Through Thick and Thin

Often, when people hear that I’m going on a sabbatical as a minister, they think “spiritual journey”.  Some assume that I’ll be going somewhere else.  However, a trip away isn’t a requirement for a ministerial sabbatical.  That said, I am planning to study English Christian mystics of the 14th century, so Dale & I will be spending some time in England.

When I tell people that our destination is ”England”, I often find myself faced with puzzled expressions and the next question is usually, “aren’t you going to Iona?”   I think that’s a fairly natural response.  After all, Iona is an internationally known pilgrimage site and, being so close to England, why wouldn’t I go there?  After all, Iona has been experienced by thousands as a “thin” place; one of those unique geographic spots in our world where people have sensed the Spirit of God far more closely and deeply than in any other location.  These “thin” spots are places where we find God rising in our hearts and becoming a felt presence in new ways that nurture our souls strongly.  Like a breath of fresh air, these places fill our lungs with the breath of the first dawn which is also our last and eternal dawn.  So why on earth, wouldn’t I be going there?  Well, I can only offer one answer.  It’s because I don’t feel called to be at that place at this time and through my discernment, I know I must follow the call of the Spirit because that is the only way I will find the “thin” place which is calling to me.

However, I must confess that when I started planning for my sabbatical, a “thin” place like Iona was exactly where I wanted to go.  I yearned to make a journey to a ”thin” place where I could rest.  I wanted to find a spot where my spirit would be renewed and refreshed.  But as usual, my best laid plans weren’t God’s and I’ve been awakened to an amazing grace of different “thin” places.

Last week in my congregation, we laid to rest a beloved woman.  Today, I’m preparing a funeral for another deeply loved woman.  Within each of these times, I’ve felt as though we were standing in incredibly “thick” places because there is a palpable heaviness to grief which holds it’s own weight and so often feels like a heavy burden.  Yet when we are together, giving thanks for their lives, we can find ourselves in such a thin place where the Spirit holds us and even carries us through.

For my sabbatical, I am seeking thin places but not just in England.  I will be looking for them wherever I am because regardless of where we are and whatever we are doing, God is with us… and it is always through thick and through thin.

Balancing

“The more we busy ourselves to understand God’s secrets, the less we know.” – Julian of Norwich

Christian mystics were not trying to learn God’s secrets; they weren’t trying to become saints.  Instead, they were seeking to live their lives in deeper relationship with God.  For most of them, that happened through contemplative prayer as they turned to God.  Their intention was not become more learned about God’s secrets but to become more deeply connected to God with an ever-increasing intimacy through an open and willing heart.

Now some might think that the time for mystics is over because our lives in this day and age are far too busy and demanding to allow us the freedom to seek this kind of connection.  I beg to differ.

This past week, some of us gathered to talk about “balance” in our lives.  We took simple pencils and, with a bit of effort, found that place where it would rest, perfectly in balance, on one of our fingers.  Then, when we had found that point, we discovered how effortless it became to keep it balanced.  It rested without stress or anxiety and we discovered a great peace in that moment.

If you are seeking that, for yourself in your life, I’d suggest that you try it.  Just sit for a time with the pencil balanced on one of your fingers, in silence.  You may discover, as we did, that God often comes to us more clearly in the stillness.

Balance, for me, is not a lack of stress in my life.  My weekly calendar is a harsh reminder of that.  However, balance has become possible for me, by remaining connected to God within every moment of my life.  This is the balance I seek, not so I will become wiser or more learned about God’s secrets but because I want to be in an ever-deepening relationship with the one I love!

 

Living Life on “Empty”

As my days pass rapidly, I realize that I have only 3 more months before I leave on my sabbatical.  That came as a bit of a shock because I know there is so much more to be done before I go and, while that could have driven me crazy if I let it, I am so grateful for the book study we are doing at church.  This week, we have been called into the spiritual practice of living life on “empty”.   This is a contemplative way of living which calls us to intentionally empty ourselves of all the busyness that so often tries to consume our days.

And I wonder… what would all of our lives be like, if each one of us woke up tomorrow morning and emptied ourselves of all our worries, all our stresses, all our concerns, all our “have-to”s or ”should”s or “want-to”s.   What would our day be like, if we intentionally let all those things go.  What would life be like, if we emptied ourselves of everything before going into our day.

The world is always very quick to tell us that we cannot survive on empty and yet so many spiritual practices call us to do just that – to live life on ”empty”.  And so, for now, as I move forward into the days of this week, I will be striving to live life on empty and to move into each of my days with nothing except God.

Mysticism along the Way

As I continue to prepare for my sabbatical journey which will formally begin after I take some holidays in May, I am currently studying and learning about “mysticism” and my hope is to share some of my learnings through this blog.

