Pray Today for the U.K.

Many people will be commenting, criticising, cursing and stirring strong feelings and opinions today. Recent events show our nation is divided, and whatever course of action is taken in Parliament over the next weeks is unlikely to heal those divisions. Politics and faith cannot be separated without loss of integrity; for every ten people there will be 20 different opinions. Political crisis is a reality. As Christians, we are called to pray for our nation: I hope those of you who are praying people will join in the prayer that God will grant WISDOM and humility to all those in authority. It is not about praying for “our side” of the debate, or against those who honestly think differently. It is about seeking God’s guidance and best purpose, that His will may be done on earth.

Words of wisdom from the Bible:
Proverbs 2:1-8 – My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding- indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

If this strikes a chord with you, please share this call to prayer. Thank you.

A blessing prayer for you

Beauty and Danger

Some of the most beautiful creatures are also among the most dangerous. Consider the sheer elegance of the big cats, sheer bulk of an elephant, or the toxicity of jewel-coloured tree-frogs. The speed with which this cheetah moved from dozing to alertness was impressive. Lunch was on the way and it would be unwise to get in the cheetah’s way!

Beauty conceals threats. Even the most lovely landscapes contain insects or reptiles that can hurt or kill. It isn’t a safe world. Domesticated animals are not entirely safe either. Come between a cow and calf and you will see how quickly a placid slow-moover can turn testy.

The most dangerous creature is humankind. We are the most inventive, most creative, exploitative, most co-operative & competitive tool-using killers ever. Humans can be casually cruel- and maliciously vicious.

Unsurprisingly the Bible contains praise for the beauty: and wisdom for the trials. One repeated theme is the promise of God’s protective justice. In particular the Psalms have songs that deal with perils, persecutions and promises. Psalm 121 is only short but it makes a great prayer when the dangers overwhelm the beauties.

If your world is not safe right now, there is only one sensible action. Reach out and trust God; commit your path to Him and look for His protection.

Psalm 121:1-8 (NLT)
I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Text & photograph Copyright (c) 2018 Richard Starling. Bible verses from New Living Translation (2nd Ed.)

Distorted Reflections

Water makes reflections that make beautiful photographs. I was idly sipping tea and photographing the birds feeding their youngsters. Here’s a blue tit and fledgling. Cute!

As well as food, the birds appreciate clean water. So there is a bird bath with a shallow dish for bathing and drinking. The bird bath has the famous quote about being “nearer to God in a garden.” (Often true!)

A flash of bright green in the corner of my eye- I looked round to see that the breeze was fluttering leaves so they reflected from the water. Brilliant sunlight shone through the leaves, so the reflection glowed with vivid colour.

There is an interesting thing about trying to photograph reflections. Light waves distort the image. You can either focus on the stone OR try to focus on the “apparent” image of the leaf. These two are at different effective focal lengths. (Go and try it for yourself!) It is most noticeable when the reflected object is at close range.

End result- an “impression” of what the leaf looks like with a sharply focused stone bath; or a sharp focused leaf in a blurry out-of-focus birdbath. (You can get the same effect taking pictures of reflections in puddles- try it if you don’t believe me.)

On a bigger scale the effect isn’t as noticeable. Large scale reflections in landscapes benefit from the longer focal distances and the compression factors of lens apertures and depth-of-field. Sorry for the physics. Enjoy the picture below: early morning in Norway…

Norway25th_0489 — Norwegian Fjord near Olden

A similar effect is causing me some bother with new glasses. Variofocals are brilliant when they work well, but my new pair have to be completely re-made. I can’t read with them! There is no focal point that meets for both eyes at the same time. So they are being done again with changes to the gradation between near vision and long vision. I hope the second attempt will be better than the first attempt.

How do we “focus” on God? Paul talked about “seeing as in a poor mirror” but one day being able to see and be seen clearly (1 Corinthians 13 v12). So many things distort our understanding and vision of God. We form impressions, we see some things, we can interpret other things to help- but perfect vision eludes. The Bible helps us to get the “big picture” – and sharing our faith, questions, and doubts with others is helpful.

Our clearest knowledge comes as we get to know Jesus better. An ancient prayer by St Richard of Chichester (who died in 1253) puts it beautifully. Pray it today if you wish:

Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which you have given us,
for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.
Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
Amen.

A Blessing for the Exhausted- by John Donohue

When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,

Time takes on the strain until it breaks;

Then all the unattended stress falls in

On the mind like an endless, increasing weight,

The light in the mind becomes dim.

Things you could take in your stride before

Now become laboursome events of will.

Weariness invades your spirit.

Gravity begins falling inside you,

Dragging down every bone.

The tide you never valued has gone out.

And you are marooned on unsure ground.

Something within you has closed down;

And you cannot push yourself back to life.

You have been forced to enter empty time.

The desire that drove you has relinquished.

There is nothing else to do now but rest

And patiently learn to receive the self

You have forsaken for the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken

And sadness take over like listless weather.

