Advent Meditation– Nov 18, 2009 – Arlene Ruggles
[Print]
“O Little town of
Bethlehem,
how still we see thee
lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go
by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting
light;
the hopes and fears of all the
years
are met in thee
tonight.” VU 64
When I was asked to provide a short meditation
for the meeting tonight to help prepare us for the upcoming season
of advent leading to Christmas, I immediately thought of this verse
– and particularly the line “ hopes and fears of all the years “ –
strangely, I didn’t immediately think of the second half of the
sentence – “met in thee tonight”.
But if I was to take that literally, as in Now,
tonight, then what about those hopes and fears we carry? Just in
the last week I have been surrounded by hopes and fears, some my
own, many others’, most touching my life in some way – from the
despair of environmentalists hoping for greater responsibility by
the world powers in Copenhagen to the hope engendered in a young
family by a Habitat build of their new home to the excited joy of an
expectant daughter due to give birth in February…
and you, what hopes and fears do you carry into
this season?
Are you waiting for something? Are you hoping
for something? Perhaps for more work…or less work…or new work.
Perhaps for the results of a medical test…or surgery…or relief from
pain. Perhaps you are waiting for a break…a rest…for Christmas to be
over, because of what the season has held for you from the past, or
what it promises to hold this year.
What about the fears? Do you fear the days
getter darker and the nights longer? Is there work to be done that
you fear you have little energy to tackle? Do you fear the future,
and what it may hold for you , your children and grandchildren? Do
you fear the experience of exile and return?
Advent is the time for asking ourselves these
questions. And the time for seeking the everlasting light and warmth
of God’s Love to meet the night – and our fears – with hope, with
patience, with expectancy. It is not a passive time. Nor is it an
easy time. Because there is life in the darkness, and there is
germination in the night-time while we sleep and wait.
So tonight, tonight when you are dreaming,
tonight when you walk the silent streets, open your heart and mind
to the everlasting light – ask for what you need – pray for what
others’ need – and trust the darkness to nurture life in you. We
have a trustworthy God, a God who seeks, who waits, who yearns over
us, who dreams for us and with us – dreams a better world into
being, with our hope and action.
Let us begin, let us come…let us advent
now…safe in the strong arms of Love. Amen.
|
Meditation: Luke 8:22-25
Arlene Ruggles
April 6, 2009
[Print]
22 One
day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of
the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23As they
sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the
boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The
disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to
drown!"
He got up and rebuked
the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was
calm. 25"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement
they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and
the water, and they obey him."
I chose this
passage for a meditation this week because I was looking for a
message relevant to the time and place we find ourselves this
evening at the end of the LLWL’s course, as disciples of Jesus
“setting out” on a journey “towards the other shore.” We, like the
disciples, seek to accompany Jesus wherever he goes and to be
faithful to that call to join him – a call that may lead,
unexpectedly, to danger.
Perhaps that was
NOT you’re first thought in contemplating leadership as a ________!
Perhaps you, like the disciples, were looking forward to smooth
sailing, or at least a calm trip; with Jesus by your side – or in
your boat. In our deepest selves we often assume safety with God by
our side. But the scripture is clear – to follow Jesus is to place
ourselves at risk – to be put in situations where we may find
ourselves in serious, life-threatening danger! Hmm...That may be a
reason to give pause to the call…
But I imagine
that since the disciples were fishermen, (and we are in ministry
too) they (we) would have been aware that the Sea of Galilee is a
notoriously unpredictable place and those wild storms were frequent
occurrences. Many a time before, I imagine the disciples had safely
navigated such dangers, perhaps on their own, and may have even
become complacent in their routines.
I have been
reading a book this week by Barry Robinson entitled “Lucifer Grows
in our Garden – An Anatomy of Clergy Abuse”. Barry was at one time,
for 30years, a “successful” United Church minister, until he
encountered life-threatening dangers at sea.
The book is an
account of that fateful journey and a picture of the shore he
eventually landed on after his boat capsized. It is an eye-opening
exercise for anyone contemplating engaging in ministry to read, as
it details many of the evils (read dangers) that exist in the Church
today under the guise of “accountable ministry.” The author
identifies a key source of many a raging storm surrounding those who
would seek to follow Jesus “out there” as good old-fashioned envy.
Yes, envy. That gave me pause as well.
He states, “There
are some people within some congregations and some church leaders
acting on behalf of themselves or their communities, who live in
envy; and their next victim will probably be a minister of the
church…It is relatively easy to spot. First there is the
protestation of friendship (admiration, respect = pedestal) Then,
the subtle questioning of motive... (Gee, did you notice?) Followed
by a hint of secret faults or vices (just an observation, really...)
finally, a direct attack on the character (or indirect, depending on
sense of vulnerability) When it is all over, there is not much left
to poor old G_______... Envy, quite simply, is the evil that takes
possession of us when we begin to resent other people for who and
what they are.” Pg106-107
In Barry’s case,
envy became a wild storm and he almost drowned. In our case, envy is
at least one life-threatening danger we will need to contend with
within ourselves and between ourselves and others while we navigate
through our ministry. (After reading this passage I became aware of
my own habitual thinking about a person which was leading in this
very direction!) Beware of placing people on pedestals because they
have a habit of falling off them and disappointing us! If we are
truly secure in ourselves and God’s love for us, there will be no
need to compare ourselves, to admire and then secretly critique, to
seek the gratification of another’s recognition, to obsessively
praise others or just as obsessively bemoan our own failings
As in the Luke
passage, something about this storm, and this place and time was
different. And this time, the disciples realized the danger placed
them in immanent peril; a danger lurking in the background during
all their daily work on the sea.
In this passage I
am more aware of the dynamic between Jesus and his followers; than I
am of the miracle he performed calming the sea and wind. (A miracle
Jesus was reportedly quite “matter-of-fact” about) Rather, I think
the true miracle is hidden in the unanswered comment in the
passage - “Where is your faith?” You see, I do not hear a rebuke
in Jesus’ words. Neither do I hear surprise, sarcasm or
disappointment. I think that is a human projection we place on Jesus
– a projection of our broken image of God.
What I hear is a
nudge – a gentle reminder – a compassionate pointing in the
direction of ourselves – an acknowledgement by Jesus to the power
within us that already exists and is present and accessible within
us NOW – what a wonderful thing!! The God of the Universe considers
us able, and empowers us – asks us to simply recognize that our
power to overcome the dangers “out there” lies within us,
not out there commanding the waves to be still, which is a
relatively small act compared to the miracle of true faith. The true
miracle is when we become believers in the power of God inside us
both to make us aware of the real dangers that exist (in ministry
today), and also to develop our ability to navigate those waters
safely, with Jesus in the boat with us. That journey to the other
shore is what we are engaged in now.
|
