Can we possibly love like that?

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

I guess the question to ask here is: Can we really love one another as Jesus has loved us? He was/is God, we are not. So how can we love like Him? As much as Him? After all, He gave His life for us. Are we prepared to do the same?

Let us consider what is love. In Greek, one of the languages the Bible was written in, there are different words for love:

Philia (φιλία):

This word translates to "friendship" or "brotherly love". It's a dispassionate, virtuous love between equals. This is where we get the word bibliophile meaning lover of books, or Anglophile, lover of the English.

 

Eros (ἔρως):

This type of love is characterized by passion, desire, and often sexual attraction. It's the kind of love that might be felt between romantic partners. That's where we get the words erotic and erotica.

 

Storge (στοργή):

This refers to the love and affection between parents and children, a natural, instinctive bond. It's often described as a feeling of tenderness and warmth. 

 

Agape (ἀγάπη):

This is the highest form of love, often seen in a religious context, especially in Christianity. It's a selfless, unconditional love, the kind that God is believed to possess for humans. 

 

This is what Jesus is talking about here. Are we prepared to love one another, to care for one another, unconditionally, no matter what, to the point of giving our everything for someone else? A stranger? An enemy even. Remember, He said love your enemies as well as your neighbour. Are we prepared to go to that length?

 

Or is it perhaps that we are incapable of such love because we are not Divine as Christ was/is Divine?  

After His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples at Lake Tiberias. As they sat on the shore eating together, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.”

Three times Jesus asked if He was loved by Peter, and each time He said, “Take care of my sheep.” (John Chapter 21).

This is the kind of Agape love Jesus was speaking of. "Do you care for Me, (and my sheep/followers), so much that you'd be prepared to give up your life for Me and for them?"

Of course, Peter proved that he was prepared to go all the way to being crucified upside down for Christ.

We may not be asked to go to such extremes. But it should not stop us from trying to love one another as Jesus loved us.

Are you leaving Christianity too?

 

 

There is a trend in the world with more and more people who were at one time Christians turning their backs on their faith and walking away.

 

Are you one of them?

 

Secularism is on the rise. That much we know. But added to it, many once Christians are now also walking away. 

 

I cannot speak for where you live, but here in the UK, regular church attendance, that is once a week, all denominations combined, is about 5% of the population. You can hardly call us a Christian nation, although many would identify themselves as such when asked in the street. Often church attendance is limited to baptisms, weddings and funerals; and these are considered as social occasions and not religious in any context.

 

Many are Christians just because their parents were Christians, or because they were brought up this way, or because it is a badge they wear when asked what they are. Christians in name only but not in fact. Even if they do attend church.

 

Some, especially the young, identify themselves as not believing in anything. They may call themselves atheists, agnostics, non-believers or whatever; but what is significant is that they wear their particular badge with pride. It's as if to believe in a living God is an antiquated notion that is long past its day. 

Christians are leaving the faith for many reasons. Some because they have had an argument with their priest or vicar and have left the church not to return again.

 

Others because they have suffered a tragedy, illness or death in their lives and blame it all on God for not looking after them. (If my protector does not care about me why should I care about Him?)

 

Whilst others have had a dispute with family or loved ones and do not accept their relatives' faith and have as a result distanced themselves from them.

 

And others have become too busy with the pressures of life, or by the alluring pleasures it offers, that they have just neglected their faith never to return again.

 

Whatever their reasons, many Christians are leaving the faith yet believing, in all consciousness, that they are good people really, and destined to Heaven ... eventually ... for eternity.

 

But there's more ... 

 

Aside from Christians leaving Christianity; there's another growing trend in the world of not wanting to know about God or to learn about Him and follow Him. It's as if the whole world has put their hands on their ears and are shouting " La ... La ... La ... I don't want to know!"

 

Christianity is mocked, derided and banned in many lands and new generations are encouraged to distance themselves from it. Time was when you would find a Bible in every hotel room. Now many such establishments have removed the Bibles so as not to offend their clients. Churches and preachers are teaching a new watered-down type of Christianity where anything goes as long as you are happy, comfortable and not offending anyone.

 

"Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in Heaven wants them to do." Matthew 7:21.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my cat Rover. He's good at gambling.

 

Meet also Fifi my little puppy. I thought it was lost.

