REFLECTIONS FOR EASTER 2014    PETER MILLAR
                                        petermillarreflects.blogspot.co.uk

THE EASTER JOURNEY

The powerful, tender, painful and challenging events of Easter link our lives to followers of Christ in every nation. We also journey to Easter with the millions who – through the centuries – have followed the path of Jesus. This is a rather amazing reality in the modern world, with its often bland options and empty promises. At Easter time we also walk in a quite specific way alongside those who suffer in the world: the countless victims of war, injustice, and oppression, for it is through their lives that we understand more clearly the meaning of Christ’s coming to earth, of his ministry in a small corner of the Roman Empire, of his brutal death and of his rising to life. Without their companionship in our hearts, Easter becomes much less than it truly is in the mind of God. One thing is certain. As we reflect on the events of Easter we are propelled to encounter our world as it is, not as we may like it to be. A world full of contradiction, beauty, incredible pain - and all of it framed in uncertainty. That encounter makes Easter special. In the words of a poster: God matters: The World matters: We matter to God.


PALM SUNDAY          Welcoming and Praising          Mark 11:  1  -  11

In this passage we read of the “triumphant welcome into Jerusalem” as commentators describe it. In one sense it was triumphant on that first Palm Sunday, but as we know in retrospect, it was a short lived popular acclaim. The crowd welcomed their king riding on a humble beast as he rode into the very heart of the political and religious structures which would soon kill him. In some ways this event mirrors the fickleness of popularity. Of modern celebrity. One moment exalted, the next laid low. We see it every day, and we soon forget its victims.

Lord, we stand with our own palm branches to welcome you, yet hardly know what we do, for you come to us and uproot our preconceptions. Nor we do handle your humility well for it is so counter-cultural and we don’t often see it in our leaders. But let us greet you as you bless us, and let us try to experience your gentle passing-by, for you see us in the crowd and understand our longings.


MONDAY                     Reaching Out                              John 12:  1  -  11

This is the story of Jesus being anointed in the village of Bethany with an expensive perfume made of pure nard. An extravagant act of love done in the home of his close friend Mary. Yet it was an act which raised  a basic question. Why spend this money when there is much poverty around? The same question is asked today – in a world of increasing human need. It’s never an easy question, but the world would be spiritually impoverished if it was devoid of acts of compassion, even if sometimes these acts are misunderstood in a world of much complexity and contradiction.

Friend of the Poor, help me always to go the extra mile for others and to give freely of myself and of my possessions, even if at times I am misunderstood.


TUESDAY                    Finding the Real Self                    John 12: 20  -  36

This passage is full of wisdom for our lives. It invites us to a new awareness  of our deeper selves and to a profound understanding of why it is important not always to be imprisoned by the relentless demands of our ego. It also reminds us of how Jesus began to face up to his own suffering. And later it calls us to live in the light rather than in darkness: to live as people who have actually encountered the light of God. To discover within us the illumined mind.

Light of All, help us each day to walk on a path where there is light, even as we face the muddled-up-ness within ourselves: the irrational fears, the recurring questions, the explosive angers and the powerful passions hidden deep. And to walk on that path with humility – aware that there are no easy answers or quick fixes amidst the doubts and contradictions of our daily lives.


WEDNESDAY                 Being Betrayed                        John 13:   21 -  32

We fool ourselves if we say we have not known betrayal or betrayed another. May be not exactly in the way Christ experienced it, but there are the threads of betrayal in every life, even if we are reluctant to speak of them. Who has not let another person down at some point in time? And who has not felt hurt or anger at being betrayed? Jesus faced up to this uncomfortable truth in his last hours. Even when it brings great pain we have to do the same.

Hope of the World, you were betrayed not by a stranger but by a good friend: let down as we can be too. Sometimes it’s those closest to us who betray us most and how gut-wrenching that is. Yet day after day, you call our name, and even in the midst of betrayals your touch is as gentle as silence.


THURSDAY                       Serving in Love                         John 13: 1  -  17   and  31  -  35

What would life be like if it was not punctuated by simple acts of love: of caring? Not great happenings that make the head-lines, but something quite different. The silent, tender, mostly unrecorded works of love and of sheer goodness going on every day and everywhere. The giving of oneself as Jesus did as he washed the feet of his disciples. The light-filled moments of giving, of touching, of understanding.  That spontaneous reaching out which never has a price-tag on it. 