The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have traveled too fast over false ground;

Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up

To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain

When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,

Taking time to open the well of colour

That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.

Learn to linger around someone of ease

Who feels they have all the time in the world.

by John Donohue (c)

Trusted by a Robin

Gaining the trust of a wild creature takes time and patience. I am partially responsible for the feeding of a family of robins, a brood of blue tits, a gather of great tits, a pair of blackbirds (+ chicks in nest) and a few others- sparrows and warblers- who attend the food dispensary at irregular times. Having started, I cannot stop feeding them- at least until all broods have disbanded.

This robin is the tamest of them all. It’s cupboard love, I know, but he is willing to get close so he gets first dibs on the suet sticks and mealworms. His partner sometimes arrives too, but I think she is still on the nest for most of the time. I hope the fledglings will pop in for breakfast in due course.

Having started, I cannot stop… to be honest, I don’t want to stop! I love seeing the birds, and hearing their songs, and want to encourage the natural wildlife of my patch of creation. The trees nearby offer shelter to squirrels, woodpeckers, and all sorts. Today I saw Common Blue butterflies- so small and pretty- and as the sun sank lower martins and swifts were performing aerial ballet as they trimmed the local insect population ( with squeals of delight).

I sometimes wonder why I have such an interest in wild life. My parents certainly helped, and Grandad Clark, a nurseryman who grew soft fruits and could identify every bird by song. Then I was given a book when I was still quite young: “Marvels and Mysteries of our Animal World” published by Reader’s Digest in 1964. I still have and read it. A gift that keeps on giving! It was one of the reasons I took up photography as a hobby: I wanted to be able to take great pictures of all creatures great and small.

Nature gives pleasure and provides wonder. So much variety, so much beauty, so many complex questions we cannot answer. So much to enjoy, so much to learn.

“Were you there when I made the world? If you know so much, tell me about it …” Job 38 v4 (Good News Bible)

The book of Genesis tells us that humankind has a responsibility to care for Creation: we are to be stewards of God’s Earth. We don’t do that too well. Every little contribution helps. Every kindness matters. And I believe that God notices and cares about what we do.

Be grateful. Be careful. Be thankful- and our actions will be a prayer and an act of praise.

Look more closely

What do you see? Look again, look more closely.

The colours are unusual- oranges and pinks are not the most comfortable of companions. Tortoiseshell butterflies are beautifully coloured and patterned, but the background pink is quite overwhelming (in my opinion, anyway). What grabs your attention?

Have you seen the bee yet?

Busily being a bee, hardly noticed, put in the shade by the competing colours of butterfly and sedum flowers, yet extremely important.

Here’s a lesson about really looking. We are attracted by the obvious, the showy, the spectacular. The colours of plant and butterfly are intended to attract attention. Bees are really not spectacular, especially these honeybees, but they are hugely functional for pollination and producing honey.

Question: do we approach other parts of life by seeing the obvious and not looking further? Forming our impressions of people- the pretty and handsome get attention. The good qualities of others may not be obvious unless we take time and pay attention.

Look. See. Pray. Will you look more closely, pay attention to the important not just the spectacular, and pray for the whole of life?

When reading the Bible, will you look at the details and the less well-known passages? They have much to teach us about God.

Lord, give us the patience to look beyond the obvious, and to find love and truth and worth wherever it may be found. Amen.

(Photo (c) Richard Starling, 2018)

Multi-tasking… and Pentecost

Buzz word multi-tasking. (Ewe can do it, Mum! Quickest conversion of grass to milk by any sheep, ever. Poor ewe.)

It’s a multi-tasking weekend. Collected relative from hospital, home for observation after she had dental surgery under general anaesthetic. We both survived, so far. Went to Sainsburys… strangely quiet. Cup Final day and a wedding happening somewhere.

Finished preparing sermon for preaching tomorrow morning- feeling thoughtful about Paul’s words to the Philippians. Fixed Flymo. Used Flymo. Trimmed strimmer. Used strimmer. Chomped salad. Wished for steak and kidney pudding.

Commented on Royal wedding sermon, wondered if I could just play that at church… Made FB comments on a couple of good shaggy dog jokes I posted earlier… wondered if Thor, the neighbour’s cat, liked said jokes. He put nose in the air and went home for tea.

Wonder how the disciples of Jesus felt on the day before Pentecost. I expect they were busy, multi-tasking, doing ordinary life stuff and hiding away in case Pilate or Caiaphas got stroppy.

They agreed to meet for worship, doing the waiting Jesus had insisted on… “I wonder if anything special will happen at church, Thomas?” … “Doubt it, Andrew…”

What if Holy Spirit power turns up… Life might get exciting. “Doubt it,” said Thomas.

A prayer for Pentecost:

Almighty and Sovereign God, we need some Holy Spirit presence and power if we are to do what Jesus told us to do. Churches all round the world will be celebrating Pentecost.

