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The singular purpose of the life of St Paul is captured fully in these few words as we celebrate his conversation today.
In his letter to the Philippians (Philippians 3:10), St. Paul expressed a deep desire to "know Him [Christ]." When he spoke of knowing Christ, he wasn't just referring to an intellectual understanding or acquaintance. St. Paul meant an intimate, personal relationship with Christ, characterized by shared experiences and a profound understanding. He wanted to experience the power of Christ's resurrection, share in His sufferings, and become like Him in His death. For St. Paul, knowing Christ involved a transformative process where one’s life is deeply aligned with Christ's life, teachings, and the power of His resurrection. St. Paul’s desire reflects a longing for a life deeply connected to Christ in every aspect—spiritually, emotionally, and even physically, through sharing in both joys and sufferings. St. Paul’s relationship with Christ was transformative, deeply personal, and involved several key experiences: St. Paul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus is the most well-known. He encountered the risen Christ in a vision, which led to a complete transformation from a persecutor of Christians to a devoted follower (Acts 9:1-19). After his conversion, Paul spent time in Arabia and Damascus, where he received revelations from Christ and deepened his understanding of the gospel (Galatians 1:11-17). His teachings and letters reflect profound theological insights and personal experiences with Christ. St. Paul endured numerous hardships, including imprisonments, beatings, and shipwrecks, for the sake of spreading the gospel. He viewed his sufferings as a way to share in Christ's sufferings and to be conformed to His death (2 Corinthians 11:23-28; Philippians 3:10). Paul’s missionary journeys across the Roman Empire were marked by preaching, church planting, and discipleship. Through these endeavours, he experienced Christ's power and guidance in his ministry. St. Paul’s letters to various churches reveal a deep prayer life and an ongoing communion with Christ. He often prayed for others and encouraged believers to remain steadfast in their faith. As we celebrate his conversion, we pray the Church built on his work and teachings will remain faithful to her vocation and ministry.
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On Wednesday I went to visit our centenarian, Whit, with Holy Communion. Cyril came to Aberdeen as a young man and was integral part of the Cathedral family. His primary reason was his love of Choral Music and his absolute delight in the Cathedral Organ and its remarkable sounds.
When I went in, he was on his bed lying flat. I gently let him know I was there with the Sacrament. With very poor eyesight and hearing, he kept his eyes wide open trying to discern from the very little his sense could help him. I knelt beside his bed and followed through the Collect for Purity, Confession and Absolution, Kyrie, Collect for the Second Sunday in Epiphany and the gospel. We prayed through the Sursum Corda, Preface, Sanctus Benedictus, shortened form of the Great Prayer. I communicated him with the Host dipped in wine. He received it and then asked what it was. I said, ‘the Bread with Wine’. His eyes lit up, his hands went up, he said, ‘Ah! That is wonderful!! Its Isaac, the Provost!!! I was moved to tears with a heart full of joy and thanksgiving, because it felt as if the Lord was there commanding, ‘Bear it!’ The gospel was from the Gospel according to St John, chapter 2 vv 1-12, the first of the Signs, of Jesus. Despite the triple disruption and an amazing miracle, John was pointing to Jesus by calling it a sign. The disruption, the miracle, the abundance had nothing in them but simply point to the One who has come that we may have life and life in abundance. When our Centenarian who is due to celebrate his 102 soon, exclaim with absolute delight, at the joy of sharing in the Tokens of Love, we know what is a ahead of us. In the fulness of time, Remembrance will be replaced by Reality. We shall gather this weekend to celebrate the Sacred Mystery. We shall do it in Remembrance of Him, with sure knowledge of the Reality that is and shall be forever. In September 2020, I explored with someone who I believed was a friend, my intention to walk across the USA connecting the Episcopal Churches from the West Coast, walking to the East Coast where we sent out First Missionary Bishop, Samuel Seabury to Connecticut. She was excited and encouraged me to do it and offered support. In the prayer she said, ‘You Will be a Sign.’ It was beyond me to hear and comprehend such prophetic utterance. Looking back, I believe, it could not have been more accurate. Triple disruption! Yes! Did that and have the scars to prove. Miracle! If the Cathedral today is not a Miracle, what else would it be? The abundance of God’s love! It is a joy to witness it week after week. We can sing, ‘To God be the Glory, great things he has done, so loved he the world that he gave us His Son!’ הַרְפּ֣וּ וּ֭דְעוּ כִּי־אָנֹכִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים
Be still and know that I am God. Since my post on Psalm 46.10a, I have been repeating this verse daily, at least once a day, when I woke up, first in the morning. I was too tired to repeat it before going to bed. Nunc Dimittis was part of the Compline ritual. I did not expect to have any impact on me, physically, mentally or spiritually. Today morning I woke up with the 6am alarm. I was awake enough to remember and recite har-pū ū-ḏə-‘ū kî- ’ā-nō-ḵî ’ĕ-lō-hîm. When I woke up repeating the sounds, it was 7.45am. The grace to hear God say, ‘Be still and know that I am God’ New American Standard Bible version has "Cease striving and know that I am God.” King James Bible version is, “Be still, and know that I am God”. Holman Christian Standard Bible version is, “Stop your fighting and know that I am God”. The message can’t be clearer. When we have the grace to hear God, we cease striving, stop our fighting and be still. What St John the Evangelist calls the ‘Third Day’ is really the fifth day when we begin the countdown with the ‘Great Prologue’ as Day One followed by three ‘Next Days’. Either the wedding in Cana of Galilee was on the Third Day of the week or the Evangelist is pointing to the miracle as something extraordinary, like the Resurrection on the Third Day.
