yvalker: September 2022

Thursday 15 September 2022

Week Five .. of break in the walk:

A visit to our new grandson in Dubbo Monday am. Monday arvo/ evening, labour starts, back in Orange, and the couple go to the hospital around midnight. Tuesday morning with our granddaughter while her mum & dad focus on helping her baby brother come out, and be revealed to the world.

Ended up being an emergency Cesarean Section birth around 1pm on Tuesday 13 Sept. A boy, Hamish. Mother and babe are well.

We might get to see him on Wednesday, before he is even "1 day old".

We'll see.

Yes! We did! He might have some infection in the lungs so had some IV lines in. That's when I found out they've decided to call him Hamish Paul Lewis McLean. [What an honour (like his Uncle Samuel Lewis Paul…, and his Grand-dad, and two of his grand-dad's mentors: Yeshua's ambassador Paul, & C.S.Lewis.]

Started an audio course on mindfulness, which turns out to be substantially Buddhist, yet which opened up some things I have been wondering about in a very helpful way. Creative love is no "respecter of persons" (which as I understand the phrase, means "doesn't care much about the tags people wear"), because it really is simply a "respector of persons", as baby gods, needing to learn from the only wise God, how to grow up to be in fact worthy of such an amazing title. Led to me continuing considering connections.

Had the opportunity to reconsider the beauty and grace, humility and power of the message of Jesus that changed the Roman world in the First Century CE. Still relevant today?

Tuesday 13 September 2022

ways of connecting...

Considering my friends, met on this walk.

Some keep in touch, & some hardly reply.

A bit like me, at different times I baulk,

at how to word things, when I'm low, or high.

The thing about a poem (or a prair*),

is somehow wings gain access to this world

of words and mechanisms, 'coz time shared

with the creative love can make folk bold.

And so, not being in control at all,

deploying conduits of creative love,

we function as an umbilical cord

within this womb-world strengthened from above,

or else beyond, somehow we're sheltered, fed;

we didn't delve designs or make the plans,

but simply benefitting, we're not dead,

unless we do decide to join the dance,

and help some others, as we have been helped

ourselves, along the way, as things work out

according to creative love's own shelt-

er and provision, which we will not doubt

but just decide, assume, or more, "entrust"

ourselves to who is bigger, more robust,

and has authority to judge with just-

ice, since he's motivated not by lust,

but by creative love, a higher call,

which can not be appreciated if

to join in we use some, but not our all.

Unless a God would teach me, I'm just miffed!

* prair: just spelled this way to help the reader to pronounce it that way, instead of the occasional variant pray-er.

Monday 12 September 2022

Week Four of break:

Thought of some friends I met on the walk who were possibly doing it tough, of having to handle some big changes in the course of life. I could come out of isolation on Monday 5 Sept, but still had to wear a mask when near other people at home or elsewhere, so I chose to stay at my friend's house where I didn't have to wear a mask, untill Thursday morning when I was free to take of the mask unless with people of special susceptibility. Lovely to be able to move home then and have family and friends visit and visit them too, again. A friend's birthday celebration on Saturday. At my friend's place found an interesting book, that was small and seemed an easy read, and thought to ask if others wanted to read it with me. Started a bookclub with first f2f (face-to-face) meeting on Sat.

Lovely time looking at and listening to practitioners of reality, even (or specially) when from a different background or tradition to one'self. One or two people I met on the walk are joining in. You are welcome too.

This is the book. You might enjoy reading it through with some friends,

https://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/witness/reckless-way-of-love

Free download from Plough publishing (Bruderhof, definitely NOT Catholic) , above.

Dorothy Day, a catholic activist from 40 or 50 yrs ago, focusses on 5 WAYs: The Way of

. faith,

. love

. prayer,

. life

. community.

I'm proposing that we go through ONE A WEEK, starting today.

. Read it,

. underline,

. check with scriptures . and life in God's world,,

. discuss over a cuppa/ meal/ zoom/ or just here in this WhattsApp thread

. do what creative love opens up to us (individually, and/or together) as we

. start the next WAY, etc

Let me know if you want to try out the WhatsApp "discussion" thread... (not sure if it will, or even can, work. The f2f(face2face) meet was amazingly good, for me.

I just put into the bookclub conversation this post:

.........................

