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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.
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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. It had been a thrill walking through our hospitals and parks praying, first thing in the morning, and hear the crispy snow under the sole of my feet. Feeling the snow through the sole of my feet and hearing the crispy porous snow reminded me of our Genesis story, in the Garden of Eden. ‘They heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God ...
We return to that sacred moment, at the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, when, ‘a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The contrast between the Genesis story and the Epiphany story could not be more stark. Adam and Eve run for cover when they hear the voice of the One who called them in love, a painful truth about pride and self-seeking that breaks relationships. The obedient Son, who humbles Himself, taking the Form of a Servant, is affirmed, ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. A contemplative life is deeply embedded in the reality of ‘the Present’ where we are mindful of the Divine in the crispy snow and the gentle breeze. This moment was captured today at the Epiphany Carols Service when the choir sang, ‘O Magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum, jacentem in praesepio. Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt, portare Dominum Christum. Alleluia. (Words: from the Matins of Christmas in the Roman Breviary Music: Morten Lauridsen) O great mystery, and wonderous sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord lying in their stable. Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia! There is no greater joy than to find ourselves as part of that great mystery that we become vehicles of God’s glory. What was true of the Blessed Virgin in being the bearer of God is ours by Grace as we receive the sacrament of the Altar and sent into the world as bearers of God’s living, loving and life giving presence. Thanks be to God. Athena, a young pupil from Aberdeen City Music School sang Panis Angelicus at the Cathedral @ Noon Concert today. What Athena and most of the fifty or so people in the Cathedral did not realise that it was the eve of the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord when the voice from heaven affirmed Jesus as the beloved Son who pleased God the Father in his humility and the readiness to fully identify himself with the humanity.
The solidarity of the Incarnational ‘Panis Angelicus’ and the Interventionist Miracle worker Jesus are the two sides of Son of Man who is affirmed at the Baptism in the river Jordan. The impact of the Interventionist ministry compared with the Incarnational ministry has a different quality. When my relationship with God and with others is based on transactional framework, I am dependent on the immediate returns. Where as I imitate the Lord spending three years with twelve men building relationships and trust, the impact last at least 2000 years, we know from history. Returning to Athena’s Panis Angelicus, the Bread of Angels, the sound of that angelic voice will resonate forever. It was not the immediate impact of the performance but how it is infused into each person in attendance and the location where is was performed will remain. May the Bread of Angels satisfy our deepest desires of our souls. Today morning, I was unable to say Morning Prayer as I did the Prayer Walk around our NHS Grampian Hospital and the University of Aberdeen School of Medicine as the audio file was not uploaded by 6am. I decided to make it a Contemplative Prayer Walk fully committed to the Present. I soon realised what a blessing it was as I could pay attention to the surroundings: people walking towards the hospitals for work, private and public transport in busy movements and most importantly the soft and crackling sound from the snow beneath my feet. I paid attention to the range of sounds in the snow beneath my feet. I was reminded of the Psalmist. The snow this morning felt special. I could hear the soft snow on the surface and the porous snow below it crackling between the mild ground and the soul of my walking boots.
Today the Church remembered and gave thanks for Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury who gave us some of our best forms of prayers in the Liturgy. His attention to details aligned with the beauty of God’s bounteous creation. So, I spent sometime reflecting on my new experience of snow. My companion AI Poobalan helped me with the following. Snow on the ground forms layers over time, each with distinct characteristics influenced by weather conditions. Here are the main layers typically found in a snowpack: The topmost layer, consisting of newly fallen snow. It is usually fluffy and has a low density. As fresh snow settles, it becomes denser and more compact. This layer is often more stable than fresh snow. This layer forms at the base of the snowpack due to temperature gradients. It consists of large, loosely bonded crystals and can be weak, making it a potential layer for avalanches. When the snow surface melts during the day and refreezes at night, it forms a hard, icy layer. This crust can vary in thickness. Formed by wind transporting snow and depositing it in dense, hard layers. These slabs can be unstable and prone to avalanches. The structure and stability of these layers can change with weather conditions, such as temperature fluctuations, wind, and additional snowfall. Hoarfrost is a type of frost that forms when water vapor in the air directly condenses into ice crystals on surfaces, such as grass, tree branches, and leaves, at temperatures below freezing. This process is similar to how dew forms, but it occurs at sub-freezing temperatures. Hoarfrost is often considered an object of wonder and beauty for several reasons: The ice crystals in hoarfrost can form delicate, feathery patterns that resemble lace or an old man's beard, which is actually the origin of the term "hoarfrost", When sunlight hits the ice crystals, they can sparkle and shimmer, creating a magical, glittering effect. Hoarfrost can transform ordinary landscapes into winter wonderlands, covering trees, plants, and other objects with a stunning, white coating. Hoarfrost requires specific conditions to form, including high humidity and temperatures below freezing, making it a relatively rare and special occurrence. These unique characteristics make hoarfrost a captivating natural phenomenon that many people find enchanting. No wonder the Psalmist was excited about snow when he said, ‘He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.’ A contemplative life has singular purpose and meaning and that is to see God in all things and worship none other than the God revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
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