rather a short time, but to go for longer could be daunting for new members. Once a month is not often, but part of our purpose is to encourage each other to engage in similar silent prayer when alon...

Ironmongery from WW1 is now arranged artfully in the garden at Hooge Crater and the deep craters themselves turned into lakes in a hotel garden. I took these photos during a visit earlier this year to the Flanders battlefields of World War 1 around the Ypres Salient. There is nothing like being in a place to help understand past events. My overwhelming impressions were twofold: what a waste of resources and lives how young were those men of many nations who died in Flanders fields Tyne Cot Cemetery Langemark Cemetery part of Falls the Shadow sculpture in Passchendaele Museum 2 minutes silence is observed in many parts of the world today to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the guns fell silent at the end of the 'Great War', bringing peace of a sort but certainly not an end to war or the situations and attitudes that lead to war. Sometimes the only appropriate response to such horrors is silence, then pray...

What is Advent about? It's counter-cultural, but one of the things Advent is about is waiting in silence. Waiting is easier or harder if you have some idea of what is likely to happen next. The waiting of pregnancy for example is affected by the expectation of a child to be born. I remember the first time I was taken to a London theatre for a Christmas pantomime. The best moment for me wasn't the performance, but the moment just before, when the theatre went dark and all was silent expectation of the yet-to-be-experienced joys I'd been promised. Frederick Buechner , an American author, retired Presbyterian minister and university teacher, relates that sort of feeling to Advent. Buechner describes Advent so much better than me:  "The house lights go off and the footlights come on. Even the chattiest stop chattering as they wait in the darkness for the curtain to rise. In the orchestra pit, the violin bows are poised. The conductor has raised his baton.   I...

It's been a bit quiet here lately. When I've had things to say there's been no time to say it. When I've had nothing to say it's best to keep quiet.  If you've missed me, have patience. It will get noisier here soon. Image: Photo by elycefeliz on Flickr: CC Licence