Author: Jonnyfun.E

Now retired, and enjoying making music and writing. Living in Gloucester, historically an important port on the river Severn, and situated with The Forest of Dean and the Brecon Beacons to the west, and the beautiful Cotswolds to the east.
Bible · Political · suffering · World Affairs

The Blackbird, Squirrel And Me

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Having been inactive for a while due to a long lasting heavy cold, and Christmas celebrations, I went out for a run today.

I was thinking about the practice of ‘Terra Divina’, and looking around me as I ran. The first thing I noticed was the litter, but I didn’t feel like a meditation on waste; then I looked up at the sky – grey and cold; nothing there that inspired me.

I ran on. As I rounded a corner I saw a blackbird, pecking for food on the ground. I stopped and watched for a while, and as I watched, a squirrel scampered up a tree nearby and then leapt from one branch to another, stopped, and looked at me. (Or, at least, it seemed like it was looking at me). After a moment, it carried on climbing and out of sight.

I paused and thought – both the blackbird and the squirrel are simply being themselves. That’s what they do. They can do no other than be a blackbird, or a squirrel.

For us, it’s a lot more complicated. We often try to be something else, or are forced by our circumstances to be something other than who we really are.

I had started the day reading a few verses from Mark’s Gospel, where Jesus crosses over into Gentile territory and meets a man possessed by demons. Jesus casts out the demons, and the man is described as once more being ‘in his right mind.’ (Mark chapter 5)

It feels to me like this is what we all want, and are hopefully moving towards – to be free of all that tries to drag us away from who we are, and become ourselves, wholly, completely.

It can then be a personal thing, but in the context of the passage from Mark’s Gospel it can be about something wider. In the account of the Demon possessed man, we learn that he is called ‘Legion’, and that the territory where he lives is not only Gentile land, but is the furthest extent eastwards of the Roman Empire.

There’s something much deeper going on than a healing miracle. Jesus has already been in conflict with the religious authorities – who were very powerful in the community; he now enters the region where Rome rules, and in the healing of the demon possessed man he announces that the kingdom of God is stronger than, and of a very different nature to the Roman Empire.

The man is a stand in for Israel; the ‘Legion’ of demons represents the might of Rome. The command that Jesus speaks to cast out the demons is the word that a Roman officer would use to command a soldier. The signs are all there. Jesus’ mission is not only to help people be ‘in their right minds’, it’s also to restore to Israel a way of living that is truly, genuinely who they are called to be.

As I reflect on this whole question of the things that prevent us from flourishing and being truly ourselves, I’m thinking about the situation in Gaza and how the imprisoned population of that strip of land have been unable to live freely for years. Blockaded with little access to the outside world.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it feels like Gaza and the West Bank are like first century Palestine; like the demon possessed man. While Israel is a stand in for first century Rome – the occupying force, the presence that needs exorcising in order for the Palestinian people to be once more ‘in their right mind.’

May we all recognise the things that prevent us from being who we are, and experience more freedom, day by day.

–

Creativity, · music · Prayer

The Practice Of Close Up

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The practice is a little bit like something I’ve written about before – Street Wisdom – However, this is a little different with some subtle changes that I find really helpful. The first stage is similar to Street Wisdom in that you are creating a space for something to catch your attention. Becoming aware of your environment or something in your environment. The idea is to receive this as a gift, although it may not be clear why this is a gift.

The second stage is like the ‘Meditatio’ stage in Lectio Divina. In this stage we begin to wonder why this particular thing has caught our attention and why it might be a gift to us. The thing that I noticed on my walk was Birdsong, and as I sat and wondered about the sounds I was hearing, it struck me how important music is to me, and how it has been a constant presence in my life.The truth that I received was something to do with the gift of music, and the way that music can tell stories and convey both joy and sorrow engaging us at a deep level.

The third stage is like ‘Oratio’ in Lectio Divina. This might be likened to prayer or yearning.Here we ask about the thing that’s caught our attention, and what a prayer might be in relation to that thing. For me on that day, it was to do with my own songwriting, and a prayer that I might be able to tell stories in such a way that people see themselves in the story; to write about human life in way that touch people. This is a high aim but in the end this is the power of music and storytelling and songwriting at its best.

The last stage is like ‘Contemplatio’ in Lectio Divina. It is simply sitting with the experience of attending to the thing that’s caught your attention. Allowing it to sink in. It’s something to do with allowing this experience to work in you.

