Run free

Jeremiah 12:5

God Replies to Jeremiah

If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you fall down,

how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?

An unsympathetic response

from a distant, vengeful God...

A provocation to step up

and compete with the crowd...

Or

An invitation

To freedom?

Which will you see?

Will it be a glimpse

of a God

far removed from creation

who cares not 

about human suffering

who is so divorced from the reality of life

that our troubles

are not present

on any radar?

Will it be a glimpse

of a God

who offers challenge

that helps us get ourselves into gear

to step up

that awakens a spirit

of determination

renewed purpose

who provokes us into

renewed focus and action?

Or will it be a glimpse

of a God

who recognises

that to run with humans

to get caught up in that competitive spirit

wears us down

and wears us out 

and offers an alternative

- the freedom

of running with horses

wildly, freely

with flowing manes

at one with the Earth 

God grant us the courage to discern your word for us, to hear your call to us and to discover the freedom you reveal.

Covenant

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.'

(Methodist Covenant Prayer)

Contemplating this prayer, I was struck by the line that was, for me, most difficult to pray.

It wasn't "put me to suffering".

It wasn't "let me be empty" or "let me have nothing". Not even "(let me) be brought low for you".

It was (let me be) laid aside for you.

I don't want to be laid aside.

I have lots to offer, lots to do. How can I accept being laid aside? What would be the learning in that?

I know my identity is in Christ.

I know I have no need to give or to achieve to be considered beloved of God.

But laid aside?

I'm not sure I'm ready to go there...

I can offer this prayer "whole heartedly" except for that.

But, now that I've said it out loud ...

So - what would be the deal-breaker for you in this prayer?

Moving On

Matthew 2:1-3

The Visit of the Wise Men

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;

As the year moves on

from the season of Christmas

to the season of Epiphany

we welcome those strangers

who followed the star

and met the Christ.

And we wonder:

What would it take

for us to embark

on a journey of discovery?

To give up 

our safety

and our complacency

to move beyond comfort

to the challenge of the light

who leads us

in paths we could never imagine

revealing truths we could never perceive

while we cling to the known

and the familiar.

What would it take

for us to embrace the uncertainty

and step out in faith

led by the Light of the world

who beckons us

into Epiphany

challenging not just our lives

but the lives of those around - 

for there will always be those

who feel threatened

by our awakening

to the call to be wise

the call to seek light

and love

and justice

in our world today.

May this season of Epiphany

open our hearts

and our minds

and our hands

as we let go of the things we hold tightly 

to be led on a journey 

led by the light

that came into the world

to dispel darkness.

God with us still.