Lord, help us to pause, to listen, to be present and to reach out in love today. Not counting the cost. Not analysing our behaviour. Doing something beautiful for God right here and now – knowing that in such a simple act we come close to the One who touches us all.


GOOD FRIDAY               Suffering                                     John 19: 17  -  30

The agony and death of Jesus. At the heart of human experience is the reality of suffering. As one writer put it, “the torment is unavoidable.” We all know that - even if it may bring us to a place of desperation. We cannot run from it, and nor did Jesus, tortured on a cross in a situation essentially beyond description. Let us feel the sorrows of others and of ourselves, and through them our precious humanity in Jesus Christ. In the words of Brian Wren: “Life emptied of all meaning, drained out in black distress, can share in broken silence our deepest emptiness.”

Suffering Jesus, give us a moment to stand near a cross - whether your one in Palestine, or today’s ones  carried by the oppressed, betrayed and forgotten of our world. To hear again the tears of God and the tears of the world - and not to run away.


HOLY SATURDAY                     Saying Farewell            John 19: 38  -  42
The burial of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower, had asked Pilate if he could take the body, and with Nicodemus he lovingly laid Jesus to rest in a new tomb close to where earlier he had been crucified. The moment of farewell - understood by us all. Every emotion in the book joins hands as we bid good-bye at cemetery or crematorium.  Laughter and tears; regret and memory; inner pain and quiet pride; anger and grace; hope and bewilderment…the list is endless. And was it different then, that day in Jerusalem, when grief was raw and hearts were sore?

When the moment arrives to say good-bye, help us to know that we are not alone, but held.
Embraced in a wider love, till every heart is healed and every wrong set right in you, O Lord.


EASTER DAY                              Living with Hope           John 20: 1  -  18

The ones who loved him dearly discovered in the early dawning that the tomb was empty. The stone at the entrance was no longer in place and when she discovered this Mary Magadalene went running to Simon Peter. Her dramatic words flow down through the centuries, “they have taken the Lord from the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him.” They did not know. Nor would we have known. But now we do, for Christ is risen, the tomb is empty and lasting hope is real.

Lord of Life, touch our lives with the hope and healing of the first Easter. May we know we carry your image deep within us. And as our journey goes on, may we live in the certainty that we are befriended by you and empowered by your Spirit, as with all your people we affirm your goodness at the heart of humanity – planted more deeply than all that is wrong.


EASTER MONDAY                  Moving On                       John 21: 1  -  14

Here we read of how Jesus appeared after the Resurrection to seven of his disciples. Initially they did not recognise him, but then they became aware that the one who was with them by the lake-side was Jesus. This was the gradual dawning that God is in the midst of life. It is a recognition not always easy: it can be a hard road fraught with frustrations and inner questioning. Yet this search is itself of God, for as we seek we are returning home to the sacredness in ourselves and in the world. God’s world - in which the sacred and the secular are held in one. A truth we know through the life of Christ on this earth. In the words of an old Celtic prayer, “the one who keeps our soul and heals it, at morning, noon and night.”

This is a new day, Lord, and
I have no idea what it may bring to my life
but whatever happens in it
may I go through it in the knowledge
that I actually matter to you.



+++ AN END NOTE: These Easter reflections and prayers are by myself and there is no copyright on them. They have not appeared in any of my books. If you would like to contact me about them please e-mail me.  Thanks again for all your messages. May the Easter hope resonate in us all and in the world.
For information on the Iona Community contact www.iona.org.uk and for Iona Community books at Wild Goose Publications, contact: www.ionabooks.com

                          REFLECTION FOR MARCH 2014        PETER MILLAR
                                       petermillarreflects.blogspot.co.uk

Thoughts in Lent

Each day we read in our papers and see on our screens the deep scars that permeate so many lives near and far. We are all wounded in one way or another, yet the journey through Lent reminds us that there is a road of healing upon which we can walk each day. To say this is not to minimise the sorrows of the human soul which we know all too well, but to catch a glimpse of that place of sunlight which is the heart of God for every human being. For in the days of Lent we encounter not just the wounds in ourselves but also the vulnerability of the One who holds us. There is no real hope for our human condition unless we believe that God also suffers, weeps and carries pain. Suffering is both at the heart of life and in the heart of God - a truth which is expressed clearly in the events of Good Friday.

