Cinta dan Ketakutan

CINTA DAN KETAKUTAN

Dalam keindahan dan kerentanan pengalaman hidup ini,
Terletak pula kenyerian yang mendalam.
Tatkala kita berniat untuk membangkitkan daya untuk mencinta,
Bangkit pula dalam kita sesuatu yang teramat mendalam.
Yang di dalamnya kian nyata kerentanan dan kepekaan kita.

Sebab beban-beban yang terkuak,
Telah mengizinkan terbitnya
Bukan saja air-air kehidupan, tetapi juga
Kekuatan-kekuatan kegelapan:
Kehendak kita untuk menguasai,
Hasrat untuk menggagahi orang-orang
yang kita mau mereka mengisi kekosongan kita
erupsi kecemburuan, serta berbarengan dengan itu
kemampuan kita untuk membenci.

Cinta itu lembut dan cantik
Namun sering terbit pula ketakutan yang menyesakkan;
Ketakutan menghadapi esok
Dan segala risiko yang dibawa ketika kita terlibat di dalamnya;
Ketakutan behwa cinta sekadar menggiring kita kepada kematian
Dari apa yang kita namakan sebagai kemerdekaan,
Ketakutan untuk disakiti,
Sebab bagi cinta seseorang menjadi rentan
Dan mencinta selalu merupakan suatu risiko!

The Secret Meaning of Brokenness Revealed

THE SECRET MEANING OF BROKENNESS IS REVEALED

By his passion, death and resurrection
Jesus brings to the world
a new meaning to suffering and pain,
to weakness and vulnerability.

We are freed from the idea
that suffering and pain are punishment for our evil ways,
and discover instead that they lead us
along the road to glory and liberation.

Our brokenness is the wound
Through which the full power of God
can penetrate our being
and transfigure us in him.

Loneliness is not something from which we must flee
but the place from where we can cry out to God,
where he will find us and we can find find him.

Yes, through our wounds
the power of God can penetrate us
and become like rivers of living water
to irrigate the arid earth within us.
Thus we may irrigate the arid of earth of others,
so that hope and love are reborn.

Jesus wants us not only to live in him
and he in us,
he also invites us to share in his redeeming act,
to be with him on on the cross,
giving life to the world.

This is the amazing gift of God.
This is the ultimate meaning of suffering,
pain and brokenness:
that our suffering, hidden in the brokenness of Jesus,
can become a source of wholeness for the Church,
for the world,
and for each person
in and through the risen body of Christ
with its new and total wholeness.

Jesus is Freedom

JESUS IS FREEDOM

Yes, he is a free man,
one might say, scandalously free:
he was not blocked or enslaved by his own culture,
by the ways of the Jewish people.
He had no need to seek popularity or votes.
There is no fear in him of what people might think.
He speaks vehemently to the pharisees and the scribes,
comparing them with the whited sepulchures.
which outwardly appear beautiful
but inside are full of dead bones and all kinds of corruption.

He speaks sternly to the rich:
“Who unto you the rich;
woe unto you who are filled now;
woe unto you who laugh now;
who unto you when everyone speaks well of you.”
“It is hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom
than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.”

-----Freely he speaks to the despised Samaritan woman
and asks her for water,
-----Freely he lets the woman, a victim of prostitution,
wash his feet with her tears
and dry them with their hair,
unconcerned that people are scandalized.
-----Freely he mixes with sinners and publicans,
who could not not enter the temple
and were locked into their guilt.
-----Freely he heals on the sabbath day,
undettered by the fury of the pharisees.
-----Freely he hears the call of the Roman centurion, the enemy,
and answers his cry with love.
-----Freely he invites himself into the house of Zaccheus,
the rich but rejected publicans,
ignoring the murmurings of the righteous.
-----Freely he touches the lepers
and mixes with the outcasts of society,
the uncouth rabble.
-----Freely he announces that his body is real food,
his blood real drink,
even though he knows people will turn away,
unable to follow him any further.