 

 

And meet my dog Tiger praying about the cost of living and so many pets to feed.

Meet my ...

 

Meet Fleurette, my dietician. She is also an amateur wrestler in her spare time.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my friend Ivor Tatt. A brain surgeon by profession.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my wife's bridesmaids at our wedding.

Meet my ...

 

Meet my cat Rex. He makes a good living as a masseur.

The Gate

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23. 

In the Gospel of John Chapter 10 Jesus says several times "I am the gate".

In Chapter 10 - 9 He says "I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture."

This seems strange at first. We can understand when Jesus says "I am the Way" or "I am the Good Shepherd"; but gate? What does all that mean?

To understand this we need to visualise how a sheep pen at the times of Christ looked like. It was a circular or square enclosure built out of stone, wooden fencing or just hedges. And it had an opening through which sheep got in and out.

But shepherds in those days were poor people. They certainly would not have the money to build gates at the opening of the pen. They stayed "watching their flocks by night" with their sheep.

The pen looked something like the photo above.

And the shepherd would lie across the opening, sleeping with his sheep, and making sure that none would get out during the night. Also protecting them from wolves or other predators.

So, the shepherd was in fact the gate.

That's what Jesus meant when He said He is the gate.

He protects us from evil and stops us from going astray.

A Confrontation

 

After the war Britain was in a state of flux. It may have won the war with its allies, but things had changed. People were confused. Many had lost friends and relatives at the front or in the bombings of many towns and cities. Many more had been wounded, injured or disabled for life. Soldiers were returning home to find there was no jobs for them. Some had lost their homes. Others had lost their families. Marriages and relationships were under strain with many couples not having seen each other for three or more years whilst fighting abroad or lingering in prison camps. The order of things as we knew them were not the same any more and people found it difficult to adjust.

One significant change was peoples' spiritual lives. Some continued to believe in whatever deity they felt comfortable with; whilst many more seemed to rebel against a God who allowed all the evil and suffering to happen.

Father Ignatius was in London for a conference. On his way back home, whilst at the railway station, he decided to kill time by going to the corner shop for a cup of tea. His train was not due for an hour or so.

As he sat at his table reading the newspaper a man in his late thirties approached him and asked, "It's crowded here. Do you mind if I share your table?"

The old priest smiled and invited him to sit. Noticing that Father Ignatius was wearing his white clerical collar, the man said, "You're a priest are you?"

"Yes, I am ..." replied Father Ignatius.

"I'm surprised there's still any people like you around," said the man, "after all that's happened these last few years I can't see how you believe in a God that's let it all happen."

Father Ignatius thought it best not to respond. He just smiled feebly.

"I was a soldier you know," continued the man as Father Ignatius nodded to encourage him to go on. It was obvious that the man wanted to vent out and Father Ignatius was to be the recipient of pent up anger.

"I was a soldier," he said, "if I could tell you of the horrors I've seen. But we're not allowed to talk about it. I lost many friends; one of them died in my very arms. He was only 19. 

"How can a loving God not intervene and stop it all? There was a time I believed you know. I was brought up a Catholic, I was an Altar boy. Now I believe it was all a hoax. Either God does not exist or He does not really care."

"I can understand how you feel," Father Ignatius said gently.

"Do you? Do you really? What do you really know?" interrupted the man putting his cup down forcible that it rattled the saucer.

"I was a soldier too ... in the First War," replied Father Ignatius.

"Oh ..." said the man uncomfortably. Father Ignatius chose to continue talking in order to dilute the situation a little. "You are not alone to feel as you do towards God," he said, "several of my parishioners have told me the same as you. 

"Whether you believe in God or not is your own prerogative; a personal matter. But let us assume for a moment that He exists. Which side would you have Him on in this war?"

The man was surprised at this line of questioning and said nothing.

Father Ignatius continued, "Let us assume that in the opposing army there is a devout Christian believer. Should God protect him from our soldiers? Should He take sides on an individual basis protecting only those who believe in Him and love Him? You said you don't believe in Him, so where does that leave you? Should He abandon you in the heat of war? Or does He love all His children as His creations regardless of whether they believe in Him or not?"

The man shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

"Does God love you?" asked Father Ignatius.

"I don't know ..." replied the man shrugging his shoulders again.