"A thing that I appreciate about some people (like Dorothy Day) that seems like it allows us to connect across canyons, is the twin practices of 1) practising (i.e. being not a theoretician, so much as a practicioner. As a friend just put into words for me: "practise is perfect!") & 2) tuning in to the core, or spirit of things instead of being caught up in the surface or appearance of things."

Saturday 3 September 2022

Week Three of break..

In COVID 19 isolation. See last blog for more.

Some good times with friends on the phone still occurred.

Some friends who were also COVID positive let me isolate with them in their house, to save everyone in my house, including a very pregnant mum & 1 yr old grand-daughter, from having to be an infected household that can't have guests etc. How beautiful. I felt pretty miserable the night I got here, but my wife's panadol, & their friendship, cuppas, toast, icecream, flipped that on its head. What a beautiful gift.

Some thoughts on moving forward, this week as I sit and lie down, plunging into (& hopefully recovering from) COVID 19.

Suffering appears to be essential to growth. And
learning to welcome and look for trials, or difficulties, instead of running from them. And
doing this in the spirit of the Christ, not simply in the spirit of stoicism. And,
learning how to be blessing those who are already impelled by the spirit of creative love, in order that together we spread creative love even more.
Time over lunch on Friday reading together and discussing The Reckless Way of Love (Notes on Following Jesus) by Dorothy Day, led to these reflections on the oddity of prayer.

No grandson revealed to the world in Orange, by Saturday evening. …

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miss ta walker?

The good that Jesus Christ called “God”

through hell & high water,

is walking, and has always trod

with his people, they’re his daughter.

It’s like there are two kinds of folk

who live throughout the Earth

- and I don’t mean the “sheila” / “bloke”

dichotomy, for what it’s worth –

I mean the kind who’re “open up”

to what they were made for:

it doesn’t matter: tiny bub,

or a hundred in the shade, for

they’re like God’s kids, his child-er-en,

his own daughter or son,

whether new-born, or two, or ten,

he loves them (and he’ll discipline

-not in that harsh, embittered way-

but still enough to learn

the worth of all they do or say;

they learn respect, and they won’t “turn-

-on ya”, and then just be diff’rent,)

they get God’s character!

They’re “open up” to love and when’t

causes pain, they still barrack ta

see it win. They have confidence

and know the mys-stur-y

of love that is it’s one defence,

won’t throw it out for just what’s seen!

These folk come in shapes and sizes,

cultures - all seem diff’rent,

but the thing that each one prizes:

's what eternity’s culture’s meant!

It means that power and glory are

by God owned, and on loan,

instead of them being "The STAR”,

they want God’s light of love more shown!

The others have already died,

some grieving has been done;

but plans of God are now being tried

to raise them up, each one.

Mean-while God’s still brooding, weaving,

walking throughout his world.

“Looks” have often been deceiving,

half (his grieving) has not been told!

Jesus told us his secret plan:

to hide within the weak,

the smallest, slowest, of human-

-ity’s face, is from where he’d peak.

We’re used to looking up to ’mpress

not down to beneath us;

so he who’s real, to real-ly bless

uses this ruse to bequeath us

his blessed image growing up

within our hearts & minds

and beings, that by showing up

will rule his world in ways divine.

I want to give more airplay to

the stories of these ones

who let God look on this world through

the eyes of his daughters and sons.

I want to walk just as he walks

I want to see as he,

to listen as he does (and talks),

let his story be told in me!

And to this goal I know I’ll slow

-ly keep on moving too;

a walker only, but I’ll go

on day-by-day walking with you.

Not only with self-discipline,

but with your true coaching,

one day, I’ll be the kind of man

that can handle man’s reproaching,

or human praise, and not become

sep-ar-a-ted from you,

and your care, in that christened ONE,

who walked the dusty streets then too.

Please now again, as long ago,

come walking in some skin

and bones, and let me see, please show

your world to me from eyes within.

Mentioning Models/ Motivations

Below is a reason, model or motivation (or two) for my walking. Some are contradictory, but may still never-the-less be achieved on a given walk; e.g. times of solitude, time connecting deeply with others may both be achieved on a walk with breaks in it & with options like establishing a daily rhythm of silence for the first hour on the trail of each day.

