Prayer from Afghanistan

I love this prayer from John Carden's book: A Procession of Prayers: Meditations and Prayers from around the world.     It's (appropriately) in the chapter on the Mystery of Christ's Epiphany to Wise Men.  (p 55)  The picture is one I painted ages ago, in Oil Pastels from a similar image I found on the web..  I suppose that for me this blog is an appropriate response to 9/11 - and a prayer for the country of Afghanistan

And so, that is why, at nightfall when my people are asleep, kneeling barefoot, close to the altar of my little chapel, I become their intercessor - like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, like Jesus. A stick of sandlewood sends forth its fragrance, the symbol of all those who today are worn out with their labours in suffering, heavy with all their hopes - all of those who today have fallen asleep thinking only to meet a Judge - to them I present him as their Saviour, and I introduce them to the eternal Nuptials. All those little children who were born this day I make children of God. All the prayers said today in the homes, the mosques, I transform into an 'Our Father'. My heart is nothing more than a melting pot, where, in the fire of Christ's love, all the dross of my people is turned into gold - and through my lips it is the whole of Afghanistan who cries that 'Abba' to the Father that the Holy Spirit inspires. 

#LoveFast Thank God for Taxis

as part of the #Mahabba  #LoveFast Campaign  - #30days of Prayer&ACTION  during #Ramadan - we received the following story from Alan in Aylesbury (NB the names of individuals have been changed) 

 

When I first moved to Aylesbury five years ago I asked God to show me the key to making friends with Muslim men in the town.  They and their families number about 6,000 or 10% of the population and mainly come from Pakistan. 

God showed me that using taxis would be the key.   As we seldom use taxis I couldn’t see how this would happen.  But about three years ago, after leading a severely disabled man to the Lord in a local residential home, we’ve been taking him to church every Sunday – by taxi! Including loading and unloading the wheel chair and journey time, I reckon we have about 20-30 minutes every week talking with various drivers.     

I discovered that one regular driver, Ahmed, a devout Muslim, had several daughters but only one son in his thirties, who was severely disabled.  I first met Hassan when he was seriously ill in hospital and have since visited him regularly, watching cricket and telling some of the great OT stories. Family members are always present to join the conversation as Hassan needs continuous help.

Hassan recently suffered a stroke which robbed him of his speech.  I cried when I heard that this young man had now become almost completely disabled.  I asked his father if I could pray to Isa-al-Masih for his speech to be recovered and praise God there has been a slight improvement.  I am now a regular visitor to this three-generational family home and am becoming a trusted friend.  I never thought I’d thank God for taxis!    

Bricolage - At the crossroads

Bricolage

I used an old Ordinance survey map of the Lake District dated Dec 1977  - The North West sheet, because I wanted a large canvas and I had a newer version of the map.  This represents my ‘roots’ in NW England where we settled after the Army years and my introduction to Hill Walking (A. Wainwright and his Pictorial guide to the Lakeland Fells) - my stomping ground. I wanted to think/ dream/ imagine what the future might look like in 5 years time. The picture is the outworking of this process ... 

I had sketched out a basic idea of a path leading to a cross roads and a decision to go up the slow, steep track to the left up the mountain into the unknown or to the right into the woods (also an unknown path).  Which one represents for me ‘the road less travelled?’  

I wanted a lake in the foreground on the right and something representing family in theforeground on the left. I had the idea of my two hands being visible - in one a hiking stick and in the other a compass. So the scene in front is what I would be looking at….   I intended it to be purely symbolic with no words.

I collected a pile of magazines which inevitably represent today’s interests – Time, Ramblers, Emirates In-flight magazine, Family History, Gardening, National Trust, British Heart Foundation, iCreate (Mac Mag) A Rocha - and I tore out anything that struck me. I later used 3 images from a Van Gogh calendar which are scattered throughout the picture. 

I started with the empty hands, a rough path and then did the mountains – They are Alpine (Swiss) and Himalayan – a mixture of West and East.  Somehow it is the mountains that draw me – and they dominate the skyline.  There is a group of Ramblers making their way to the foothills to start the ascent.

The Lake came next and boats surrounded by trees and flowers.  The Lake is a place for ‘messing about in boats’ and there is a mixture of a Swiss Lake steamer, and a working fishing boat and canoes.  The oriental trees  - cherry blossoms represent the East and my fascination with things Oriental.  

I liked the words: ‘Your space’ (from a National Trust mag) so added them at the side.  Birds, bees, butterflies were overlaid.   A grebe on the water,  a Great Tit feeding and the last thing I added - a Falcon (Peregrine) soaring high in the mountains (my blog/motto is: wandering4the love of God – ‘Peregrinate pro Dei amore’) 

The Natural world represents a breathing space…  a place to reflect.  And water offers the perfect reflecting space.  The 3 people sitting on a bench looking somehow reflect that. They look like Artists in their straw boaters. The water is also a place to explore and enjoy. Other words appear in the mountains:  ‘The heavens are high and the mountains are far away’. At the edge, on the fringe, there is more freedom….

