we are all too small
we cannot fathom
the entirety of You
or know Your ways
we want to understand
the meaning of all of this
all there is
is finding space
to live with
some of the
fog of unknowing
softening the harsh
light and life
diffusing
grace
Talitha Fraser
this
a little oasis of
in between
that will not last
a hiatus
a breath
a moment
to be
made and remade
I am
sitting on a little
patch of earth
somewhere between
there and here
thinking
very little of anything
Talitha Fraser
that is where I am right now
in a cloud of unknowing
I cannot see the way forward
I cannot tell if I am falling, floating
or still
I say “Here I am, send me”
trusting You to lead me through
my fears
and I will not go back
Talitha Fraser
disquieting
restlessness
unsatisfied
I become
strange
to myself again
unfamiliar
and requiring
exploration
–ooo000ooo—
do You bestir
my comfort
my certainty
in favour of
unknowing?
You always were
good at asking
difficult questions.
–ooo000ooo—
a single tear
bitter
with self pity
creeps
down my cheek
sinner
Talitha Fraser
Andre Gide
THE SPIRITUAL PROBLEM (diagnosed for the Western church)
4 things:
Mystical theology – full acknowledgement of revelation and full acknowledgement of personal experience across all sensory perceiving. Goal to be immersed in God like a drop in an ocean… guiding preoccupation with listening, personal experience of divine love… liberates!
Teilhard was a French palaeontologist and a Jesuit priest > stretcher-bearer “writings in time of war” Gave his spiritual works to a lay woman who published them! Teilhard was deeply distressed by the one sidedness of both science and religion, and by the unnecessary and tragic consequences of their bifurcation. .. devoted equal commitment to internal and external facts. His writing has had a profound effect on 20th century thinking across many disciplines: science, history, international development. Critiques: didn’t engage with other faiths, didn’t go ‘far enough’ into consciousness.
Genesis is an ongoing state of becoming > what is Christs role then? Christ is the driving loving energy of cosmogenesis. Teilhard: looking for Christ the evolver. Not King and Master outsider/adjudicator but Christ who fills and moves all things.
Evolution is the process if suffering > creation is groaning > has casualties. At cosmos and individual level (stars explode and new ones are born).
‘to bear the sins of the guilty world’ means precisely, translated and transposed into terms of cosmogenesis, ‘to bear the weight of a world in a state of evolution. (Christianity and Evolution, p218-219)
The recognition that ‘God cannot create except evolutively’ provides a radical solution… to the problem of evil (which is a direct ‘effect’ of evolution), and at the same time explains the manifest and mysterious association of matter and spirit. (Christianity and Evolution, p179)
Christ must no longer be constitutionally restricted in his operation to a mere ‘redemption’ of our planet. (Christianity and Evolution, p241)
If a Christ is to be completely acceptable as an object of worship, he must be presented as the saviour of the idea and reality of evolution. (Christianity and Evolution, p78)
I can only be saved by becoming one with the universe. (The Heart of Matter, p78)
Development of consciousness – choice and decision-making > ethics
Something is wiped out and something else comes? Way we are broken open that are impelling is to grow. Earthquake – want to hold onto everything, for it to stay the same (building), cosmos says “No”, need to re-build, change, evolve. Progression vs. regression – want to lock it down to earlier ‘known’ state. Christianity wants to find a culprit, aggression and blame with preaching love that does not make sense to people outside the church. Not merely – sin will be made clean but an invitation to participate in the ascent of creation.
Have to experience something that will actually change us.
We are star dust.
Hubble Heritage Team/NASA/ES
“Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability –
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually – let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own goodwill)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.”
http://www.pallotticollege.com.au/
There is a joy
in knowing the truth of oneself
whatever that may be
for it was meant
Talitha Fraser
Leunig
“God be with those who explore in the cause of understanding, whose search takes them far from what is familiar and comfortable and leads them into danger or terrifying loneliness. Let us try to understand their sometimes strange or difficult ways; their confronting or unusual language; the uncommon life of their emotions, for they have been affected and shaped and changed by their struggle at the frontiers of a wild darkness, just as we may be affected, shaped, and changed by the insights they bring back to us. Bless them with strength and peace.
Amen.”
I fear that what might be my honest, deliberate truth might in fact be driven by my fear, or worse, that I have never been tested.
How do you measure integrity?
In this moment my truth explains, justifies, gives grace to my life. Could I ever doubt, regret, call that into question as some new learning, new light shines into my brokenness?