To quote Iain Adams again – “some experience this as being held in a benevolent universe. In the ancient Jesus tradition, this is understood as being in the presence of the community of God, the Holy Trinity.

In this time of contemplation, there may be a hint of what the great English mystic, Julian of Norwich discovered through her own practice, that – “All will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”

Grace and peace.

Activism · Bible · faith · suffering · World Affairs

Reading Scripture From The Margins

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I walked to church this morning. it’s about a half an hour walk, and on the way I was thinking about stuff that’s going on in the world, especially Israel and Gaza. I had noted down this phrase few days ago that came into my mind. – ‘stories that no one should have known’ – there are so many stories that we’ve heard that no one should ever have to hear.

Then, in church, we had this reading from Isaiah chapter 41

14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you insect Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Now, I will make of you a threshing-sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

17 When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

I looked at these words. And God’s word to Israel where God says “you shall thresh the mountains and crush them … you shall make the hills like chaff … and the wind shall carry them away.”

It brought to mind the intent of the state of Israel, that their aim is to do away with Hamas completely, and similarly, the aim of Hamas to do away with the state of Israel completely. (I will make of you a threshing sledge)

Reading scripture is a dangerous business. I fear that there are those who might see justification in holy scripture for acts that are unholy.

I wonder if some might be tempted to see in these verses an encouragement to continue in acts of terror, or in raining down bombs on Gaza – and to see that as God‘s work ? I trust not.

The thing about the Bible, both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament is that they are written by and to people on the margins. These verses in Isaiah are written to the people of Israel who have been in captivity in Babylon. They are the ones without power. Context is – well, if not everything, then almost everything.

These words – all of them – are addressed to the poor and needy, those parched with thirst. And who are those people ? Not Hamas, and not the State of Israel, but citizens of Israel and Gaza and everywhere else where the might of military power is at work to terrorise and subdue.

The violence in the language is utterly human and borne out of powerlessness and suffering. But in the end, the aim is not destruction, which is easy to understand and all around us, but something that always seems out of our reach and yet is held out to us as hope.

These words, from earlier in the Isaiah prophecy give us a sense of what that might be – The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (Isaiah 11 verse 6)

God is God of the poor and the suffering. Hear our prayer for them.

music · Songwriting

What We Hesitate To Name

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On Holy Ground

Latest song … got the tune and everything. Just looking for an opportunity to sing it …

By the way … we started rehearsals with a band a couple of months ago – such a delight to be making music with friends. It looks like our first gig might be in February at the Folk Trail in Gloucester

(Friday 16th Feb upstairs at the Drunken Duck in Gloucester)

Anyway … here’s the song lyrics …

We left the house and climbed the hill
One morning in the early spring
We saw a flock of sheep just standing still
As if they saw something
And there we knew
That we had come to holy ground

A silent wonder like a flame
The very coolness of a stone
And it was like reminders of a dream
I wasn’t there alone
And then I knew
That I was there on holy ground

The night we sat and looked at stars
One constellation caught our eye
A sudden breath of wind that made us start
The colours of the sky
Both black and blue
The mystery of holy ground

Holy ground x3

The moments when we feel the touch
Of what we hesitate to name
(For fear that now we try to say too much)
Remind us why we came
For something new
That speaks to us of holy ground

I know more than I understand
I know more than I understand
I know more than I understand

I’m seeking holy ground
Remember holy ground
This might be holy ground

Holy ground x3

faith · God

When God’s Hand Is Guiding

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One thing that helps me to discern when my life is being shaped by the eternal Potter is the purpose of the pot as it starts to take shape. A pot is made to hold something, and to offer that something to others food or drink, perhaps, or flowers. When God’s hand is guiding the circumstances of my life, the result will be something for others, however small. God the Potter is God the Giver. To trust the process that leads to this result, I am asked to surrender my own limited thoughts and views of what should happen to the larger vision of the holy Potter, who knows what he is making and why.

From the December 10th episode of Margaret Silft’s Advent book: Lighted Windows.

Uncategorized

Without Doubt, He’s A Heretic

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Or is he ? Well, I guess some would say so …

I’ve been listening to Peter Rollins’ series on The Church of the Contradiction … fascinating stuff. Part of what he says is to do with different neuroses – the obsessive and the hysteric. I’m not going to try and go into detail on that – listen to the podcast if you want to follow it up. But it has triggered off some connected thoughts – at least I think they’re connected.