The Van Gogh image added to the night sky so I ended up with day on the left and night on the right. I found a moon for the top right (twilight/ stars /eternity) and made a strong sun from Van Gogh’s sunflowers on the top left (hope/ light/ life). He also provided the field on the left and I added others, representing ‘discover your local countryside’.  I liked the ‘work, rest and play’ but ( reminded me of ‘A Mars a day helps you…’ - I always took a MARS when hill walking) and the idea of famous art, so added it as an easel, thinking about Van Gogh painting in the fields around Arles.  

I also liked the man looking wistfully off the edge to the left, a mackintosh draped over his arm.  He was part of the image with the words: 'Here I am … in my own private space’   I just kept the words ‘here I am ‘ as a sort of prayer, writ large in the sky (a prayer of submission ‘be it unto me according to your word’  - the missionary response from Isaiah 6: ‘Here I am, send me’) 

Family in the foreground 

I filled the foreground with images that connect to family - a couple with children (representing future marriage and possible grandchildren) I added sunflower heads to make them more symbolic and represent a gift from the source of life. Simple produce, a healthy heart (Jo and medicine) the farming (Andy and Ag Dev?)  And also the word ‘Development’ (I would have preferred the word: transformation). The camera (Jonny and professional photography). I don’t feel I have represented Tim and business – but there is a small beehive!   Maybe capturing micro-enterprise – certainly ‘busy bees’ and a ‘hive of activity’….

In the end the pathway leading to the crossroads and the signpost looks very cruciform, with a hanging Christ-like figure dominating the centre. And I accentuated this with a bowed head shape (and crown of thorns- maybe a little too overt!) Leaving it more subtle would have been better.    I used oil pastels to bring some continuity to the picture, sky, mountain, path, water, hands…

The crossroads does not just offer two paths: the left one up the mountain with the Ramblers and the right one to the beach and the Lake and the trees and gardens.  (Maybe the left is my masculine rugged Mountains (my side of the family) and the Right more feminine - water, gardens, flowers and sailing boats (my wifes side).  And I want both to be integrated… But there is also a third way, behind (even through) the cross, along the Great Wall of China to the Orient… where ‘the heavens are high and the emperor is far away’

Back to the hands. In the end I had a folded map in the left hand– a guide to the journey (a very local map) rather than a ‘walking stick’. I wanted a compass on my iPhone in the right hand, but left it with a drawing app: ‘Draw, play, share’ (3 very good words) the electronic devise is important since it represents connectivity to the wider world wherever I am.   I also added the iCreate logo as a title, representing my own creativity as well AppleMac’s!  I added more words to cuffs on the hands, one with Ramblers and the other Heart Matters, representing that healthy outdoor life style.  

Under Cover 

I used the inside of the folding cover for more words:  ‘Go share the gospel with the world’  - and the ‘missio dei’ (mission of God) which I orient my life around.

… ‘Open your eyes to a distinctly different ….’  On one level simply a matter of open eyed wonder at the world around, and at another deeper level representing Enlightenment. Yet the Buddhist eyes are closed (in meditation?)  And the natural world (‘eye of the Tiger’) eyes open. Maybe even more than meditation, it is natural revelation (The scripture of Nature) that is my main spiritual gateway…   

I liked the Octavia Hill (1883) quote:  

‘We all need space; unless we have it we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently….(and we need) places to sit in, places to play in. places to stroll in and places to spend a day in’   

I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS

And finally it is all held together by one of my favourite songs/hymns:  ‘I heard the voice of Jesus say … come unto me and rest’.  I particularly like the Eden’s Bridge Celtic version. And I have recently, been asking myself the question: ‘Are my travelling days done?’ 

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest; 


Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.”


I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;


I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.





I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give


The living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.”


I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream; 


My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him. 



I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light; 


Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.”


I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun; 


And in that light of life I’ll walk, 'til traveling days are done.

The song finishes with a couplet.  I was only hearing the last phrase… I listened to it again, set to an old Scottish tune ‘Rowan Tree’ by Wild Goose recording (Iona) - words by Horatius Bonar (1846). Interestingly the Rowan tree is the tree we planted to remember my parents and their ashes are in their church garden @ Cleveley’s Baptist Church  –

I looked to Jesus and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;

And in that light of life I’ll walk 'til travelling days are done’  

Four Dimensions of the Cross: Good Friday Meditation

The 3 hour meditation service at the Foot of the Cross, at Christchurch Woking, had as its centrepiece the Cross we had painted in the previous sacred:space. 

