I have to admit that when I was at school (many, many moons ago!) I was more of a Maths person. I loved Algebra. To me it seemed more like a game, solving a puzzle. What I never really liked was the science subjects. (Sorry to all you scientists out there.) We had to take at least one science subject so I decided on Biology. I always found reading the scientific books very hard going, especially when they used Latin terminology. But I did enjoy the practical lessons. After carrying out some experiment, the dull, boring books somehow came to life. On doing the experiments and discovering the results, the written word began to make some sense. Even now I love watching nature documentaries and seeing things that you can only imagine when you read about them.
The written word, although necessary and good for reference is only part of the whole picture. So many people refer to sacred texts as though they are the be all and end all of religious thought. We call the Bible the Word of God. Many take that to mean that there was no word from God before the Bible or has been since. For them the written word in the Bible is the sum total of what God is and what his truth means almost to the point of worshipping the written word. But God's first words were of creation - and God said ... .... Throughout the Bible we have stories of God's word. He gave the commandments, written words, rules of dos and don'ts as a guide. He spoke through prophets in order to bring his words alive. Often the prophets would actually live out their prophecies so people could see what they meant. And then of course, Jesus came to show us what God is like - the (written) word made flesh. We can read something and not really grasp the full meaning until we actually see it lived out.
I like to think of nature as the first Bible - the spoken word of God as opposed to the written word. Our faith should not be just about the written word, theology, the things that we believe. It's not about reciting creeds, dogmas and belief systems. The written word should always point to the living word. We are each a living example of our faith. The Celtic British monk Pelagius (c 354 - 418) once said,
'It is not what you believe that matters, it is how you respond with your heart and your actions. It is not believing in Christ that matters, it is becoming like him.'
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| Red Admiral butterfly |
We learn from nature, the living word of God how all of creation is interdependent. One species does not exist to the exclusion of all others. Even within a species there is diversity. A white cabbage butterfly is not 'wrong' because it is not coloured like a red admiral butterfly. We smile at that ridiculous thought. Yet we look at others who look, think and act a bit differently from us and presume that they must be wrong. No! They're just different. Jesus (the written word made into the living word) shows that God's love is all-embracing. As Richard Rohr in one of his meditations this week says,
Unfortunately we moved all-knowing of God largely into the realm of argumentative words, which extremely narrowed the field of knowing and actually experiencing.
I wish we could take on board God's living word and learn from it more and not be so dogmatic about our personal and particular interpretation of the written word so that our experience of him becomes deeper and more meaningful - his living word becoming flesh in and through us.
This week in the Christian calendar has seen the beginning of Lent. Many people practise the eating of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday but not all those who recognise Pancake Day commit to the 40 days of Lent. I have to admit that I haven't always participated in the giving up of something for Lent. It seemed to me to be a practice that had become almost a dogma among Christians, a sort of formula that had to be adhered to in order to be considered a committed Christian. So being the rebel and non-conformist that I am, I stopped doing it. Many of course find the self denial and discipline good for their spiritual lives and that's to be applauded. Many make a conscious effort to pray and read the Bible more which is not a bad thing.
The 40 days of Lent, although a recognised part of the Christian calendar, was not something that Jesus himself practiced on a regular basis. It is really in remembrance of his 40 days in the wilderness where he was tempted before beginning his ministry so in partaking of the practice of some form of fasting in Lent is not something Jesus particularly expected his disciples to do or his followers to take on board as some obligatory annual ritual. For Jesus it was a very personal time in his journey on earth. So different people approach this time in different ways. One very tongue-in-cheek look at Lent I saw this week was on twitter called 101 things to give up for Lent. It included things like certain luxury food and drink as you might expect but also things like giving up non-Christian TV and books and also mid-air drumming and all shoes except sandals, saying at the end that if you do all the things on the list then you are a very godly person indeed!
The time that is remembered as I said is the 40 days before the start of Jesus' ministry and not the 40 days before what we now call Easter. It was a time when Jesus wrestled with the concerns of his ministry, how he should go about it and what was the main thrust of his message. It was not about him but about God and his love and forgiveness. It was about making a change in the lives of many who were living on the margins of society. It was 'good news to the poor'. He quoted from the book of the prophet Isaiah when he began his ministry and we are reminded that in Isaiah God says to his people
'Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yolk, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ( Isaiah 58:6.7)
In my musings and browsing along these lines, I have been challenged myself to live a different Lent this year - a Random Act of Kindness (RAK) Lent. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu suggests something on similar lines when he endorses Love Life Live Lent, saying that such acts of kindness to others could change our world. I discovered that Pope Francis has also been saying something similar. He suggests fasting on the indifference we have towards the problems of others. So the RAK Lent is not just about giving up something but trying to make a difference. Like the 40 days for Jesus was a preparation for his future life, I'm praying that this Lent might be a preparation for a year ahead that makes a difference in the every day living of just where I am. For more ideas on what acts you could carry out check out Do Lent Generously an idea from the Christian charity Stewardship. It has some excellent suggestions that are easy to follow. It's not about giving in terms of money but also time, thought, being not so me-focused on what I'm giving up but more deliberately focused on the needs of others and how I can help to make a difference, making the world a better place for them.
