Mothering God

Continuing to share some extracts from my forthcoming book, Dwelling in the Psalms, I'm looking today at Psalm 131.  

The psalms are shot through with powerful imagery, some of it brutal, much of it angry, and some of it beautifully tender, as in this psalm:

Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don't concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its 
     mother's milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
                                                                                 Ps. 131:1-2 NLT

It’s hard to think of a more peaceful picture than the image of a young child quietly resting in its mother’s arms. In the early days of life, a baby cries loudly and often for its mother’s milk; it regularly needs the nourishment, the comfort and the reassurance that suckling at the breast gives. In time, the baby grows beyond that stage of its development and anxious crying becomes replaced by a calmer contentment. This simple psalm gives a picture of that quiet contentment; an image of a child who feels safe and satisfied, resting in the presence of one in whom they have absolute trust. They are secure in the arms of one who only has their best interests at heart. It’s a beautiful illustration of the peace and confidence that God wants each of us, his children, to have in him. As Mother Julian famously said, ‘All will be well, and all manner of things shall be well’.

Mothering God,

thank you

for your tender care;

thank you

that in your presence

I am always and forever

safe.

Teach me 

each day

to live as your child,

to rest in your arms

and to let you

hold me through life.

And should I be afraid,

Lord,

quieten my soul.

Amen

God of my restless nights

Twelve months ago, I spent 150 days pondering and praying with the psalms.  It was interesting, uplifting, inspiring and many times downright frustrating.  How exactly do we relate today to psalms which speak of vicious snarling dogs and fierce enemies, of people scavenging for bones and scowling like coyotes?  It's not easy, is it.  These graphic images in Psalm 59 were written by David as he was being hunted down; they were a plea for help from a man with a price on his head.

Most of us aren't in that situation.  But we all sometimes have fears and worries which can literally haunt us.  When we begin to read the psalm from that perspective we can begin to see how it might speak to us personally.

This is my short reflection based on that psalm, from my new book, 'Dwelling in the Psalms':

Night time. Often the hours when difficulties trouble us most.  Twice in this psalm we read of David's enemies: 'They come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.'  The repetition of this verse gives emphasis to its importance. Who amongst us has not wrestled through sleeplessness as our thoughts have churned relentlessly over fears and problems.  

The context of this psalm is different.  David was physically under attack, but the psalm can nevertheless speak into our own individual fears, the things which keep us awake at night. It reads like a psalm of anger, but the reality is it’s a psalm of faith: three times David speaks of God as his refuge and his tower of strength.  Like him, if we hang onto those words, 'But as for me, I will sing about your power', we can learn to sleep securely, leaving our fears with God, in simple trust.

and my prayer:

God of my restless nights,
God of my churning fears,
God of my racing heart,
protect me.

With your power, 

still me.

With your presence, 

fill me. 

And with your peace, 

indwell me.

With each new dawn 
and through 
the long hours of the night 
I choose to praise you.

Amen                                                                  You can pre-order the book here!

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A New Book - out soon!

I'm excited to share the news that my new book, Dwelling in the Psalms, will be available in a few weeks time.  

Sometimes the most unexpected promptings of God can prove to be the most powerful.  Holding a proof copy of my latest book in my hands, I can hardly believe that I wrote it.  It emerged during my convalescence from major surgery as I meditated with a psalm a day.  And I couldn't be more pleased with it.

"This book evolved. I didn’t set out to write it. It wrote me. It wove its way into my heart quietly, subtly, insistently. Once it started to emerge, it wouldn’t let me go."

Comprising 150 contemporary interpretations of the psalms, with accompanying reflections and prayers, it draws out the potentially healing context of the ancient texts.  It was a deeply healing journey for me as I wrote it and my prayer is that it may be the same for others as they read it.

I'll be sharing extracts in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, it's available for pre-order from the Kevin Mayhew website.

Enhancing your Easter worship

I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a magpie when it comes to collecting helpful quotations, images and poems.  Maria Kondo could have a field day decluttering my office.  It goes with the territory of being a retreat leader and a writer, I guess.  In my world, I find I can never have enough new and different resources; things which spark my imagination and bring new insights.  And I guess that's true for those of us who lead worship too.  Different perspectives are always helpful when we're opening up the scriptures.

