Here's to a cup worth drinking

What can one add to the words and spiritual thoughts of Henri Nouwen?
I re-read his book “Can you drink the cup?” yesterday and I was moved deeply by his spiritual perception and knowledge of he human soul. What I appreciated most was the call to drink our life’s sorrows and joys to the bottom of the cup. Through inner reflection to decipher our identity, through fellowship with those we trust with our deepest life issues and the ability to act out our call and nothing else we drink life to the full. This book will make an excellent Lent series for congregations based around the question Jesus asked – “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” Matt 20:20-23.

Everyday theatrics

I am in one of those twilight moments in my ministry. The moments where one knows something new is about to dawn but you are not sure what it is going to be. Something strange starts to happen to you - the answers about yourself and God are not sufficient and there is the threat of breaking new ground spiritually. They are not comfortable moments, they normally shatter your impression of self and expose the true person beneath. We hide behind disguises of make believe, hoping others will be as impressed as we are with the image we portray of ourselves. Like all theatricals - the music, stage props and costumes wear thin and eventually date. The show is over and the in-between time is a time of waiting patiently, searching persistently, a looking out for new beginnings that will spark the new script, a script that’s matured and deepened its plot, its themes more poignant, its characters more round…..I look forward to opening night.

Another day in paradise

The beauty of Kwa-Zulu Natal where I live is a haunting combination of the sublime and the sacrificial. So many are watching it with eyes that reflect their status. The view is magnificent. Although starting to dry off for winter, the Mooi river winds its way along curvy banks with overhanging Willows. The sky is alive with birds of all nature. Crested eagles, Bokmakerie's, Bald Ibis, to name a few. The poverty still remains, the trails of which are corrugated homes scarcely 10 x 10. A rabbit runs across the road. The workers are getting home late as usual along dark roads with no lights. They wave as you dip your lights. The dust of the road leaves their eyes blind. The nano ipod needs charging. It is another day in paradise. Who's I don't know?

Break on through to the other side

The story in John 21:1-19, reminds me of a fishing adventure my brother-in-law went on off the coast of Cape Town. He was fishing for Yellowfin Tuna on the one side of the boat whilst another tourist was swimming behind the boat in the hope of becoming one with the sharks. Some people I will never understand. Similarly, the disciples are catching fish on the one side of the boat whilst Peter is going for a swim on the other. Not something one would ordinarily do. There is no walking on water, Peter just jumps into the “sea.” I also find it quite amusing. Peter puts his clothes on before he swims, usually we take our clothes off before we swim. What is also of interest is that these seasoned fishermen are prepared to listen to a strangers voice giving them instruction. I don’t think I would too readily listen to somebody I did not recognize hollowing instructions from the sideline. I remember fishing for bass in a small dam in the Drakensburg when a man walked by and started giving me endless instructions on how I should be fishing. My response was not to go and have breakfast with the guy. I wanted to rather hit him over the head with my fishing rod. These dispirited disciples are prepared to change course and direction with just the slightest whisper of a chance of catching fish. We can read our bibles and go over the same verses for years without the slightest hint of changing our course of direction. These disciples were prepared to change their long learned habits and try another approach. Maybe they had fished that side and had caught nothing? How many times do we hear the cliché, ‘but we have tried that before and it didn’t work.’ Maybe it was not the time to fish that side yet. They would do the other side only once they had fished this side for half an hour. How often are we so caught up in our routines of things that we miss out on life because it was not the time to do it. I was talking to my sister the other day and I was impressed to here her say, “when my teenage daughter’s want to talk to me, I drop everything I am doing and listen. At times it is very frustrating, they want to talk at the most inconvenient moments, but our relationship and their future is of utmost importance.” Routines are life-giving and life-destroying. They keep our life from falling apart, help us steadily work towards goals, but if not checked and made flexible, can rob us of opportunities that capture new forms life.

Today’s potential

There is great hope in knowing that every ounce of work I do for God I sow potential life. Who knows what the plant will turn out like? That is not in my domain but in the one who formed it all. What farmer knows the outcome of a crop she sows day and night into upturned soil? The work is divine. The drudgery, a divine goal in itself and not a means to an end. Too often it is seen as the slog before the results, the part that must be done, the chore in order to achieve - but who knows maybe it will result in failure. Who cares about the results when you know the potential of the seed. All people are worth the effort. All work done for the glory of the Creator is worth the effort. Not one seed we hold is without hope, all have the budding joy of becoming. Help us plant just because it has potential, not because we can predict its future.