LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this reflection during an all-age service. The service included children and adults with learning difficulties.
The readings for the day were Psalm 16:1-2,5-11 and Galatians 5:1,13-25. I began with an extract from a poem:
joy is supposed to slither through
the cracks of your imperfect lifethat’s how joy works
you cannot truly invite her
you can only be ready when she appears
and hug her with meaningbecause in this very moment
joy chose you
I don’t know whether the poet Donna Ashworth, who wrote these words, knows Psalm 16. She shares the psalm’s insight into the gift of joy. The psalm says:
You always show me the path of life.
You will fill me with joy when I am with you.
You will make me happy forever at your right hand.– Psalm 16:8-9,11
The psalm says God has chosen us, and invites us to choose, to live in ‘the path of life’. There we will be full of joy in God’s presence, with the promise of even greater joy beyond this life.
The psalm show how trusting God helps us. It speaks of the safety and security which come from God’s goodness. The writer makes a promise to God, who blesses him with joy. The psalm says that even in times of trouble, God can guide us and bring us joy.
Here’s someone who showed how God can guide us and bring us joy, even in times of trouble. St Ignatius was a soldier in Spain around 500 years ago. He was hit by a cannonball during a battle and suffered serious injuries to his legs. This meant he couldn’t be a soldier any more. As he lay in bed recovering, he didn’t have a TV or a tablet to pass the time. He had only books on the lives of Jesus and the saints. What he read moved him deeply and filled him with the desire to serve God. As he recovered, he learned to pay attention to God at work in his life. Noticing and responding to God in daily life (even parts that weren’t expected, like being hit by a cannonball) became the inspiration for his famous book, the Spiritual Exercises. Just as he did military exercises as a soldier, as a Christian he used spiritual exercises to guide others in following Jesus.
The Spiritual Exercises starts with a prayer about God’s love for us and how we respond to God’s love. It begins:
‘The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit.’
– First Principle & Foundation, Ignatius of Loyola, trans. David Fleming, SJ.
St. Ignatius doesn’t say we need to ignore bad and sad things and only focus on the good and happy things in the world. He challenges us to bring them all to God, and trust that God is in all things. God cares about all of our lives and all of our world.
St. Ignatius teaches how we can know, love and follow God better. He shows how by imagining ourselves in Gospel stories, to learn to live in the ways Jesus lived and loved. He introduces us to Jesus as someone we can be with. Whether we need to laugh or cry, Jesus is a friend who can share in our sadness and our gladness.
I wonder:
- Is this an image of Jesus you recognise?
- Why, or why not?
Many people have an image of Jesus that is strict, serious, even off-putting. Many pictures of Jesus show him like that. But Jesus was fully human like us, so that can’t be the whole picture, can it?
Here’s a joyful image of Jesus I found:
- Have you seen one like it before?
- How do you feel about it?
- Does it excite you, or trouble you?
- Why?
I invite you to notice how you feel about this picture. Don’t judge it. Maybe talk to Jesus about it next time you pray, especially if you were surprised by it.
The image has become known as ‘Laughing Jesus’. It was one of four pictures of Jesus created around fifty years ago. The others showed more serious sides of Jesus.
The artist called this image Christ, Liberator.
- What do you think of that name?
- Do you find this image of Jesus liberating?
- Why, or why not?
Our second reading today talks about liberation. It comes from St Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, in what we now call Turkey. He writes that:
‘Christ has set us free to enjoy our freedom. So remain strong in the faith. Don’t let the chains of slavery hold you again.’
– Galatians 5:1
The Galatians are divided. They are fighting over what it means to follow Jesus. They are also debating whether to hold on to the old ways their ancestors have lived for generations.
Paul offers a clear choice between bad and good ways of behaving. He shows us where we will find the gifts and energy we need. These help us behave in ways that build us and others up in faith. This leads to making our churches and communities places of kindness.
Paul writes that our liberation, our freedom, depends on trusting Jesus. But is there is a contradiction in the way Paul describes the freedom Jesus gives us?
We are not slaves, he says, but we are not free to do whatever we want. So what is going on here?
For a moment, I want you to imagine having a puppy.
Or maybe you’ve had a puppy? Can remember what it was like?
The puppy seems small, helpless, innocent at first. Yet as it grows, it finds the freedom to do what it wants. It digs up the garden, chews everything, and cries until you let it sleep on your bed. It always wants your attention.
As the puppy’s owner, it is our job to teach it to behave well. Without training, the dog could do whatever it wanted, but this isn’t good for the puppy (or for us!)
This is like us, and the freedom God has given us. When we follow God, by Jesus’ example, we choose to use our freedom wisely and stick to God’s ‘training’. Just because we have total freedom and can do whatever we want doesn’t mean this would bring us joy. Being guided by the Holy Spirit to stick to God’s ‘training’ is good for us – and others too.
We have a different kind of freedom. Paul says the faithful life, death, and resurrection of Jesus has given us freedom. This freedom allows us to live as Jesus did, in love for our neighbours.
Notice that Jesus says ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ He does not say to love them more than yourself or less than yourself. He says ‘as you love yourself.’ This means not doing anything to harm others, or ourselves. Jesus shows us how much God loves us, each and every one of us. It is good to trust that at times when we find it hard to love each other, and ourselves. Living as Jesus lived gives us the freedom to be kind. We can be kind to ourselves, to people we know, to strangers, and to our world.
Paul encourages us to live by the Spirit, and to share the good fruit that the Spirit gives. Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, and so is joy. Jesus has given us freedom to serve others and show kindness to all we meet. As we do this, we find joy as she ‘slithers through the cracks of our imperfect lives’.
Recent comments