. The sound of the LORD God going for a walk in the cool of the evening. (on hearing which, Adam & Eve after their disobedience, instead of joyously joining in, went & hid. This was a sign of their real, previous, death. They were now in reality "The Walking Dead")

. Adam & Eve sent out of the Garden Paradise, to the East, to till the soil from which they had been made; & the son of Adam (Cain) being sent as a “wanderer East of Eden”. (cf Nerida’s sheepdog story) . Enoch, about a 7th descendant of Adam, even after the great disobedience, the death of humanity, who “walked with God for 300 yrs.” . Terah & his son Abram, are wandering Arameans given a command by God, to go somewhere in particular - along the lines of their current desires/dreams, though not in line with slumping into doing nothing. This response to God’s command turned their wandering into purposive action; it meant Abe was travelling until God told him to stop. Then Abram travelled down to Egypt & back, (to escape a drought), & was then told by God to walk through-out the land, to see where his descendants would be inheriting, “because I am going to give it all to you”. God seems to be into inheritances, gifts that you will pass on to others, where you can rejoice in someone-else’s delight. . Jacob, walks off hundreds of km. to run from his brother's vengeance, to his old relatives & safety, with nothing but a walking stick, & returns >7 years later with a whole family. . The “Exodus”- the WAY out of slavery in Egypt, & into being a free people under God in their own land. Normally a trip that took less than 2 weeks, but for them took 40 yrs, while they waited for everyone (almost; with 2 exceptions) to die, before the new Nation entered it’s promised land. . Immediately after their exit from Egypt, this people were to walk for three days into the desert to worship the Creator Spirit there. It was here that Moses was then told to walk up a mountain that was to all appearances undergoing a volcanic eruption, where he stayed for over a month, receiving the insight of the Ten Words as part of the Stipulations of a Covenant the Creator Spirit was making with this people. But “to whom much is given, much will be required”. Alongside awesome blessings for keeping their part of this Covenant, the people agreed to (about 9) awful curses if they did not. . Jesus saying to the 12 "Come & follow me", then through all the towns of Galilee heralding the announcement of the Emperor's coming near. . Jesus sending his 12, then the 70 (or 72), out in pairs, to cover all the towns where he was about to go (with no provisions). . The 12 disciples' trip to Galilee (after the resurrection), to meet up with Jesus, & get their new marching orders. . Jesus sending the 120 (10x12?) out accross the earth (into all the world) to make disciples of Jesus as God's Christ + Phillip with the Ethiopian Official.

The Israelites were not the only people to be given a land by the Creator Spirit, but (a remnant of) their oral & written histories have probably been best kept. The blueprint for the bones of an ideal society given to this fledgling nation involved whole communities travelling every year, the length & breadth of their country (admittedly smaller than Tazzy) to a central Temple to (not fake-worship & fake-serve another human peer, but to) truly-worship the great King who actually made all the land (as well as the sea, sky & stars in the wondrous universe given humanity). They walked as pilgrims, singing psalms of ascent, camping overnight, continuing on in the mornings until they arrived (admittedly nowhere was more than a few hundred kilometres from “the Temple in Zion”). This same people, within half a millenium of entering the land, were all walking barefootedly from Israel & their beautiful Temple, as captives & slaves (once again) to Exile in Babylon. The prophets of the Creator Spirit had warned them about reaping what they sowed, about God not being mocked & about his hatred of hypocritical “worship bands”, and these covenant reinforcement mediators invoked the covenental “curses” on this rebellious & headstrong adolescent nation. [though often with a strange edge of future hope for a remnant, who would be faithful] About a hundred years after the Exile of the Israelites of the Southern Israelite kingdom (Judah), the current ruling Emperor, Cyrus the Persian, & the next Emperor(s), in a bid to keep good with “The God of Heaven”, send a delegation of these people (from a few of the 12 tribes which together had made up the Israelite nation in it’s heyday under King David & his son Solomon) back to Jerusalem in their homeland, & to the work of rebuilding the city’s protective wall & it’s Temple. This journey is in hopeful “fear & trepidation”. Yeshua, as a baby, is carried to Egypt (& back) by his parents, to escape from the Emperor's representative in that area: "King Herod". Jesus travels back to Jerusalem's temple after the 40 days in the desert. Jesus being filled with the Spirit at his baptism & then sent out into the desert for 40 days [without food (& water?)] Jerusalem Jews (under Saul of Tarsus, after Steven's Stoning) travelling through the Empire. Franciscan Monks Celtic Monks Pilgrims in Spain