In every moment we are given a choice about what we do or say – watch TV? Do the readings for Uni? Check for the 5th time in 10 minutes whether someone has retweeted my tweet? How do we register the frequency of the symphonic harmony of life and step into the dance?
The only thing sadder than a life on the sidelines is not even knowing you are invited…
i tell you arise
Jesus seemed to move around a bit… city to sea, centre to margins; in between the “happenings” the speeches and stories, the healing and the casting out – he and his friends would have spent some time on the road. I wonder if this was his introverted time to recharge before the gig? Whether they’d process how it went “I don’t know, do you think they get it?”, “OMG did you see that Pharisees face? I thought he might have a heart attack”… Joy or sadness, success and frustrations poured out around a campfire at night, shared around a meal, not ranked recliners but a simple circle on the ground – men and women together, schmick tax collectors and homely fishermen. Despite having people around him all the time I bet there were times Jesus felt lonely in his vocation, times he wrestled with the call, felt caught between the surety of purpose and the unknowing of where the path would lead… and felt fear.
i tell you arise
Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Te Whiti, Dorothy Day, Ghandi, saints, prophets and witnesses have gone in that water, I am not worthy to set foot in it.
Maybe just a toe? I’ll paddle here on the edges – I can see to the bottom, sure footing… it’s safe here. I can see the way forward and the way back.
What if I’m swept off my feet? What if the current takes me? Where will it take me? I am not strong enough to swim against the current long… what if I can’t get out?
This is the river that baptised Jesus. This same water that washed his feet and that of his disciples whom he knelt to serve… this water is not of death but of life…
i tell you arise
Talitha FraserWe take turns running prayers at the start of admin meeting and Blythe is projecting
a video on the wall of bread being made: ingredients mixed, kneading, left to rise… In Matthew 13:33 Jesus says “the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
Without notice the yeast begins to permeate the dough and the dough begins to rise, Jesus said “follow me” without saying where he was going but promising transformation. A God of broken people and broken places, he asks us to leave what we know and go into wilderness desert. Far we have come, far we must go. We believe in a God of rebuilt places and rebuilt people.
This is where the concept of liminal space was first introduced to me:
We have left point A but have not arrived at point B yet. The liminal space is the in between-ness of being neither here nor there. These transitional phases – they are not necessarily a comfortable place to be, it is hard to know what to be sure of, but we can have a default to view change as negative and it is not always so. God led the Israelites into the desert for 40 years, many of them complained and sought to return to the relative comfort of slavery (regular meals!) under the Egyptians. “In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.” (Ex 16:4) Perhaps we can begin to see these liminal spaces as an opportunity for growth and learning, with the assurance that God is with us as a broken person in a broken place.
Far we must go – but we need not go alone.
As the yeast transforms the bread, so knowing God yields subtle transformation in our lives. Be present to the transformation that is happening around you…
How would completing the sentence, “the kingdom of heaven is like…” or “the economy of God is like…” look like in your context?
Earlier this year Samara wrote some for us, here are some that she came up with:
The Economy of God is like…
…a residents’ group who lived in the heart of the city. One day a woman buzzed level 8 demanding assistance. One of the residents invited her in and spent the day helping her contact Hanover, giving her access to the phones and accompanying her to apply for crisis housing. Finally when the resident was tired and fed up after a day of being bossed around, she invited the woman over to her place for dinner.
The Economy of God is like…
…a street and hospitality group whose regular retreat campsite was destroyed by bushfire. Some people who had experienced loss and homelessness wanted to help out, so a BBQ and cake stall was organised. When the time came to set up the stall on Collins St, the food was all prepared but the people who’d suggested the event were not available. Instead of cancelling, some others stepped in and ran the stall. They sold many sausages and cupcakes, and they raised twice as much money as they had expected. And there were two plates full of cakes left over to enjoy the next day!
The Economy of God is like…
…a youth and schools team who ran a seminar for a feisty bunch of Year 9s who thought the homeless had it easy. When they started complaining that homeless people should have their Centrelink payments cut and go and get a job, the presenter who’d experienced homelessness explained how his 14 year old kids would end up visiting him on the street…and some of the Year 9s changed their minds!
The Economy of God is like…
…a fundraising team who went to a training day on finances. When they got there they discovered that they were the youngest in the room by 15 years and that all the baby boomers in the room were terrified of the Global Financial Crisis. The fundraising team spoke soothingly to them and invited them to lunch at Credo.
The Economy of God is like…
…an open meal in a basement where they invested in litres of coloured paint but no dishwasher.
itellyouarise 