"I am certain that He does," Father Ignatius said smiling a little to ease the tension, "whether you believe in Him or not. He loves you and He understands how you feel. even though I may not, as you said. 

"God has witnessed all the hurt and suffering on all sides of this war. He did not intervene in order to protect our own freedoms to do as we want. Even to the point of not believing in Him. He hurts and He grieves at all the deaths and sufferings that this war has caused. He grieves just as you grieve. The only difference is that He grieves at how evil we have become."

There followed a short period of silence. It was only for a few seconds; but seconds can be an eternity at certain times such as this one.

The man spoke first, "I also had difficulties," he mumbled, "when I believed that is ... I had difficulties in understanding that the host we have at Communion and the wine are really the body and blood of Christ. How can that be?"

Father Ignatius replied in softer tones. "As you may know," he said, "the Catholic Church takes this teaching from the Gospel of John Chapter 6 where Jesus says several times that He is "the Bread of life" and that unless people eat His flesh or drink His blood they will not have eternal life. Look it up in the Bible.

"This is a central belief of our Catholic faith and the Church invites its followers to believe this is so. Of course, there are many, including Catholics, who believe this is all symbolism. Christ did not really mean it as such. 

"Now then ... let us assume, as I said earlier, that God exists. I believe He does. But for the sake of argument, seeing you no longer believe in Him, let us assume He exists ... is that OK?"

The man nodded.

"Let us assume God exists and you believe in Him. But you do not believe that at Communion we receive the real body and blood of Christ. You think it's all symbolism.

"Let us then assume, which I believe to be a certainty, that we will all one day meet God face to face. Who would you rather be? ... ... ... Someone who did not believe Communion is the body and blood of Christ and you find out that it is so, just as Jesus said? Or someone who believed and found out it was symbolism after all? 

"You see the subtle difference?"

The man smiled and said nothing.

"You see my friend," Father Ignatius smiled back, "I take the view that Jesus was not a liar. He said something that we do not understand, and many theologians and learned people have debated over it for years. For me, it is easier to just accept what Jesus said and believe it in good faith; even though I don't understand it. The alternative is not to believe and in so doing imply Jesus was a liar."

"Thank you, Father," said the man, calling the priest by his proper title for the first time, "you have given me a lot to think about. I wish I could talk with you for hours on end. I have to go now and catch my train."

"Go in peace, my friend," replied the kind old priest, "I shall be praying for you!"

About the right

 

Q - Why do you have a column on the right of your posts?

A - Because there was no room to put it on the left side.

Q - What is it there for?

A - To advertise various books and provide information.

Q - About that clock with the flies. How did you get all the flies to stay still on the clock face?

A - I glued their legs to a blank piece of card board.

Q - Really?

A - No, I was joking. I actually trained them to stand there according to their size and numerical formations.

Q - Did you make all the videos on the side?

A - Yes; they are there to advertise my books?

Q - How many books have you written?

A - 47 so far. I am writing another one right now. They are all available from AMAZON. Or from my website.

Q - 47? That's a lot of titles. Can you name one of them?

A - The Soup Waved At Me ... it's a selection of humourous stories, and it's available FREE for everyone. 

Q - Do your other books cost a lot?

A - The price is mainly to cover production costs. The books are available in paperback, KINDLE version and some are in Audible or Alexa format. As I mentioned, some are actually FREE for people to download on their computer. Just check them out at www.holyvisions.co.uk

Q - Who is Richard The Lion Liver whose crest you have on the right?

A - He's an ancestor of mine. Click on the crest to learn more about him.

Q - Do you have your own website?

A - Yes, www.holyvisions.co.uk and then there is also this one. Click HERE And there is also my YouTube channel HERE. My readers and friends can also contact me at my website - enquiries@holyvisions.co.uk

Q - You're very busy.

A - Only on Wednesdays. The rest of the time I sleep. 

Q - Sorry ... I'd better not disturb you.

A - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ .... ZZZZZZZZZZ ..... 

About those tabs ...

 

 

Q - What are those tabs or folders at the top of this Blog all about?

A – They are there to help you navigate your way through the Blog. Just click any of them and find out more.

Q – How much does it cost?

A – Nothing. They are FREE. Like everything else on this Blog.

Q – Can anyone use them?

