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Apologies that our musings were not sent out as usual from Mon. to Wed. due to illness - here are those three reflections. Tomorrow, Thursday April 1, is our final musing for the season.
Monday March 29
Antrum Platonicum (The Cave of Plato) Source: The British Museum
Isaiah 42:1-9

42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

I recall, many years ago, watching Eddie Izzard’s stand-up comedy. Izzard joked about house arrest, and how it seems like a rather pleasant idea. You get to stay at home and not have to do anything, they bring you your food, you might even be allowed to watch as much TV and movies as you like. Fast forward to 2021, and that joke is not so funny. The pandemic has been a bit like a house arrest for many of us – unable to leave our homes except to shop for essential items or exercise; we have come to learn that this is a bitter ordeal.

Today’s passage must have felt wonderful to the people who originally heard it: the kingless, exiled people of Judah. God has chosen a servant who will deliver justice to the nations, open the eyes of the blind and bring the prisoners out of captivity.

This figure of the servant can, of course, be easily identified with Jesus Christ and the prophets. But can the servant figure be identified with a community of people too? What if this servant is also the church, God’s people? What if this figure is addressed to you?

All of us are living in some form of exile currently – exile from family and friends and the comfort that they bring us, from the simple pleasures of interpersonal contact. Many of us are held captive by constant fears and anxieties – for our own health, for that of our loved ones, for our livelihoods and sanity. I cannot explain why these terrible ordeals happen. But usually, I think, there are lessons that can be learnt as we go through them.

This pandemic, like all others, will end; even though no one has a clue as to when exactly. When you come out of this house arrest, what would you have learnt during that time? Could the lessons enable you, in any way, to better partake in that duty which God has called on his servant to do: to open the blind eyes and to lead them that sit in darkness out of the prison house?

- Gunn Wongsuwan

Tuesday March 30
Fair-weather faith is pleasant, like fair-weather sailing. Blue sky, gentle sea, warm breeze. Time to fluff out the sails, tie off the lines, and enjoy the sparkle and the season. Most of us have known plenty of such days in our lives, and are grateful for them. Our faith life reflects them. God is Good, Jesus loves us, the community is pleasant, and the routine is pleasing.

But this is Holy Week, and heavier themes prevail. The Glorious Human, the long-awaited Instrument of God, is about to face all the corrupt and venal powers of the earth. He too has been reported to have known sunshine days and fair seas. That mystical “Galilean Summer” that scholars imagine. People have loved him, and followed him. There has been joy in healing, and warmth in belonging. The depressed community has risen to life under his touch. But how shall faith deal with us now?

Before we lay life down, we shall know the darkness of days. They are bound to come. Aging, illness, expulsion from the work-force, growing social invisibility, the death of loved ones, and our own demise. Then we shall see if faith is only for times of sunshine. It is reported that many who face the wall of terrors actually find a nearness of strength and companionship that appeared at no other time before. It is almost as if we are being companioned by forces that step forward only when essential and timely. A gift to be graciously revealed. More than once, I have heard people in dire straits confess an overwhelming sense of being blessed. It was a surprise to them, and they basked in it.

Let us enjoy the sunshine days. There are the gems of our life. And let us never fear the days of storm and trouble. They too find us in a stout ship, a good captain, and enough lines and lifeboats to bring us home to a desired harbour. There is much grace ahead.



The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Sinclair,
Minister Emeritus.
Wednesday March 31

Milton wrote that  genuine liberty is obtained through self-discipline rather than the self-indulgence that inevitably leads to tyranny from within. We rarely see it practiced today. George Herbert linked this idea to Lent. 

He welcomes Lent as a time for self-discipline:
 

Welcome dear feast of Lent: who loves not thee,

He loves not Temperance, or Authority,

But is composed of passion*.

The Scriptures bid us fast; the Church says, now:

Give to your Mother**, what you would allow

To every Corporation.

 

It's true, we cannot reach Christ's fortieth day;

Yet to go part of that religious way,

Is better than to rest:

We cannot reach our Savior's purity;

Yet are bid, Be holy ev'n as he.

In both let 's do our best.

 

Yet, Lord, instruct us to improve our fast

By starving sin and taking such repast

As may our faults control:

That ev'ry man may revel at his door,

Not in his parlor; banqueting the poor,

And among those his soul.

*emotion
**God

(excerpt from The Temple, 1633)
 

- William Wright

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