"The baptismal call to be with God is an invitation to joy. Christian life i the form of human living that seeks to live fully in and from the life of God. It is lived in the joy in which God lives. We are placed into the divine joy. It is the mutually indwelling joy of the three persons of the Trinity, whose joy in living is the joy of living in and through each other. It is the life of joy that shouts the creation into being...that chooses to form a people and to shape them in joyful ways of living, to inspire them to sing on behalf of all creation...It is a joy that comes to earth to redeem earth, that was burst from the grip of earth's death and causes people to sing...And we are evidence of God's enjoyment in humanity. God enjoys us so much that he shares his gifts with each one of us. We bear the imprints of God. We are those who dare to trust in the enjoyment of God. We trust that God enjoys the praise of his people, that God placed his joy in human beings and seeks to see that joy discovered and released." Christopher Cocksworth.
And so...sing, share, laugh, love, knowing that God longs to for us to be joyful. Release joy today through generosity, kindness, grace, compassion. Reveal who God is by opening your lips to join in creation's celebratory song, declaring the goodness of the ultimate joy giver, the joy bearer, the joy sharer.
Today I woke up after dreaming about the 10 lepers of Luke 17. A strange awakening but a powerful reminder. Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other 9? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? We are such foreigners. The gentiles grafted into Israel's great story. We are those who must return and say thank you. Daily. For his death, his resurrection, our new life. Let us be like the one who returned and never cease in praising God in loud voices, throwing ourselves at Jesus' feet and thanking him. For we too have been healed.
Rejoice in surrender. Today, as I sat in the quiet musty stillness of the chapel room of St. Cuthbert's House of Prayer I was reminded of an old Celtic meditation...Father, I abandon myself into your hands, do with me as you will, and whatever you do I will thank you. Whatever you do. Whatever you choose for me. Whatever you want for my life. Now that is a hard thing. A hard thing to surrender all, to loosen tightly gripped hands, give in, let go, relinquish agendas, visions, plans, desires, wants. And yet we do so knowing that the hands that catch us are our Father's. The clay trusts the potter with immeasurable trust precisely because of who the potter is. We fall freely into the hands of our father, abba, daddy and in such giving up of self we find that we become those we are meant to be. It is handing over our whole self that sets us free.
The joy of seasons, of expectation, of God preparing, of not quite knowing but thinking there's something on the horizon, of stomachs jittering with anticipation, of uncomfortable birth pangs which deliver beautiful new life. Today we visited Chris and Suzy and their tiny daughter Abigail. So strange to recall that we prayed for her when she was but a bump and now she is here in all her fearful and wonderful madeness. She was knitted and woven and hand-crafted into someone utterly unique. A season of expectation elapsed into one of arrival and celebration. Thus it is with us: sometimes we wait, pregnantly groaning for a new seasons whilst in the midst of pain; sometimes we savour and relish each moment of joy in a time of feeling extra specially blessed. A time for birth. But in each and every season still the opportunity to bring him glory and bless his name through our praises.
A double dose of JOY today, a) because I clean forgot yesterday and b) because today was a day of baptism and that is worthy of a double joy portion. This evening we watched one of our young people get dunked in Ely swimming pool and I was reminded that 11 and a half years ago that was me. 10th November 2002. The beautiful card that Lou Hern made me still rests above my mirror and reminds me that day by day we must press on to acknowledge him. Proverbs 3:5-6 - in all our ways we seek and submit. Such seeking and submitting is the journey of which baptism is but the beginning. More eloquently put by the marvellous Dorothy Day, "To work to increase our love for God and for our fellow man...this is a lifetime job. We are never going to be finished." For that transitional moment of moving from dark to light, death to life is but the first of many myriad moments of moving towards him: day by day, inch by inch, we move closer to becoming like Jesus. He is making perfect forever those who have been made perfect. Hebrews 10:14. We are and we are not yet. And yet in all our notyetness we are still moving - albeit sometimes taking the long way round - towards Him.
Let us rejoice in our communities, our families, our households. In those we love so much that we're not just sharing Jesus with them but life as well. 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Life in all its splendour and dailyness, in the extraordinary and the humdrum. In husbands, wives, children, housemates, friends, neighbours, brothers, sisters. In those we share with, eat with, watch stupid films with, worship with, play in the park with, wash up with - those who see us at our worst and our best. Jesus appointed himself a community of underdogs to demonstrate the truth of the gospel: first to be with him; second to work with him. Mark 3:14. Let us celebrate those who we are being with today - sharing life in the Lord together that onlookers might look on and know that we, by our being and loving and sharing, are His.
I thank my God every time I remember you. (Philippians 1:3) I'm not very good at this: either remembering or thanking, but this morning I was reminded of the sheer joy of having friends, of the people who know you and love you and celebrate you. Those who cheer you on, encourage you, believe in you, stand by you, and challenge you when you've got it wrong. The people who tell you straight when you need to be told straight. Thank the Lord for friends, for family, for bringers of joy, and sharers of pain, for laughing so hard your belly hurts, for hugging so hard you can't breathe, for the niggle inside your stomach when you know someone else has got you nailed and that they're right, that you need to listen to them. Thank the Lord for phone calls, for letters, for emails, for spur of the moment texts, for being thought of and prayed for. For being remembered. Who are we that He should be mindful of us? (Psalm 8:4) That anyone should be mindful of us? Yet he is, they are. We are those who are remembered and appreciated, just as we remember and appreciate. That is beautiful.
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