Over many years, I have been challenged by the Seven Words of Christ from the Cross and in various articles and books have written about them. On many Good Fridays I have spoken about them. They reach into the deepest places of our being. The Seven Words are taken from different Gospels and have provided a pattern of prayer and reflection for Christians through the centuries. Yet I have never thought of them as Words only for believers in Christ for they speak to us all in every age, not least the first of the Words.

      “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”   (Luke 23: 34)
Just look around. Is there anything every country needs more than practical, deep-rooted acts of forgiveness? And not in just in those places of war and violence, but also in these areas where it all appears calm and pleasant on the surface, yet beneath is a seething cauldron. Take my own country.  In the UK, let alone in any other nation, deeper racism, increasing intolerance of the stranger, an ever widening gap between rich and poor, (the top 5 (yes, five!) wealthiest families in the UK according to a recent report from the charity OXFAM own between them more than the poorest 20% of the entire population) and an inward-looking political system often devoid of wisdom are all social markers.

Sure there are signs of hope in society which we can celebrate, but as Christ said from his Cross all those centuries ago, we do need forgiveness for very often we don’t know what we do either as a nation or as individuals. And this is not about an abstract form of forgiveness. It is about practical things in our daily lives. Take our approach to other faiths. Few of us, including myself, seldom take the time and effort to be in touch with those who belong to other faith traditions. In relation to Islam there is huge distrust. Often fear.

Yet there are those who go against the tide through acts of compassion and outreach. A church near my home recently invited the local Imam and his people for a shared meal, taking great care with the diet of their guests. It was a tender way of saying sorry for the many times all of us have forgotten those of other faiths living near us. And such healing acts are happening in many communities. These encounters open a path to understanding the other person which is the starting point of forgiveness. When we close the door to other faiths, to the poor, to those who are different from us, we truly do not know what we are doing, for all of us share a common heart-beat and carry God’s image within us.
A short, yet profound prayer used by the Iona Community has helped me to refocus both on God’s forgiving love toward me and on my ability to forgive others….
        May God forgive you, Christ renew you and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.
In the light of these words which mirror those of Jesus, I understand the first words from the Cross as a beautiful invitation from the Source of Life to realise that we are not to be imprisoned within resentments, anger and bitterness. At both an individual and global level there is here a path of liberation from these realities. Wherever we see genuine acts of compassionate reaching out to the other, we see forgiveness at work. And when we release our own resentments we see that same power at work in ourselves.

From the place of agony
as death drew near,
You offered surprising words of life.
Words of tenderness –
elevating our human condition
as they invite us to move beyond
our imprisoning angers –
to that place where
all souls can sing of freedom
in the light of Your forgiveness.


Further Notes

Wild Goose Publications in Glasgow is the well-known publishing arm of The Iona Community. In 2014 they will be publishing a prayer book/collection of stories on peace and reconciliation to mark the 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War. Wild Goose is looking for original prayers and for stories (short 500-800 words) on the themes of peace and reconciliation. The deadline for contributions is June 1st 2014. If you can send any material for this book, from the UK or from other countries feel free to do that and please contact Neil Paynter at Wild Goose who will be delighted to hear from you.
Neil’s e-mail address is: neil@ionabooks.com

Wild Goose has also just brought out a group of prayers, written by myself based on the Seven Words From The Cross. This is a small down-load. Details for this are at:
http://www.ionabooks.com/your-life-in-us-pdf-download.html

Details about all the Wild Goose Publications are found at:
www.ionabooks.org

Thank you again for all your e-mails. I was not able to bring out a Reflection in February. I realise that many people receive this Monthly Reflection both by e-mail and through the Blog site. I had hoped to do something about this but it is not possible as I do not know who has subscribed to the Blog and who has not – if that makes sense! Sorry about this. Thanks also to all of you who send out from your homes the Monthly Reflection in many directions.

