· stillpoint ·

  A Timeless Prayer. My Lord God I have no idea where I am going    I do not see the road ahead of me.   I cannot know for certain where it will end.   Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.   But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.    And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.   I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.   And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.    Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.    I will not fear for you are with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.     Thomas Merton,(1915-1968) Thomas Merton, as some of you will know, was a Trappist monk whose writings on the spiritual life were very influential in the...

  Yesterday was Ascension Day when we remember the physical departure of Jesus from this earth.  In the words of the Nicene Creed:  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.    A couple of sentences before this we are told that  by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made man. In church we say words like this Sunday after Sunday but can sometimes miss their import  -sometimes great truths can be hidden in plain sight.   One of the Christians claims about the Ascension is that now there is humanity in the heart of the Trinity.  The Jesus that was made man is the same Jesus that returns to heaven and God will never be the same again because of this.  I do believe God can change in some ways, not in...

  I am writing this on the evening of election day in Scotland and the local elections in England and Wales.  The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity re-released a song to the tune of Abide with Me inspiring and challenging us to live our Christian calling through the whole of  life and society.   https://youtu.be/2Lp2mMpSa1E We seek your truth throughout every sphere We long for heaven's demonstration here Jesus your light shine bright for all to see Transform, revive and  heal society. Before all things, in him were all things made, Inspiring culture, media and trade, May all our work serve your economy Transform, revive and  heal society. Peace truth and justice reigning everywhere With us be present in the public square Fill all who lead with your integrity Transform, revive and  heal society. Forgive us Lord when we have not engaged Failing to scribe your heart on history's page, Make us again what we were made to be Transform, revive a...