No Masks

In the America of the 1950’s, at least in my corner of the States, every kid dressed up at the end of this month, pretending to be something else. Not everything was scary. When I was 3 I was Little Bo Peep, but the pull-along lamb I had could no longer bleat as I had fed her far too much paper…

One year my costume included a rubber mask. I still remember the clammy heat beneath that awful mask, which clung to my face like a jellyfish, making me sweat and desperate to get it off.

Not sure if that’s the reason, but I just do not like masks. Menacing or not, they disguise the truth of who someone is.

It’s hard to go through life without a mask of some kind, though. Feelings of inadequacy, of guilt or shame all contribute to the gradual construction of a caricature of our faces and personalities which disguises and distorts the person we really are. Once the mask is on, it undermines our true potential and may prevent us from flowering into the beautiful creations God has made and loves.

That is why I am so proud of my dear daughter Mhairi. She has torn off the mask and can now blossom. Jesus came so that we would have life, life in all its fullness. He is the truth, and he is the light, and he calls us to live in the truth and the light. No masks. He loves us for who we are. And it turns out, so do other people.

What is truth?

A dark winter’s day gives an excuse to light the stub of a Christmas candle, which flickers beside me as I write. Artificial light brings cheer and a cosy feeling: lighting a fire adds warmth. Makes me want to snuggle down with a good book and get lost in a story.

 

Nothing wrong with that. But.

When I am ‘home’ with Mom in southern California, even in November or March, the sun is up by 6 and so am I, eager to embrace all that the day offers. There’s something about natural light, the real thing, that inspires and encourages activity. There’s a clarity; there’s an energy.

I’ve been reading a lot about ‘fake news’, a label which, when bandied about by politicians we want to trust, eventually undermines our confidence and causes us to question the truth of any news story. There were an inordinate number of shenanigans during the last presidential election in the USA, many of them originating in a foreign country, and most of them aimed at disseminating fake news while calling into question things that were true. The electorate was confused; the candidates were confused:  What news contained the truth?

Pilate looked at Jesus, the light of the world, and asked pitifully, ‘What is truth?’ 

A cry that echoes down the centuries and reverberates loudly in the 21^st century. What is truth? He is alive and well and living in his followers. Time to let the light shine, because the darkness is certainly deep.

Lag

Wide awake at 2.30 am. Jet lag. The reality is that my body has travelled thousands of miles in half a day, but my inner self has yet to catch up.

We pray for something. By faith we hear God’s voice, promising change, promising healing, promising breakthrough. The reality is that there has been a step change in our circumstances, but sometimes our inner self has yet to catch up. Faith lag.

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 63).

Praying that for all who wait for the fulfilment of a promise, the reality of God’s word will quickly align with the reality of circumstances.

Mary awaited the fulfilment of a promise. That promise gestated within her as the Son of God developed and grew. She didn’t agitate as she waited. She watched, and pondered things in her heart.

The word for the first week in advent is hope. Hope in God is never misplaced. He is reliable; he is true; he is love. As advent unfolds, may the truth of his promises overlay the writhing of this world, encouraging hope and bringing light and life.

One day there will be no ‘lag’. Past, present and future will align and peace will prevail. In the meantime, I watch, and ponder things in my heart.

Slow Down

A couple of years ago, I bought a machine to wash my windows. I thought it would be more effective than the method I’d been using (basically a bucket and sponge with a scraper). A little disappointing: it does the job, but no easier and with streaks. 

I’d gotten it to clean the dirt and bugs off the windows. Recently I realised that without the attachment, it could be used to suck up condensation after showers, baths, and drying clothes indoors. It seems to be pretty effective at that so far.

The Bible is God’s perfect window-cleaner. It can leave streaks if I cherry-pick verses to support my prejudices, presenting a distortion of the truth. When used prayerfully, though, mindful of the character of God, reliant on his Holy Spirit, it can suck up the condensation of my assumptions and presumptions and transform my thinking.

To read it like that, I need to slow down, take time, and linger expectantly in the presence of the Almighty God. What a privilege and blessing. The Almighty God. Wow.

Note to self: Slow down.

The road is long

The road is long. The journey tough. So critical to keep the foundation of faith firm and strong, impermeable to those insidious weeds of doubt and discouragement that can weasel their ways into the smallest of cracks. Once they are in, the damage they can do! Out of sight, their roots spread and dislodge rocks and anchor points on which we build our faith. The result is there for all to see. A weedy infestation of doubt and fear.

Today I invest again in strengthening that core foundation of truth which I find in the Bible and also in my relationship with God. More of him in my life. That’s my cry today. Amen.

Freedom

Dog walking today. My friend was here with her dog; I of course knew a suitable walk, which I hadn’t done with a four-legged friend for six months or more. So off we went.

Maya is a puppy, a great big bear of a cuddly giggle, a totally different personality from either of the dogs I’ve owned and walked here. She bounced and bounded a few feet and then checked out where ‘mum’ was, to make sure she was still there. Both Dusty and Magic were explorers, more than happy to run ahead and then reach that distance where they seemed to rocket into hyperspace and Dusty would then disappear into the woods for up to ten hours, returning when exhausted, tail between her legs to show contrition but a bit of a wag to confirm that yes, it had been fab.

Freedom. Maya is content to have her freedom limited by maintaining proximity to her owner. She will grow up and bloom and blossom in that dependent relationship and sense a safety and a freedom in it. My two dogs longed to run and run and run, oblivious to my whistles and shouts, and return when it suited them. They would come back dirty and dishevelled, often stinking of dirty ditch water, sometimes carrying ticks and thorns and developing internal worms later from the decaying carrion they may have crunched down.

Jesus said to his friends that if they remained faithful to his teaching, then they would know the truth and the truth would set them free.

It’s not always easy to remain faithful to God’s teaching. Sometimes we catch a glimpse of something which entices us away. There is a whiff of something which tantalises and tempts us to go into territory which we know is out of God’s bounds for us. His bounds are there to protect us and somehow within those bounds, we are free to become all that he has created us to be. 

When we stray from the way Jesus has set for us, in those moments of rebellion we realize that paradoxically, by striking out on our own we have forfeited our freedom. We are likely to pick up ticks and thorns and worms. Yuck.

It’s as we walk on the path, as we remain faithful to Jesus’ teaching, that the truth is revealed to us and we recognise what true freedom really is.

Jesus said I am the way and the truth and the life. Follow me. Sticking with me along the way, you will discover absolute freedom. 

The only way to test this out is just to do it.