Arising and Dwelling

The buzzing in my ear awoke me before dawn with a sense of unfamiliarity on the body. Awake and showered, off for morning mass. The recalling of words / prayer responses, in a familiar tune of an unfamiliar tongue came naturally without little brain power required! Amazing the brain really isn’t it, Lord really worked overtime on creating our ‘brains’!! I wonder if this is normal, or another brilliance in my capabilities I do not have conscious awareness of… 

After normal morning routine I took a moment to rest with a book. While in Melbourne I was able to get my fingers on a copy of Joan Chittister’s latest book ‘The time is now - A call to uncommon courage’. 

I am a big admirer of Chittister's writing and insight, her language and way to create deep inner sense of dialogue between the words on the page and lifting them to a tangible feeding frenzy is one of talent. I appreciate all her insights and works. This book however, I knew would be a little different from those I have resting upon my book shelve. I heard that Oprah had given her an interview which was inspiring, sadly as Im not on the shores of America unable to watch it. I glimpse a few moments on you tube though. In Australia the Archbishop of Melbourne has not supported Chittister’s visit adding another layer onto what she is speaking about within the pages of her book. 

The first open line is “We have a choice.” 

How can something so simple be so radical, it really does reflect the age we live in. This one sentence makes me think of so much, the rather ‘me’ or ‘self’ generation we are living in. The way the world is in crisis with little positive empowerment to move or what to do, justifications fly around us like ‘get out of jail’ cards in a game of monopoly. 

Moving on from the first line! The prophet concept is introduced, rather its more than a concept; it's a call; it's a reality; it is SO empowering.

The sense that the words are written with confidence, with a sense of no disillusion, a concept of ‘prophetic spirituality’ addressing the social deeper cries of lacking hope, brokeness. Encouraging the imaginations to take us beyond the once held notion that spirituality is within the limitations of things like church, institutions, or simply as that is the way. 

Making the call for living as a Christian today is about stepping into witnessing God’s power, presence and love. It’s about action, more beyond what has ever been seen before. 

NOW, let's not forget that we are taught time and time again, great prophets that walked before us  and among us, often did not get recognition, or even identify for their great forward movement in their life time or for a long time after. Rather the opposite and sadly like so many other aspects of our human evolution we have not learnt from this. I am left with a sense that living in this truly profound way will be one so counter cultural that once again go with cycle of unacceptable within society and all this encompasses with repetition of the cycle occurring. 

I am only in the early chapters, yet the scaffolding of prophet living is so giving, with deep empowerment to really cut down all this surface chatter of Christianity and cut to the core! A call to stop hiding behind a life of prayer as an excuse to do nothing about anything. I personally love the rawness of her words. Cut out all the flowery words, concept or little metaphors and really get down in the dirt asking not to look in far off developing lands, yet look at our own places to understand causes and consequence with a willingness to advocate from the roof like prophets that we learn from scripture. Take ownership of our spirituality opposed to using the measurement of church attendance. 

Really a call to live as Jesus lives, with all that means in todays world. This saying “live as Jesus lived” is a radical call, its something so beyond what these little words mean on their own, put together requires great faith, strength, acknowledgement of the past yet moving on from the structures, institutions, limitations imposed by the ageing church body at times, and limitations of the younger ‘self” generation coming through. It is a call that I believe we are all called to, yet more so really to move beyond titles, beyond reasons we do things to rather redirect our focus to the Lord, in a way that speaks intimately with our inner self to bring the fullness of who we are created to be.

There is so much within the pages, I read and have to pause to allow it to soak into my layers and linger in its riches. I am eagerly looking forward to turning more pages in the coming days. 

I’ll let you know of the outcome, yet from the out post, looking amazing!! 

Beautiful Rose