Please be there in our worship; equip us to serve, to preach, to love, to witness, to care, to pray & praise. Fill us with the unimaginable gift of grace, just as you did with Peter, Thomas and the rest. Give us boldness as Your Spirit fills us, so the world may hear Good News in their own language and culture. By Your power, touch the heart of everyone who heard Bishop Michael Curry proclaim Love- let Love live in them, transform them, and transform us too.

Lord, renew our minds by Your Spirit. Help us to think, act, and speak like Jesus. Help to respond as living sacrifices, giving up our multi-tasking lives to be single-minded, holy, and full of compassion and grace. May Pentecost power and presence make us anew- to live for Your glory, with eternal hope and confident assurance, even when the doubts creep in.

Jesus, send us in the power of Your Spirit, to be Good News in the world so that Your Kingdom comes, just as You promised.
Amen.

Photo & words (c) Richard Starling

Be Gentle

If only “gentleness” could be taken for granted. Headlines rarely mention being gentle. The “go-getters” and the back-stabbers, the driven and ambitious ones are held out as role models. Unspectacular lives lived by ordinary people are not deemed newsworthy. That’s wrong. Celebrity envy is a symptom of an aggressive materialism. I think we are missing a trick…

Some good friends visited at the weekend, and gave us a beautiful potted geranium.

I went into the garden this afternoon to photograph a hairy caterpillar I’d seen. By the time I grabbed my camera and arrived at its last location, the caterpillar had disappeared. So, rather than waste opportunities, I went looking and found the geranium: spectacular colour and delicate form, with a collection of new blooms breaking out of protective covers and beginning to flourish. So delicate, so easily bruised.

Using a macro lens, I very gently set up the picture. Fresh new life. Worthy of notice, even of contemplation. Here ’tis.

Working very close to the buds risks damage to them if the photographer hurries or pushes in too carelessly.

Precision focussing is essential to capture the ruffled head of the subject. Doing the job properly, the flower is preserved for posterity AND has a destiny of sheer beauty as it opens to let the deep inner colour dazzle the world. I rather think that God expects us to be gentle with creation. I also suspect He is gentle with us, encouraging growth so we display beauty to the world.

These flowers are not celebrities, fashionable or trendy. But they’re GORGEOUS.

Few of us are celebrities. We do have beauty to share- if others treat us gently, with dignity, respect and compassion. Imagine the impact on the world if we were all treated with gentleness- and extended gentleness to others in our turn.

Contemplate this geranium’s splendour and potential. Be aware of the Giver of beauty. Consider the attitude we show to others. Someone once said the measure of a person is how they treat those who are not wealthy, influential or powerful. St Paul told his protege Titus to teach believers to live peaceably and respectfully: Titus 3:1-2
Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

Be gentle. Offer those small acts of generosity and kindness that allow others to blossom. Be willing to be different, to stand out from the crowd, to go against the harsh shallowness of a selfish culture. Be gentle. Be… like Jesus.

Photographs & text (c) Richard Starling, 2018

Forever Grateful

Cycling round the area is great for exercise, and for seeing fresh views and local wildlife. It’s also a good way to smile and exchange good wishes with those I pass. Two days this week have been glorious. (The less said about Wednesday the better.)

As I cycled I started singing. Everything I saw made me grateful to God and naturally, without deliberate intention, I began to praise the Lord with these words: “For all You are, and all You’ve done, I’m forever grateful.”

Here are more words shaped in a prayer.

For all the things I’ve seen this week, I’m forever grateful. Those grebes and the curlew, swallows and swans, a kestrel hanging in the sky- all offer praise in their own way.

I’m grateful for bluebells, and for the blackthorn’s white bliss. For warblers and skylarks singing their hymns, and the robins and blackbird fluting sheer joy.

Reeds sigh and rustle as ducks do their thing, with eight balls of fluff who scurry and swim. There is that cormorant hanging out to dry, with terns taking turns at posting themselves.

All these I have seen, and their witness is strong. This makes me forever grateful.

Beyond and above, cumuli process across azure fields and share their convection; and the sun pours down warmth which makes the world glow. Here is some land devoted to nature, useless for buildings or harvested crop. Some see only wilderness here, and some come for quiet: whatever the reason for visiting here, eyes tuned to glory will gaze upon God.

Lord, You are so much more than “just” what you’ve done! It’s all that You ARE that calls for my love. Creation’s splendour signposts Your glory, and grace highlights grace-notes in salvation’s Song. I give You my worship for all that You made, and all that You are.

To think that Jesus trod down the grass, making paths through the wilderness- so we could come home. Those feet, those hands, the thorn-stricken Lamb, who laid down His life- so we could come home. Creation, redemption, sustaining a world where harmony flounders while angels sing hope. God acts out of Love to show us the Way, the way to come home- forever grateful.

As water mirrors the blue sky-vaults above, may our face reflect the Giver of Love. Amen.

In sunlit enjoyment, or rain-sodden squall, may we remember our Three-in-One hero – who gave of Himself in created wonder, then took on the price of ransom as well.

This is who You are- and I will be FOREVER grateful.