So, if you're still looking out for poems or meditations to enhance your Easter services, I might have the answer. The Gift of a Cross is just such a resource.  With seventy meditations, following Jesus from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem through betrayal and crucifixion to death and resurrection, this will enable your listeners to explore the story of the cross from the inside out.

Copies are still available from here at the knockdown price of £3.50.  I'd love to send you a copy.

 
You can get a taste of my Easter meditations on my poetry page.  

 

     They hardly noticed
     the blood splashing red onto earth
     as the dice
     rolled, tumbled
     and bounced over dusty ground;
     the Christ
     haemorrhaging
     above them:
                   Extract from 'Jocular Game'


     Have a truly blessed Easter.

 

Where would I have stood?

Anam Cara, on their album 'Peace and the Spirit' have a beautiful song entitled, 'Where would I have stood?'.  It's a good question to ask ourselves and it enables us to see the gospel stories through a different lens.  What was it like to be there?  How might I have reacted?

The stories become so familiar that we easily forget that Peter, Mary, Judas and all the others where in so many ways just like us, living alongside Jesus and yet nevertheless often struggling to make sense of his teachings.  They made mistakes like us, felt shame and joy like us, often found it hard to understand what was going on, frequently questioned what Jesus was doing.

If we could speak to them today how might they tell their story?  Many of the reflections in my book, The Gift of the Cross, attempt to answer that question.  If you'd like to look at the Passion narratives from a different perspective, you can get a copy of the book here.  For a limited time, it's on special offer at £3.50, with free postage.  I'd love to let you have a copy - especially today: World Book Day.

 

 An extract from 'The Rooster'  ...

         No, no Master,

       not I:

       I'll never deny you.

       You'll always have my loyalty.

 

       He'd turned my life around, you see,

       this man.

       I used to be a fisherman:

       a hard life, that was.

       And now here I was

       following him   ...  ..

For an even more immersive experience of being face to face with Jesus, you might like to try meditating with my Pathways to Healing CD, available on my shop page.
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Pivotal Moment

'Sacrifice' by Lindsey Attwood

 

            I've got

            the strongest feeling

            in my bones

            that this

            is a pivotal moment in history

                                  ...   ...

                                           Extract from 'Insight'

 

We're generally only aware of pivotal moments, moments in the past which made a significant difference to the future, after the event.  Jesus' death on the cross was surely the supreme pivotal moment, the 'hinge point of history', as Max Lucado describes it.  It was the event which brought fulfilment to Jesus's words that he had come to "set the people free" (Luke 4:18) - by enabling them to be forgiven from all that crippled them; guilt, remorse, shame, everything!

What a gift!  What a pivotal moment!  
 

the bright hot glow of flaming torches

fuelling the atmosphere of tension

but, the agony of the earlier Gethsemane moments
gone,

Jesus reflected
only calm acceptance:

his coming death

his very reason for living.               Extract from 'Arrest'

 

Jesus struggled with his calling at Gethsemane (and who wouldn't have done?) but he ultimately faced the cross with calm acceptance.  But how hard it can be for us to accept what Jesus has done for us - and to live into the freedom of forgiveness and new life.

How pivotal Calvary is for our own lives depends to a large extent on how deeply we allow ourselves to engage with the reality of all that it involved.  Imagining ourselves inside the story, as if we were actually there, can be extremely powerful and the meditations in 'The Gift of a Cross' could act as a springboard to help you to do that.  If you haven't picked up a copy yet, it's available here.  I've reduced the price to £3.50 because I'd love you to be blessed by it.
 
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Special Offer for Lent

 

Are you  ...  wondering how to journey prayerfully through Lent?  ...  hoping to have a fresh look at the Easter story?  ...  wondering what it was like to be there, alongside Jesus, in those days leading up to his death?  ...  looking for new resources for this Eastertide?  ...   wanting to buy someone a meaningful Easter gift?

 

Look no further.

 

I'm pleased to make available my Easter book, The Gift of a Cross, at half the usual price and with free postage.

 

It's available here at the special knock-down price of £3.50.

 

Here's a taste of the contents ...

 

                   And heaven

                   held its breath.

 

                   A living, human cross

                   hung heavy

                   at the still, mute

                   turning-point of history

                                           ...   ...

                                           Extract from 'And Heaven Held Its Breath'

 

Where else can you buy seventy meditations for not much more than the price of a cup of coffee?

 

Go on  ...  treat yourself this Easter!

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