Harmony of Grace

I have often written about my attraction to nature, particularly to climbing mountains. I have discussed at length how I feel acutely aware of God's presence with me when I am sitting on top of a peak, looking out over the vast beauties of God's creation. The problem is that in recent months, I have been swamped. Overwhelmed with meetings, assignments, seminars, and the urgent needs of every oom and tannie in the church, I have had no time to retreat into the wilderness to connect with God in a deeply intimate manner. Reading Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird has reminded me of a deep truth that many of us (myself included) often forget. We do not need to venture off into the wilderness to connect deeply with God. While these sacred moments in nature help us to become more acutely aware of God's presence with us, God is within each of us and we can connect with God even in the middle of our busy lives. "We can never get closer to God because God is already within us...

Image Source:  Daniil Kuzelev There is a scene in Herman Melville's famous Moby Dick where the whaling crew are pursuing the great white whale, Moby Dick, in the midst of a terrifying storm. The deck men are running around manically performing tasks, sweat mixing with sea water. Captain Ahab is screaming orders, swearing and adding to the confusion. The helmsman is battling the rough winds in order to keep the ship going true.  You can imagine the chaos. But in the midst of this chaos, there is one person on board who does nothing. No shouting. No labour. No panic. This person is the harpooner. In the middle or raging seas and terrifying winds, the harpooner remains calm amid the crashing and the cursing. He is quiet and poised, waiting. Then the author leaves us with this sentence: "To ensure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to their feet out of idleness, and not out of toil." Wow. How of...

Image Source:  Kristina Flour The new chaplain at Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary, Luvuyo Sifo, has already brought some new and interesting ideas with him that he is implementing into the everyday life of the Seminary. One of these is that on Wednesdays we have been asked to partake in a complete day of silence at SMMS. He has titled this practice "Benedictine Wednesdays" in reference to the Benedictine monks who place a special importance on silence. There has already been an uproar from many seminarians. Perhaps they don't like change. Perhaps they don't appreciate being asked to be silent when they would prefer to be loud and talkative. But this practice has got me thinking about the idea of silence and whether it truly is important, especially when we all have so many important things to say, or so we believe.... For many of us, a time of silence means that we don't speak, but this could be practiced while watching TV or listening to music (som...