(Click on the red print to go to the links quoted.)
I love word games - crosswords, code words, missing letters etc. etc. Over the years, television has supplied us with a number of game shows involving words. The one that has probably lasted the longest I think is Countdown, the daily words and numbers game. People of my age will also remember programmes like Call My Bluff when three different definitions of a word are given and the opposing team has to guess the correct meaning. My excuse for spending time on them, (if I need an excuse!) is that at my age, it helps to keep my mind active and ticking over. Words are important, so much so that very often the first words of a baby are noted in a baby book and kept for posterity. We use phrases like 'I give you my word' as a way of promising something or insisting that what we have said is true. The words 'My Word' are used in exclamation to denote a certain amount of surprise or wonder.
This week Richard Rohr, in his daily meditations has been talking about God's Word. We think of God's Word as the Bible that we use today - the Old and New Testament. Some Christians seem to be of the opinion that the Bible as we know it today is the sum total of God's Word. (Roman Catholics have a larger Bible than Protestants as they include the books of the Apocrypha) Some assume that if some story or word of wisdom is not in there then it's not part of God's Word. We need to acknowledge that this Christian Sacred Text has not always existed. So what happened before the existence of the Bible as we know it today, before the life of Jesus? And of the Old Testament, what happened before Abraham or Moses? Those who lived then, how did they know about God? How did God make himself known to them? Did he have nothing to say?
Richard Rohr quotes both Anthony of the Desert (251 - 356) and Thomas Aquinas (1224 - 1274) as saying that there are actually two books of Scripture, two books of God's Word. The Bible is the second book being around for the last 2000 years or so. The first book of God's Word is the natural world and has existed since the Big Bang 14 billion years ago. In the first few verses of the Bible we read that God said ... ... . He brought the whole universe into being by his word and yet we so often discard this expression of His Word in favour of the written word. We think that God is 'contained' in the Bible. He is but he is also much bigger than that. Jesus so often used examples from creation to explain divine truths and we miss an awful lot of what God is saying and what he is like when we don't spend time contemplating his handiwork. He first expressed himself in creation billions of years before humanity decided to put things in a book, long before the written word even existed. Some would shy away from this saying it verges on paganism or New Age spirituality. Yet Francis of Assisi wrote words that were translated and became known as the hymn 'All Creatures of our God and King'. In the original he refers to creation as Brother Sun and Sister Moon, also referring to Brother Wind and Brother Fire and Sister Water and Mother Earth. To this day he is revered for the way he saw God in creation. The present Pope reminds us of this by taking his name to be known as Pope Francis.
I can't help thinking that although it's good to read and know the Bible, it's not the whole story. You can't contain God in a building nor can you contain him in a book. As the children sing, 'My God is a great big God'. There are so many expressions of him that we don't see when we are so intent in having our heads in a book. There are so many lessons and truths that we miss when we think that it's all in 'the book'. Richard Rohr expresses this sentiment when he says that each creature is a unique and distinct word of God with its own message. Or as Meister Eckhart puts it so well, 'Anyone who truly knows creatures may be excused from listening to sermons for every creature is full of God and is a book' - and he was of the Order of Preachers. We refer to Jesus as The Word and say that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Before Jesus became flesh, God's Word became living creatures and plants. He expressed himself in his creation. When a person creates something, a picture, a piece of sculpture, some article of beauty or usefulness, they are expressing their thoughts and ideas in material or physical form. You get an idea of them from their creativity. And so God created the universe. If we look, observe and learn directly from what he has made we can learn so much about what he is like and what are his ways. He has great lessons and truth he wants to teach us if only we have eyes to see and ears to hear.
I have to admit that when I was at school (many, many moons ago!) I was more of a Maths person. I loved Algebra. To me it seemed more like a game, solving a puzzle. What I never really liked was the science subjects. (Sorry to all you scientists out there.) We had to take at least one science subject so I decided on Biology. I always found reading the scientific books very hard going, especially when they used Latin terminology. But I did enjoy the practical lessons. After carrying out some experiment, the dull, boring books somehow came to life. On doing the experiments and discovering the results, the written word began to make some sense. Even now I love watching nature documentaries and seeing things that you can only imagine when you read about them.
The written word, although necessary and good for reference is only part of the whole picture. So many people refer to sacred texts as though they are the be all and end all of religious thought. We call the Bible the Word of God. Many take that to mean that there was no word from God before the Bible or has been since. For them the written word in the Bible is the sum total of what God is and what his truth means almost to the point of worshipping the written word. But God's first words were of creation - and God said ... .... Throughout the Bible we have stories of God's word. He gave the commandments, written words, rules of dos and don'ts as a guide. He spoke through prophets in order to bring his words alive. Often the prophets would actually live out their prophecies so people could see what they meant. And then of course, Jesus came to show us what God is like - the (written) word made flesh. We can read something and not really grasp the full meaning until we actually see it lived out.