The service was based on John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that gave his only son (Length) that whoever believes in him (Breadth) should not perish (Depth) but have everlasting life (Height)" 

We looked at the 4 dimensions of the Cross with images, music, liturgy, prayers, thoughts (by Martin) and responsive activities. Each section was 45 minutes. In the background the DVD of 'The Passion' was playing silently (and often illustrated the reading of Scipture exactly!) ....

1. The Length of Christ's Love

Georges Rouault,  "Ecce homo", 1937-41. canvas on wood. Paris, Musée national d’art modern

‘The meaning of the story is found in every detail, as well as in the broad narrative…..  The death of Jesus…. is either the most stupid, senseless waste and misunderstanding the world has ever seen, or it is the fulcrum around which world history turns’Tom Wright: Simply Christian (p95) 

2 Breadth of Christ's Love 

‘The Yellow Christ’  Paul Gaugin 1889 Albright Knox Art Gallery Buffallo NY

‘God in Christ has united our human nature to himself…. And demonstrated to us that supreme love of which Christ himself speaks: ‘Greater love has no-one than this (John 15 13), We are thus joined through his grace to him and our neighbour by an unbreakable bond of love….’ Peter Abelard 

We think that Paradise and Calvary, Christ's cross and Adam's tree, stood in one place ;

Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me ;

As the first Adam's sweat surrounds my face,

May the last Adam's blood my soul embrace.

John Donne; Hymn to God, My God in my sickness’ 

3. The Depth of Christ's Love

Crucifixion by He Qi, China  www.heqigallery.com

‘A god who cannot suffer is poorer than any human. For a God who is incapable of suffering is a being who cannot be involved. Suffering and injustice do not affect him. And because he is so completely insensitive, he cannot be affected or shaken by anything. He cannot weep, for he has no tears. But the one who cannot suffer cannot love either. So he is a loveless being’Jurgen Moltmann   (1974) the Crucified God

4. The Height of God's Love  

Mount Calvary  
William H. Johnson  1944  Smithsonian American Art Foundation

‘God’s act of universal forgiveness is the whole train of action he sets working through Christ, through the Spirit, through the Church, through all-embracing providence, towards the reconciliation of the unreconciled, whether in this world or in a world to come. And of this great process Christ’s blood was, once more, the cost.’
Austin Farrar Saving Belief (p 107)

    Benediction Prayer

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Eph. 3:17-21 

Out with the Angels on Easter Saturday

'Angel of Light' is another picture I had seen that I decided to paint. It was inspired by the idea of the Street Angels.....

We were on duty on Friday night/Saturday morning (10pm to 4 am). This is the dark time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which is traditionally viewed as the time when Jesus descended to the place of the dead. The Harrowing of Hell. This is based on the concept of the gospel being proclaimed 'to the spirits in prison' (1 Peter 3:19-20) 'even to the dead' (1 Peter 4:6).

I remember a few years back visiting Ypres on the Easter Saturday, to see the battle fields of the 1st World War and the vast cemeteries, full of the fallen. And the Menin Gate for those who have no remains, but are still memories. Hearing the 'Last Post' being played by Belgian buglers is very evocative. It seemed strangely appropriate to be exploring the remembrance of such carnage on such a day.

And in a different way it seemed right to be on the street of Woking on such a night.
A very different scene, not of carnage, but of revelry and merry making for most. Violence and drunkenness for some. The police are out in force, because of incidents that inevitably happen when people have been drinking heavily. Arrests are often made, which is one of the reasons the police are so supportive of the Street Angels - they help to bring down the crime rate.

It was not a particularly dramatic night. We spent a lot of time talking to East European bouncers, and Pakistani taxi drivers. Plus staff at the late night fast food joints. And giving our lollipops to youngsters. Some took liberties. One 18 year old man had about a dozen and kept on nicking them from others. He was very flirtatious with my companion angel, who took it all in her stride. Another female angel, was told "you're f***ing beautiful, for an older woman"! That is, more or less, what you might call a compliment! So they angels are having an impact on the streets of Woking, one way or another.

Maybe the evening was marked for me by a long conversation with a older man, Paul, in an old combat jacket, somewhat worse for wear. He seemed more than happy to talk. He joked and talked about his alcohol problem, a took occassional swigs from his cider bottle. But he went on his way a little more cheerful, after nearly an hour's chat.

Some of our number picked up lots of bottles and also reported a council waste bin that had been set alight. The fire-brigade soon put that one out. One of my growing concerns is where people go to the toilet other than watering the council plants. (I can feel a campaign coming on.)

The Street Angels seek to be a presence on the streets offering support and conversation to those who want it. Clearing up bottles and broken glass. Trying to ensure the streets are safe, so people can have a good time. And I do believe talking to people helps to defuse potentially dangerous situations, so they do not get out of hand. I wonder if things would be worse if we were not there, but that would be difficult to prove.

I suppose Easter Saturday is also about putting out fires, coming alongside people, shining in the darkness ...... Not so sure where the lollipops fit in.