Talitha Koum! Get up, little girl!

Today's reading was the story of Jairus' daughter, in Mark 5:35-43. Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, an important man, is desperately worried about his daughter who is dying. He turns to Jesus for help. On the way there he is told it is too late, she has died. Jesus carries on regardless, turfs out all the weeping mourners, and chooses just 3 disciples and the child's parents to witness the miracle. 

What struck me today was all the little details included - the girl's age, the actual words Jesus uses, that He held her hand, and that he told the parents to give her something to eat. This is surely the memory of one who was present. I wonder who passed the story on - Peter? James? John? Or maybe the girl's parents? Can you picture them retelling it, from person to person, till it got written down?

I dwelt on the words Jesus used -Talitha Koum! - which means "Little girl, get up!" Can you hear the love in those words?

Get up, Little One!
God's got a job for you.
By your very living
you will proclaim God's healing power,
His loving care for his children.

Get up, Little One!
Show the world there is hope
when all seems lost.

Get up, Little One!
Show everyone that Death is not final,
that Love triumphs over all.

Get up, Little One!
And be my witness
to the world.

And, one day,
when you are old
and Death comes for you again,
I shall take your hand once more
and say "Get up, Little One!"
as your spirit joins mine for ever.

http://figurativeartlivingmasters.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/del-parson-1948-american/

Lectio Divina - Legion, the Gerasene

Lectio Divina - reading the Bible in a meditative way, imagining yourself there in that situation, looking for meaning.

The reading for this morning's daily prayers was the story of the man from Gerasa who is so filled with demons he calls himself 'Legion'. As I read it, tears filled my eyes. I understood some of his pain as I have had depression myself and witnessed my husband captive to his own fears. I needed to write what I felt, so I share it with you now....

That poor man;

A legion of conflicting voices

waging war in his head,

tearing him apart,

tossing his battered mind from one to another

like a precious object

thrown by malicious bullies,

while he stood by

helpless and weeping.

The pain he must have felt!

The agony of helplessness

that made him roar and rage,

beyond any man's help - 

how could they see

the war inside him?

How could they know how it felt,

when even cutting your body

to try to release the demons

seems your only help.

And then Jesus came-

Jesus!

Compassion shining in His eyes,

Hope radiating from His healing hands.

And at first the man was afraid.

How would it be to be free?

This terror was so awful,

but it was his terror,

familiar to him.

What - who -  would he be without it?

It had been so long now,

he couldn't remember 

what sanity was like.

And Jesus looked,

and He touched,

and He healed.

And suddenly the fear was gone.

Gone!

The weight was lifted!

The dark, rumbling clouds

replaced with blue sky and sunshine.

He could see again - 

truly see!

The distorted, haunted,

ghost-screaming world

replaced with beauty and love,

and hope!

Then he remembered who he was - 

a beloved Child of God,

wanted, 

protected, 

safe.

And as he wept at Jesus' feet, 

all the angels of heaven

wept and rejoiced with him.

He was Home at last.

Image from Google search 

http://iamthemindfire.deviantart.com/art/CONTENTMENT-176419114

Empty feeling prayers

Sometimes when I pray I feel alight and alive, filled with joy and energy. Other times I feel  nothing; the words of the prayer book are just sounds my mouth makes, echoing in an empty room, and in the free prayer time I can't think of anything to say.

When I leave prayer time rejoicing I praise God for it, but when I leave feeling flat and disgruntled I feel guilty and apologise to God for not doing better. This morning was just such a 'nothing/empty words' time and, when I began to apologise, I felt God saying this;

          Don't put yourself down just because you didn't feel good during prayers.
          Feeling is irrelevant. Your prayers are surely heard, no matter how good 
          or bad you feel during or after them. You have set aside time to pray, time 
          to be with God, and that's what matters.

          I don't act on prayers according to how much you felt them. I act on all
          prayers because they are addressed to Me. If you feel good afterwards,
          that is a bonus. My Spirit still flows through you, whether you feel it or not.


Wow! What a loving God we have! Praise His name!

Mother Julian  bellsofnorwich.net

Daily Prayer link

Okay, I've spent a good half hour trying to put a 'feed' to this, without success, so just click on the title to go it.

This is a link to Daily Prayer on the Church of England website. You can choose morning, evening or night prayer in contemporary or traditional language, and it has all the readings and psalms there for you so you don't have to keep looking it all up in different places!

I have a shortcut to this on my desktop and find it very useful as a reminder to myself to set aside time for prayer, even if it's just a few minutes to read through night prayer before going to bed.

Blessings to all  x x