Much of what he’s saying is to do with our search for meaning – and the questions it poses.

Let’s say my whole life is consumed by eradicating poverty. It’s my one and only aim in life. Suppose I achieve that aim. (Or it may be that my aim is to become a millionaire, it doesn’t matter too much what it is)

Once I achieve that aim, I have nowhere to go. Life then becomes pointless. If my aim is to get everything in my life sorted, then it may be that in the process, I will lose the things that make me me.

We’re watching a TV series on Netflix called ‘Manifest.’ The premise is all around a group of people who receive ‘callings’ and the tension that arises between them and the rest of the population.

One of the characters is living with the guilt of having been responsible for the death of his younger sister. His life is absolutely defined by his guilt, and the inability to let that guilt go. His wife is also carrying guilt from her part in a car accident that resulted in the death of her best friend.

In a conversation with his wife, he says … regarding the letting go of the guilt

‘I don’t want to let it go, it’s the only thing I have. If I let go, there’s nothing to keep my connection to her.’

His wife answers – ‘Hang on to the guilt then. There’s no shame in that. I carry my guilt all over the place, it’s a part of us, and you can use that part anytime you want. Our pain can become our strength. Live by your truth.’

The obsessive wants everything all neat and tidy. Everything explained, everything sorted.

By contrast, the hysteric is able to live with incompleteness, with contradictions and uncertainties. With things unresolved.

At least, that’s how I understand it. More research needed.

For now …

Creativity, · Songwriting

A Weird Kind Of Enjoyment

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The enjoyment that comes from writers block is the knowledge that I’m not going to produce something poor. If I don’t write another song, no one, including myself, can be critical.

There’s nothing to evaluate. Because I need the next song to be good, I stop writing, and there’s a measure of satisfaction in being above criticism.

And … it may be that this understanding, this realisation, this self awareness might in itself change the relationship that I have with writing. ?

A Prayer For This Day · Song for Today · World Affairs

I Pray We Not Fear

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I’m posting today lyrics of a song by Bruce Cockburn. It’s from his latest album, ‘O Sun O Moon.’

I’ve been listening to this album non-stop since seeing him perform live at the Greenbelt Festival back in August.

It’s partly lament, but remembering also the good of which we are capable when we are at our best.

Truth, Justice, Mercy and Peace.

Us All

Here we are, faced with choice
Shutters and walls or open embrace
Like it or not, the human race
Is us all

History is what it is
Scars we inflict on each other don’t die
But slowly soak into the DNA
Of us all

Us all

I pray we not fear to love
I pray we be free of judgement and shame
Open the vein, let kindness rain
O’er us all

Us all
Us all

A Prayer For This Day · faith · Political · World Affairs

Caught up in this battle

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On the weekend of October 7/8, we saw the beginning of a terrifying situation unfolding in Israel/Palestine.

Caught up in this battle between Hamas extremists and the state of Israel are ordinary Palestinian people.

Since 1948 their freedoms have been eroded. They live with many restrictions on their daily lives, and the state of Israel has gradually taken over their land and demolished their houses.

Somehow, the inequality of the situation must be recognised.

The reality of the injustice must not be overlooked or confused with what is now going on with the war.

Meanwhile, context is everything.

It’s understandable to focus in the immediate aftermath on the families who have lost love ones, and to condemn attacks on civilians of both sides.

But at some point news reporting must give the context of what has been happening in Palestine since 1917 and the favouritism shown to The state of Israel.

Church · faith · Grace · Greenbelt Festival,

An Oaty Bar With Raisins

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I was in my Monday night discussion group this week, and we were catching up with Matt and Laura, who had been to the Greenbelt Festival for the first time. They had loved it, and had a particularly wonderful story to tell …

On the Sunday morning of Greenbelt, there’s a communion service which works by people gathering in groups of about 10, and collecting a bag which will have all you need for communion – some juice, bread and a napkin.

Matt and Laura were in a group without a bag – it seems they had all gone.

In a wonderful re-imagining of the feeding of the 5,000, someone in the group volunteered that they had an oaty bar that they were willing to share with the group.

So they passed it round and all took a piece of the oaty bar. To add to the delight of the whole situation, it turned out that the oaty bar had raisins in it, which meant that the wine was covered as well.

Well, how about that !