I chucked this title on Facebook today as my thoughts were deeply focused on John 20: 24-29 The encounter of St Thomas and the Risen Christ.
My thought's were particularly rooted in the sheer physicality of His presence among the disciples in their time of greatest fear and loneliness. I was most struck that he invited Thomas to touch His wounds. I had been contemplating upon the picture by Caravaggio and felt myself deeply drawn by the Holy Spirit into this piece of art.
The look of invitation to touch and to experience Christ's proximity is stunning. The sheer physicality of the finger touching the wound and yet still Thomas avoids his even more intently loving stare.
Touching the poor is not a vicarious experience, it is a sacrament that Christ invites us into, for those who know His resurrection love. Woundedness is not a vicarious experience it is an intensely felt reality. God in Christ allows our wounds to pass through New Birth with us so that others can observe Christ healing us through the process of sanctification. Our lives being transformed by the Holy spirits power is Gods living heremeneutic of the Gospel to a world that needs to touch and see for itself.
Charity translated from the Greek word Agape is a self giving, self losing, other centered, giving of one self for the good of others motivated and empowered by the love of God.
So why do I hate suspended Coffee's? Personally I love Coffee but I find myself questioning who is the benefactor of this seemingly gracious act of purchasing a coffee for someone less fortunate to have. Surely this is a really noble thing? Possibly it is, but the resurrection messes everything up for me. The wounds of Jesus and His invitation to touch them messes this suspended Coffee thing totally up. The reality is that the road to heaven is full of mixed motives and Alms giving is probably the most rocky of all rocky roads.
You see I can buy a thousand coffee's and feel very virtuous and not have to share life with the benefactor. I can text a tenner to Lenny Henry but never touch someone with AIDS. I can get the bloomin chugger off my back as I walk down the Street by giving them a minute and a tenner a month. I can do all that and never touch a persons wounds. But, more than that they never touch mine.
Working with the poor is an invitation to come and be with Christ among His beloved. He really, really does love them and for those who touch them and come and be with him among them they find healing. Healing from our self centredness, healing from our materialism, healing from our isolating ourselves from their very real world. Healing from our blindness to the reality that this is the majority of peoples lives. Healing from our living a vicarious Christian life through professional Christians. Healing from the truth that we are very lonely people who live in a performance driven world. Healing from our ravenous need of stuff to validate our being.
You see the truth is I hate these things not because they are bad, (Comic relief has raised nearly a Billion quid) I hate them because they reveal my desperate poverty and lack of real charity....
Right off to Starbucks for a free cuppa .
My thought's were particularly rooted in the sheer physicality of His presence among the disciples in their time of greatest fear and loneliness. I was most struck that he invited Thomas to touch His wounds. I had been contemplating upon the picture by Caravaggio and felt myself deeply drawn by the Holy Spirit into this piece of art.The look of invitation to touch and to experience Christ's proximity is stunning. The sheer physicality of the finger touching the wound and yet still Thomas avoids his even more intently loving stare.
Touching the poor is not a vicarious experience, it is a sacrament that Christ invites us into, for those who know His resurrection love. Woundedness is not a vicarious experience it is an intensely felt reality. God in Christ allows our wounds to pass through New Birth with us so that others can observe Christ healing us through the process of sanctification. Our lives being transformed by the Holy spirits power is Gods living heremeneutic of the Gospel to a world that needs to touch and see for itself.
Charity translated from the Greek word Agape is a self giving, self losing, other centered, giving of one self for the good of others motivated and empowered by the love of God.
So why do I hate suspended Coffee's? Personally I love Coffee but I find myself questioning who is the benefactor of this seemingly gracious act of purchasing a coffee for someone less fortunate to have. Surely this is a really noble thing? Possibly it is, but the resurrection messes everything up for me. The wounds of Jesus and His invitation to touch them messes this suspended Coffee thing totally up. The reality is that the road to heaven is full of mixed motives and Alms giving is probably the most rocky of all rocky roads.
You see I can buy a thousand coffee's and feel very virtuous and not have to share life with the benefactor. I can text a tenner to Lenny Henry but never touch someone with AIDS. I can get the bloomin chugger off my back as I walk down the Street by giving them a minute and a tenner a month. I can do all that and never touch a persons wounds. But, more than that they never touch mine.
Working with the poor is an invitation to come and be with Christ among His beloved. He really, really does love them and for those who touch them and come and be with him among them they find healing. Healing from our self centredness, healing from our materialism, healing from our isolating ourselves from their very real world. Healing from our blindness to the reality that this is the majority of peoples lives. Healing from our living a vicarious Christian life through professional Christians. Healing from the truth that we are very lonely people who live in a performance driven world. Healing from our ravenous need of stuff to validate our being.
You see the truth is I hate these things not because they are bad, (Comic relief has raised nearly a Billion quid) I hate them because they reveal my desperate poverty and lack of real charity....
Right off to Starbucks for a free cuppa .
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