Yes, Jesus is an incredibly free man
who cannot be pinned down, labelled or put in a box.
He confines himself to to no specific group.
whether political or social,
national or religious.
He is free to do the work of his Father
And to announce to every person,
whoever he or she may be,
that he loves them
and that they in turn can become lovers of every person
universal brothers and sisters.
He is free with the freedom of God.

(Jean Vanier)

Whom is Jesus at Home With?

WHOM IS JESUS AT HOME WITH?

It is clear from His life
that Jesus feels at home,
not with the intellectuals or with people in power,
but with the poor, the needy, those in pain,
with children that his disciples wanted to keep away.
As his ministry progressed
we see him insisting on the privileged place of the poor
in his vision and his heart:
his option for the poor and for sinner,
his preference love for them:
“When you give a meal,
do not invite your richer friends and your family,
for fear that they will invite you back;
rather invite to a banquet the poor, the lame,
the sick and the blind.”
He tells of the King giving a wedding fear for his son.
All the “worthy” people invited refuse.
“Go then into the highway and the byways,”
he says to the servants,
“and invite the poor, the lame,
the sick and the blind.”
They, of course, accept the invitation with joy!

The poor can be the economically poor,
who are the hungry, homeless and out of work,
or the rejected ones—
those put aside because of their infirmities and handicaps,
their apparent uselessness.
They are longing to be accepted and loved,
longing for meaning and a healing relationship.
The poor are those caught up in sin,
yet craving also to be liberated from it.
The poor are also any of us
who are sad and alone, feeling guilty and unloved.
The poor know their own emptiness.
They do not hide from it.
They long for a saviour
who will heal their hearts
and bring them peace.

What is Prayer?

WHAT IS PRAYER?

We use the word prayer in different ways. Many people talk about 'saying their prayers', but I am not very keen on this phrase as it seems to imply saying set prayers, written by someone else or made up by me, but certainly using words.

We use words a great deal in prayer, but they are not necessary all the time and many people find words inadequate to express their relationship with God.

Many people seem to use the word prayer to mean praying for people or situations, what I would call intercessory or asking prayer. But that is only one part of prayer. Many of us were brought up to think of ACTS:

Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving Supplication (intercession).

That gives some balance.

I use the word prayer to cover the whole, but most especially the time I spend in silence with God, feeding on his word and his creation, thinking, adoring, just being in his presence and holding the needs of others and of the world before him.

Different people do this in different ways. Some talk about 'meditation' - this is used to describe the process of reading a Bible passage, picturing the scene, thinking about it and letting this draw you into prayer.

Some people take naturally to what is traditionally called 'contemplation', or meditation may lead into it. Contemplation is a simple being with God in silence. Ways into it may be repeating a simple phrase like the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God; have mercy on me, a sinner" using a prayer rope, or focussing on a candle or an icon.

There are many different ways of praying, certainly not just saying prayers, or even using words. The Spirituality Group days and workshops try to give the opportunity to explore new ways that may be unfamiliar to us.

Canon Julia Butterworth is the Diocesan Adviser in Spirituality

All Creatures of Our God and King

All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam! O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong, Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along,

O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,

Ye lights of evening find a voice! O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

O flowing waters, pure and clear, make music for your Lord to hear,

O praise Him! Alleluia! O fire, so masterful and bright,

Providing us with warmth and light. O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Dear mother earth, who day by day unfolds rich blessings on our way.

O praise Him! Alleluia! The fruits and flow'rs that verdant grow,

Let them his praise abundant show. O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

And all ye men of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part,

O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,

Praise God and on Him cast your care! O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

And you, most kind and gentle death, Waiting to hush our final breath,

O sing ye! Alleluia! You lead to heav'n the child of God,

Where Christ our Lord the way has trod. O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness,

O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One! O praise Him, O praise Him!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

O God, Our Help in Ages Past

O GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!

Under the shadow of Thy throne, Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sight, Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night, Before the rising sun.

O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home!

(Isaac Watts)