Mysticism is something that exists in almost all religions but I am seeking both knowledge and experience within my own Christian tradition.  I add ‘experience’ because mysticism isn’t just about our knowledge of God but also about our experience with God as Creator, Christ and Sustainer.  Traditionally mysticism has been expressed as three-fold path towards a personal transformation into the person God always intended us to be.  It happens to us; body, mind and soul.  It happens to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.   And it happens to us when we are willing to let the Spirit do that work within us.

The first stage has been called a process of purification where we are purged of all that is not “of God” in our bodies, our minds, our souls and our lives.  It begins when we seek God’s will, both within and around us.  The 2nd stage is one of illumination or coming to see God in all things.  The 3rd stage has been called “unitive” or becoming “One” with God and our Christian language is rich in these images as being One in Christ.

As I continue, I know none of us walk alone.  God is here and now.  The same can be said of my community of faith who is holding me in prayer as I hold them.  My gratitude for their support cannot be measured; it overflows.

“In mysticism that love of truth which we saw as the beginning of all philosophy leaves the merely intellectual sphere, and takes on the assured aspect of a personal passion. Where the philosopher guesses and argues, the mystic lives and looks; and speaks, consequently, the disconcerting language of first-hand experience, not the neat dialectic of the schools. Hence whilst the Absolute of the metaphysicians remains a diagram —impersonal and unattainable—the Absolute of the mystics is lovable, attainable, alive.”                                                                                                       ― Evelyn Underhill

The Path Before Us

Many people have asked me why I chose researching the mystics of the 14th century, specifically in England, for the theme of my sabbatical time.  I can only say that I feel this theme chose me because of the many happenings in my life and the way I find myself following the light of Christ.

The path of life is always before us.  We can opt out and choose to just sit on the side of the road while time passes by us or we can make that choice to get up and walk.  However, when we choose to get up and walk, we must choose the path we will take.  For me, that choice was simple because I am Christian.  Jesus laid out the path for us and when we choose it, while we never know what it will lead us through, we always know where it will lead us.

Epiphany has come and gone for another year.  It’s that day in our church year when we celebrate the great light that God brought into the world through the birth of Jesus.  It’s a light that Christians are called to follow in their lives and in their hearts; a light which shines brightly with peace, justice, compassion and mercy and it beckons us, just as it beckoned the wisemen, to follow.

Do I know what adventures this path will bring to me, along my journey?   No.   But I do know my heart will be filled and that, no matter where Christ’s path leads, we never walk alone.

“Understand this clearly: your spiritual work is not in any physical place. But when your mind focuses, you are there in that place spiritually, as truly as your body is located in a place now.”

                                                                                         – from “The Cloud of Unknowing”

Small Gifts and Great Blessings.

With Christmas coming to an end and Epiphany almost here, I’m reminded once again that God often brings our greatest gifts in the smallest of packages.  Through a small burning bush, Moses discovered his calling and strength to lead God’s people.  Through a still, small voice, Elijah was given the courage and determination to be in the world with faith.  Through the birth of a small babe in Bethlehem, the Holy Spirit has been released in power among us.

God always seems to use such small things to get our attention and guide us.  But that means, we must be aware of the small things around us.  We need to be awake to what might, at first, feel insignificant and yet can hold great meaning.

Julian of Norwich discovered this wisdom in one of her visions, being blessed with the immense knowledge of God’s love, even for the smallest of things.

“And in this he showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed to me, and it was as round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought: What can this be? I was amazed that it could last, for I thought that because of its littleness, it would suddenly have fallen into nothing. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and always will, because God loves it; and thus everything has being through the love of God.”

- Julian of Norwich

 

Resting into the New Year

As this New Year begins, I’m starting with some time off.  It was very hectic over Christmas and these few days will afford me some time to do some intensive planning for my sabbatical.  That said, I may not be posting daily.  But then, there is no rule saying that I must.

The theme for my sabbatical is “English Christian mystics in the 14th century”.  I know that sounds like a mouthful but I’ve always been an English history buff and the 14th century was a particularly interesting 100 years.  The plague was decimating populations all over Europe, the 100 years war was just beginning, seeds of the reformation were being sown and yet, it was a time when the most celebrated English mystics lived lives of such deep faith that we are still reading their writings so many years later.

And while their time doesn’t really compare to our own, I can’t help feeling that there is a message there for us which we may have allowed to fall silent.  So I’m seeking to hear it again, with fresh hearing and new intention to listen deeply to their voices.

“If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love.”     - Julian of Norwich

Hello world!

Well, I’ve just started this new adventure into blogging and into preparing for my sabbatical journey.  Both of these are exciting journeys and I hope to improve in so many ways at blogging and at resting into this experience of sabbatical.

In the words of Julian of Norwich, I will trust that “all will be well”.

Blessings.