The Kingdom of Heaven is ....

On Barton Beach

 Constantly Jesus tells us what the Kingdom is LIKE - never just what it IS. He finds its likeness all around. In nature - when things grow, like mustard seed or wheat and weeds. In men and women - the rejoicing housewife who has found the lost coin, the servant who will not use what he has been given but hides it away. He is telling us, surely, that we should use our eyes and ears. He who has ears to hear, let him hear ; or eyes to see, or hands to touch. If we will only expect to find him, signs of the Kingdom will leap out at us. But of course they will - for the whole of Creation is his, and reveals his working everywhere. Great poets have done this seeking. For me, one of the most exciting is Thomas Traherne, with his evocation of childhood.How we used to wonder at things we now find commmonplace: "The corn was orient and immortal wheat, which never should be reaped, nor was ever sown. I thought it had stood from everlasting to everlasting. The dust and stones of the street were as precious as gold: the gates were at first the end of the world". [see http://www.spiritofprayer.com/03century.php ]

 The light has been wonderful these recent winter days; by the sea, especially, it is so clear and so beautifully coloured, each moment changing. There was a lone fisherman working away last evening so he stands at the top of this blog for you to look at, and wonder. Is it to do with us being called to become fishers of men? Do we have the staying power, the commitment, of that lone angler? Or shall we just marvel at the waves and the sky? Tomorrow I am trying to work at another Parable of the Kingdom; but just now perhaps sea and sky and sunset will help. -


 
Towards Southbourne