Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart – Psalm 37:4

 

One of the fundamental elements of our faith is having the correct understanding of who God is as He is often misrepresented and badly learned. 

Jesus called Him Father. Often we can think of Him as a judge, a policeman, a jailer perhaps, an unknown who seems a bit scary. Even with the gift of conversion and sacramental absolution there may be a lingering notion that we are just on probation and our every move is being scrutinised…! These are roadblocks to the open relational style we see in the way Jesus speaks of Him. Only time, intimate prayer and a right interpretation of our experiences in our walk with God can bring His true nature into focus. 

Last week though, my wife and I had a rather beautiful glimpse at the Father as He took us on a journey to show us a few of the wonders in His creation. We had a week off and I planned a trip to a new destination, the last island in a chain we had been exploring over a few years. The logistics had a lot of ‘moving parts,’ it would take 8 different modes of transport over a 24 hour period to get us there and some of the timing was tighter than I would like. 

But I have learned to trust God to give us the best, because that’s what a father does. He knows the needs and hearts desires of His children and always acts in their best interests. We prayed on the ferry that it would arrive an hour earlier than scheduled and slept soundly, handing over our vessel (and the rest of the Universe) to His care. We arrived an hour early, had time for the Morning Mass and breakfast before taking a fast van to the other end of the island to catch the last out-rigger to our destination. 

An hour later I gazed on the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen: blue sky, turquoise clear water, white sand and light that an artist would die for. We rested with a view of the ocean and the sound of incoming waves as a remedy for the busy months behind us. 

Our Father had another unexpected surprise arranged for us the other side of the Island. We spent one night at an observatory with the Philippines’ largest telescope. As we checked in, we discovered that the night we had chosen was a special event, a lunar eclipse or blood moon. And it was truly astonishing to see! 

Nearby was another magnificent coastline on the edge of coral reef where we spent a couple of days mostly underwater and were shown a mystical garden beneath the waves with a variety of unusual creatures from sea snakes to clown fish playing amongst the corals. Absolutely mesmerising! We were in awe at all that He has made and could sense His joy in sharing it with us. 

Such days are an Oasis on the journey of life, much of which is desert and challenge. But it illustrated for me a part of God’s nature we often miss. He is a Father, He made the world and all that is in it for us, His gift to us. And I believe He loves to share it with us, to show us the beauty He has made if we have eyes to see it. Whilst we will not see Eden in this life, we can still share now that same intimacy and communion with God in some measure, ‘for now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face’ (1 Cor 13:12) 

Arriving home we discovered that our parish had just received a relic of St Charbel from the Lebanon, which arrived on the last flight from Beirut before the airspace closed. We didn’t even know a new war had just started !

Push !

Once there was a guy who was told by God to push a large boulder for him. So after some years, the man became frustrated and God asked the
man why he was so sad. So the man explained, "I've been pushing this rock for so long and I've failed you because I failed to move it.
It's not going anywhere"

And so God looked at the servant and said,
"I never told you to move the rock, I only told you to push it. It's my job to move the rock, not yours." And so God moved the rock and
then told the man that he had not wasted his time at all.
"Look at how strong you've gotten all this time pushing and your body is in great shape and has a great tan."

Coffee, milk and one sugar to go..

It was a freezing afternoon in November, an artic wind howling outside. I went outside for a smoke and I noticed across the square there was a taxi, with the bonnet open, broken down. The driver was sat inside most probably waiting for a breakdown truck to arrive.

I paid little attention to it, until the Lord suggested (that voice of conscience) that I go and ask him if he would like a hot drink; you would think he had asked me to sacrifice my first born son, such was my resistance. I was busy and could think of a litany of reasons not to bother. But after a brief wrestle, 3 falls and 1 submission I went inside and put the kettle on.

Crossing the square I wondered at the reaction I might receive from the cab driver. I tapped on the window. He was on the phone and kept me waiting, giving me the opportunity to appreciate just how cold it was becoming out there.

He opened the window and I explained that I noticed he had broken down and would he like a hot drink. He leapt from the cab rejoicing at my offer and thanked me so enthusiastically you’d think he won the lottery.

Somewhat relieved and having established his preference, I dashed back to make it and returned with mugs of coffee (in the best mugs) and we had a chat about diesel engines, getting air in the fuel line and quite a lot of his life story.

As we parted I was amazed to think at how Our Father in heaven, the creator of the universe, was still busy, in this instance giving his undivided attention to a stranded cab driver, seeing his needs but not merely as an observer; getting one of his children to go and attend to that need. Truly He is present in even the smallest details of life.

It puts me in mind of a story I heard from the end of the second world war when allied soldiers stationed in a bombed out village were asked to help out. The villagers asked them to re-build a statue that had taken pride of place in the main square but had been blown-up.

They set about collecting the pieces of broken statue and painstakingly putting it back together again. They found most of it, just a couple of pieces that could not be found, and they placed the completed work back in the main square, and covered it up so there could be a grand unveiling for the townsfolk.

When it was unveiled people were a bit shocked as their statue of Jesus had the hands missing. Underneath, the soldiers who had worked on it, placed a sign which reads “I have no hands. Won't you please lend me yours? "

We are His partners in reaching out to our brothers  and sisters.