If the Third day signals a parallel between the ‘Transfermentation’ of Water into Wine and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead. The Word made Flesh turns water into wine. The Flesh that give Life on the Cross turns death into Resurrection. ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life’, said he. The Resurrection of Lazarus and the Resurrection of Jesus differ in form and substance. The Resurrection of Lazarus was an extension to our mortal life. But the body of the Risen Christ was substantially different from the body that was laid in the tomb. It is like the wine that was served, after the wine ran out, was substantially different from water that was poured into the Jars. This is a reality that transcends Easter. The assurance of Resurrection was only to those who believe in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ all things are made new. The Patriarchs and the Prophets are as much inheritors as you and I who are blessed to participate in the very life of God in Christ Jesus. This is one disruption with power to repeat. It is the disruption Cabbalah. The first sign was marked by a triple disruption.
Wine runs out at the wedding. Jesus is forced out into the public. The last wine turns out to be the best. What is the meaning of Divine Disruption? St. Anthony of Egypt, also known as St. Anthony the Great or the Father of Monasticism, is renowned for his profound spirituality and dedication to a life of asceticism. His spirituality is characterized by several key elements:
Inspired by the words of the Lord "Go, sell what you have and give to the poor" (Mark 10:21), at the age of 20, Anthony sold all his possessions and lived a life of poverty. He believed that true spiritual wealth came from a life dedicated to God. He retreated to the desert to live as a hermit, seeking solitude and silence to deepen his relationship with God. He spent many years in a rock tomb, battling temptations and striving for spiritual purity. Anthony practiced rigorous asceticism, including fasting, prayer, and manual labour. He believed that self-discipline and self-denial were essential for spiritual growth and overcoming the temptations of the devil. Despite his solitary life, Anthony attracted many followers who sought his spiritual guidance. He eventually organized these followers into the first Christian monastic communities, emphasizing the importance of prayer, work, and living each moment as if it were the last. Anthony was known for his humility, love for God, and care for others. He provided aid and comfort to persecuted Christians and guided many people towards a life of holiness. Anthony's spirituality has had a lasting impact on Christian monasticism and continues to inspire believers around the world. His life is a testament to the power of faith, asceticism, and the pursuit of holiness. Crown us, O God, but with humility,
and robe us with compassion, that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son, we may strive to overcome all evil by the power of good and so walk gently on the earth with you, our God, for ever. Amen. When the mind is still at rest and in a state of prayer, barely awake at 5.30am, this prayer after the Psalm (21) was a true wake up call. The joy of waiting to hear God say, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ and hearing these words brought a new dimension to the day. Striving to overcome all evil is part of being still and knowing that God is God. This striving does not result from restlessness but from deep trust in God, who is Grace and Truth. Our call to strive outwardly is deeply linked to the inward experience of being still in God. When the storms rage around us, we remain still. If the Lord could sleep through a storm with his head on a cushion, we do so. This full participation in the Life of God is Grace upon Grace. It is difficult to ignore the Spirit when I am deeply conscious of God’s presence within me and around me and I become deeply conscious of the movement of the Spirit. I would rationalise my encounter with the Spirit, ignore the still small voice or run away from the presence and the movement of the Spirit. Yet, like Jacob, Jonah or John the Baptist, I am a Captive to the Spirit and there is nothing much I can say or do to escape.
Today was one of those days. In the morning, after my Prayer Walk around our hospitals and wash up, I was working on Liturgy and I stumbled upon Fr Richard Roar’s Lenten talk in the National Shrine of our Lady in Washington DC and found myself repeating after him, Be still and know that I am God! Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be. In the course of the day, I met with the Cathedral Wardens for prayer and planning the season ahead. I met with a couple who came to plan their wedding, in the summer this year. I met with a colleague for fellowship and prayer. I went to visit a 97 years old beloved daughter of God, a born and nurtured member of the Cathedral for Communion. I returned to the Cathedral to say Evening Prayer. The Psalm appointed was Psalm 46!! You guessed it. I hear the still small voice of the Spirit calling me for the second time. I join 22 people, adults and children, for a workshop on Liturgy, organised and led by a Layman for the Laity. I return home and sat down to write this blog. My eyes were drawn to a book fallen between the desk and the filing cabinet. I pick it up with a bit of a struggle and it was Archbishop Michael Ramsey’s Be still and know!!! My wife had a dream on Sunday night after she heard of an Appeal letter. In the dream she was in a boat beaten by a storm. She sends me out to get a ticket to the shore. I depart on a dinghy into the storm and return to the boat with tickets. She talked to a colleague who is trained in dream interpretation about her dream. He says it is a good dream and that she remained calm in a storm and I have returned with the Blessing. I thought it was the gospel story (Mark 4.39) Jesus saying, ‘Peace. Be still.’ The heart can still sing when the spirit is crushed and the salvation at hand. The vision of a youthful radical riding on a donkey should have led to nothing but ridicule. The powerful clinging to something they never deserved in the first place were troubled by the one riding on an ass. They thought he was an ass ride and denigrated him by stripping him off all dignity, nailed him to the cross and thought it was all over. Their determination to annihilate him was predatory. Yet, two thousand years later, we still join the song of solidarity of all whose spirits were crushed by the cruel wicked evil one. We still sing, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ the king of righteousness. Hell cannot hold Him down. Heavens rejoice because of His righteousness. So long as the sun rises in the East, the song of the saints whose spirits were crushed by wicked one, will resound again and again.
Hosanna to the Song of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Today the Church celebrates St Kentigern. The second Lesson for the Evening Prayer was the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem. |
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