                          REFLECTION FOR JANUARY 2014   PETER MILLAR

                                     petermillarreflects.blogspot.com.uk

At the start of the year

One of my earlier poems as we start out on another year, opening our hearts to what lies ahead, even if largely unknown…..
It’s the hug,
It’s the crazy joke,
It’s the warm hand,
It’s the fish and chips.

It’s the sudden laughter,
It’s the silent tears,
It’s the washing up,
It’s the touch of love.

It’s the quiet smile,
It’s the burnt toast,
It’s the tender note,
It’s the lost glasses.

It’s the hidden pain,
It’s the long search,
It’s the truth telling,
It’s the inner healing.

It’s the intimacy,
It’s the parting,
It’s the tears,
It’s the farewell.

It’s life,
It’s death,
It’s the Spirit
Of blessing.

It’s the God,
Of surprises
Met again
On the journey.

***** Thank you again for your many messages received since the start of the year. I am sorry this Reflection comes a bit late. As the year begins, there are many places of darkness and despair in the world, but let us not forget that there are also countless signs of light, of deep compassion, of prayer, of truth-seeking, and of sacrificial love, often in these places where there is great suffering. We are all invited by God, whatever our situation, to be a people of hope. That’s not always easy, and we all experience dark days in our lives. Yet in trying, however falteringly, to be “ a people of hope” we have One with us who is the ultimate hope for the world. As the old Christian Worker’s Prayer put it succinctly, even if in old-fashioned language!

Lord, give me love and common sense,
And standards that are high;
Give me calm and confidence,
And please, a twinkle in my eye!

ON CHRISTMAS DAY

In the pain-filled places

of Sudan and Syria:

beneath the penthouses of  Manhattan:

by the paddy fields of South India:

through down-town San Paulo,

and on our streets

there are lights of hope

often dimmed,

yet still burning.

They are

the lights of Christmas

in a world

both linked and disconnected,

inviting us home

to that place

where Love shines bright

and where, amazingly,

our broken lives

are again made whole.

                      Peter Millar, Edinburgh, Scotland, Christmas Day 2013.
 
                                 (please feel free to share this  reflection)

THE BELLS OF CHRISTMAS

Even for the faithful

the Christmas bells are

sometimes hard to hear

for we move faster

than the Shepherds

and quickly overtake

the Wise Men

as they seek the Light.

Married to our shopping

and mobiles,

it’s hard to pause

and hear these gentle bells

announcing Love

within our hearts

and not on Twitter.

Yet still they ring,

and when we pause

they tell us something

beautiful and true -

that we are made for God

and connected

to what is always REAL.

Peter Millar, Edinburgh, Scotland  -  December 2013.

(Please feel free to share this reflection.)

EXPECTANT HEARTS: A POEM FOR ADVENT

The shopper’s Christmas

with its myriad deals,

and easy payments,

arrives with early autumn.

Santa in September – a symbol of our age,

robbing us of waiting,

of surprise, even of joy.



Yet with Advent

a different truth arrives

amidst our tinselled lives:

the gift of expectancy –

that silent longing of the soul

which is deep within us all.



It’s not the shopper’s rush,

for on this path we face within ourselves

the baggage of the years,

the memories that haunt the mind,

the fear that lurks behind the mask:

but let us travel on,

expectant, and with hope,

for there is a guiding star

tenderly leading us to outstretched hands of Love.

Peter Millar, Edinburgh, Advent 2013

NOVEMBER: THE MONTH FOR REMEMBERING

We remember,

and not just at the going down of the sun

do we see again these mangled bodies

and hear the screams of broken minds

or the tears of weeping hearts,

all easily labelled “the victims of war.”

 

Not one war,

but global conflicts

constantly scarring our frail securities

and taking us to places

we would rather avoid.

 

And yet we journey, year by year

into this remembrance

for it is  our story, and good folk

have given their lives for it.

 

The poppies may be red or white;

the grief personal or wider arched,

but let us pause -

for in our depths we know so well

that the tears in November

are not just for someone else.

                                   Peter Millar, Edinburgh, 1^st November 2013.