 

A - Yes of course!

 

Q - I am a vegetarian. Is it OK to use them?

 

A - Yes, help yourself. Click on any of them and find out more about this Blog and its author.

 

Q - What do I have to wear when using this Blog ... or the tabs?

 

A - Dress is optional.

 

Q - Do you mean I can wear nothing?

 

A - I mean you can wear what you like; or indeed nothing. As long as you are not on a train ... ... ... or a bus  where you might distract the driver. 

 

Q - Why does it say Donate a Prayer on the third tab at the top? 

 

A - Click it and find out.

 

Q - I am going to click on all of the tabs to discover what they are.

 

A - What will you be wearing?

Monastic Visit

 

Some time ago I visited a monastery high in the mountains far away from society and the rest of the world. The monks there were self-sufficient, growing their own food and praying all the time. The monks had taken a vow of silence.

When I arrived there, unfortunately, a monk was leaving the premises for good. He had been a monk for exactly three years. The Monk Superior explained that monks are not allowed to speak apart from one sentence once a year when they get to meet Monk Superior in private. 

After spending a whole year at the monastery, this particular monk was invited to speak to Monk Superior. He said, "the food here is too salty!"

After spending a second year at the monastery, he told Monk Superior, "the bed is too hard to sleep on!"

On the third year which ended yesterday he told Monk Superior, "my room is too cold!" At which Monk Superior replied, "I think you'd better leave; you've done nothing but complain since you arrived here!"

I was given permission to tour the monastery as long as I did not talk to anyone to preserve their vow of silence.

I went to the carpentry workshop where two monks were working quietly. As I got in, one monk was distracted by my presence and hit the hammer hard on his finger.

He stopped what he was doing and picking up a pencil he wrote "Ouch!" on the wall.

The other monk approached him and wrote underneath, "Did you hurt yourself?"

The first monk wrote under it, "OF COURSE I DID YOU ****"

The second monk wrote, "You don't have to shout! And swear!!! I'll tell Monk Superior on you!"

At this point, another monk came in the workshop. Picking up a pencil, he wrote, "Who's been writing on the wall? I've just painted it yesterday!" 

This monk who came in had a pet parrot on his shoulder. The parrot could not repeat what the monk had just said because he could not hold a pencil with his wings. he could not write either!

The first monk who'd hurt himself wrote, "What's it to do with you? Why don't you just **** off!" And then he pushed the monk who'd just got in, making the parrot fly away silently by flapping its wings ever so lightly so as not to make a noise.

A fight ensued. One monk held the other by the neck like wrestlers do, and before long they were both rolling on the floor cassocks aloft. I noticed that they wore white underpants with red polka dots. It's part of their habit I understand.

They knocked over one table and the various tools and instruments fell to the ground without making a sound. That's because the floor was insulated with thick foam.

At one point they stopped fighting and one of the monks wrote on the wall, "AAAAAAHHHHH! That hurt!"

A fourth monk came in and wrote, "Please stop fighting both of you! Or I will write to Monk Superior on his wall!"

The monk who'd hurt himself stormed out of the workshop slamming the door behind him. The door did not make any sound. I noticed that the edge of the door was padded with heavy cotton material to stop it making a sound when closed.

The remaining monks then left too without saying a word.

At this point Monk Superior entered the workshop and wrote, "Have you been writing on the wall?"

I said, "Of course not!"

I was thrown out of the monastery for speaking and breaking the vow of silence.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO PONDER

Is writing on the wall "talking"? 

If someone writes on a wall, or in a cave, and no one reads it; is it "writing" or just scribbles? 

Is "writing" when the scribbles are understood and interpreted in a language one understands? 

If you write on the wall, and there is someone there to see it, does this break the vow of silence? 

If a parrot repeats what you have written does he break the vow of silence? (Think before you answer this one - can a parrot read?) 

Does sign language break the vow of silence? 

If you had Rice Crispies for breakfast does the "Snap Crackle and Pop" break the vow of silence? 

Was graffiti invented at a silent retreat? 

Have you seen the writing on the wall? 

 

 DID YOU KNOW?

 

IF EACH ONE OF YOU INVITES

JUST ONE PERSON HERE

WE'D HAVE A FEW MORE READERS

TO THIS BLOG.