Silence ... to behold

Both to be and to be held, to hold the other and let them be who they truly are. There is both immense attention and compassion in this word but also freedom. Freedom to love and yet to let be. Freedom to be held in love and to truly be who God intends you to be. In German the word is ‘behalten’ which means to keep,- I think of us all being held in the palm of God’s hand- “the Lord bless you and keep you.” When you behold you see the fullness and the mystery what is with you and yet beyond you. Not contained but seen. There is something in the silence of beholding and being beheld that brings forth growth. Far from shutting out- beholding can help us become present to the symphony of life. What the the eye sees more deeply the heart loves more tenderly.

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Service ... to accept

The opposite of acceptance is rejection. I wonder how much of our pain or fear of humiliation comes from that sense that we are not accepted for who we are or never fully seen or valued. Real service to others begins with acceptance not a sense of pity. When you know that you are accepted it will unlock your heart. When you accept others without condemnation it will unlock theirs too. There is no greater service you can offer another than to let another person be fully seen, valued, heard, accepted for who they are. And in how you see and accept others you will learn to see and accept your own true self. “Attention is a moral act” It unlocks and brings hope into being.

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Scripture ... to inspire

To be Spirit filled and to fill with Spirit, to be filled with that Pentecost fire and to share that light with others. The scriptures are intended to do just that, not to contain or trap but to fill us with the one who is our inspiration. The more attentive we are to him the more we too will reflect his Spirit using words only when we have to. Inspire is not about outward appearance it is about Christ within us and Christ beyond us. It is an illumination of ones’ inner soul and recognising the inner soul of others.

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Sacrament ... to gather

Christ gathers- in the Gospels he gathers people around him- especially those on the edge. He is the good shepherd who draws in and leads out, and who knows each by name. They recognise his voice. They are gathered by it. Our faith was never meant to be a lonely and isolated thing rather it is a communion and if we live this communion it will attract others for it a beautiful and life-giving thing. We ourselves become sacrament- the sign of the one who gathers- a parable of community. Sacrament takes us in all our differences so that together we receive what He is and become what we are.

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Sharing ... to enrich

We often think it is possessions that enrich us. But we are most enriched by relationship. When we face our own mortality we will realise that it is not how much we have got but how much we have loved- how much we shared ourselves with others and allowed others to share their lives with us that is the treasure beyond price. Sometimes the path we think will enrich us leave us most depleted because we become obsessed with self, achievement and what is mine. True enrichment comes when we are present to others and the world- the realisation of the me becoming “our”: no longer in competition with the world but one with it. To enrich is to share with another deeply so that they feel truly seen, heard, understood and reciprocally to feel opened-up oneself by that sharing.

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Sabbath ... to restore

When a painting or a beautiful piece of furniture is restored, it recognises the value that it already has and rediscovers its original beauty or authenticity so it can be seen again. We are all made in the image of God but over the years we can easily become broken, or tarnished, and smeared by our sinfulness, or torn by pain. To restore is about healing- gently cleaning away all that has obscured, and

finding beneath the original beauty of the creator. To arrive at the beginning and recognise it for the first time.

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Staying ... to live

The Word became flesh and lived among us. Our aim is not a set of rules rather a life to be lived- to be breathed, inhabited, touched, tasted, smelt, seen, heard, within the world. What Jesus offered us was life, life in all its fulness. We were called to incarnate his life- to become the life that we received as pure gift from him. This is our Nazareth promise: “I want to live the Gospel, O Lord give me grace.”

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While a community may settle on a rule of life “ it takes many years before a new group is experienced enough to agree on a final constitution. The exercise of authority and leadership is something that depends on trial and experimentation and trust over time. Nevertheless as we have met together and shared with one another this is the shape that seems through God’s grace to be forming.