Lughnasa, Lammas, First Fruits
Quartz Forest Church in June. Gather at 2pm outside the Crichton Chapel. Please dress for the weather! We will adapt what we do to accommodate those who gather. Young, old, agile or infirm.
Pure Dead Brilliant.
At a time when the fruit we will feed on through the winter matures, lets take some time to remember the joy of youthfulness. The purity that comes from honest desires, and the joy we can take in mastering skills – or simply the attitude of having a go at something.
Just as air lighted by the sun appears to be simply light, not because it looses it’s own nature but because light so prevails in it that it is thought to be part of the light; so human nature joined to God is said to be wholly God, not because it ceases being human nature, but because it so participates in divinity that God alone seems to be present in it.”
John the Scot quoting a monk called Maximus. ch 10 “Periphysion on the division of Nature” C9thAD
Peace
All are invited. Whether you consider yourself a close friend of Jesus, or are just a wee bit curious we meet in his name and share his peace.
We meet in Peace and make peace through meeting.
We collect our thoughts together
O God, you make known your almighty power
SEC calendar (All years)
in your merciful compassion:
increase your mercy towards us;
that we, being eager for your promises,
may inherit the treasures of heaven;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Created by: garethjmsaunders@gmail.com
Reading from the book
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.
For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
Matthew 10: 24 – 39
It takes more than hand sanitiser to prepare to eat at the communion table! But how do you “wash” your heart?
There is more than one way to clean things, and the story of Lugh involves another cleansing agent, fire. Lugh is known as the master of many arts, also as Lugh of the long arm. The second claim to fame is perhaps a reference to the the sling which he uses to defeat Balor the one eyed at the second battle of Moytura (A text version here). With a skilful shot he defeats the enemy, and brings home the harvest.
I’m writing this on the day when the blazing light of the sun will be obscured by the shining light of the moon. Perhaps like a slingshot into the sun. In the sometimes frozen north we can forget that too much sun is bad for crops. Fire can purify, but also destroy.
What if Jesus is encouraging us to have courage and confidence to confront outside scrutiny. Rather than washing things away, we could develop our talents and become skilful. Rather than relying on leaders to work out the rules for us, we can judge our motives and put ourselves to the test.
Reading From Creation
We are gathering as the summer wanes and the season of harvest begins. Berries are ripening and the harvest is coming on from the fields. Lughnasa is an ancient festival where people gathered for games to celebrate athletic skill. It is also a time associated with the death of corn and the life which this brings to us. The festival of Lammas dates back to the early medieval Saxon tradition of loaf giving, and there are obvious links with the Christian practice of breaking bread with each other.
Outdoors, we will test our skills and try to improve our aim with slings. Foraging skills, Labyrinth hunting and pilgrimage and might also feature.
If you are reading this at home, perhaps you could spend some time looking round your house. Seek out, dust off and take a moment to recognise your achievements and those of your community. Making an inventory of the evidence of the skills you have! What harvest do you hope to gain from practicing them. In what ways is the presence of God made visible throguh them?
As the summer wanes we can prepare for winter, and take pride in the good we harvest. The people we are becoming. The flourishing of talent that will carry us through the winter months. With ‘clean’ intentions, perhaps we can let the expectations of ‘pharisees’ wash past us.
Gathering Song
As has been said – “Not all who wander are lost” – We have to leave home to return again; grubby, scarred, and exhausted, to the delight of those who care for us.
I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you.I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you.But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I’m still running.You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.But I still haven’t found
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (2005 Live From Milan)
What I’m looking for.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
U2
The Joshua Tree (Deluxe)
Prayer
The earth is the Lord’s
And all that is upon itCreated and creative things
Fruit and FruitfulnessSpringtime and Summer
Seedtime and harvestFor the promise of harvest
contained within a seed
we thank you.
For the oak tree within an acorn
The bread within a grain
The apple within a pip
The mystery of nature
gift wrapped for us to sow
we thank you.
We see signs of summer’s passing in golden leaves,
Praying through the Celtic year
shortening days, misty mornings, autumn glow.
We sense its passing in rain that dampens,
winds that chill, Harvest’s bounty placed on show.
Creator God, who brings forth
both green shoot and hoar frost,
sunrise and sunset,
we bring our thanks
for seeds that have grown,
harvests gathered,
storehouses filled,
mouths fed.
And, as your good earth rests
through winter’s cold embrace,
we look forward to its re-awakening
when kissed by Spring’s first touch.
Refreshment
We will gather to eat and drink together – most probably at the central cafe.
“When light is missing, air is dark; and sunlight subsisting by itself is not apprehended by any corporeal sense. When sunlight is mixed with air, however, it begins to be visible. So in itself it cannot be apprehended by the senses; but when mixed with air, it can.”
From this analogy you should understand that the Divine Essence cannot be apprehended in Itself, but in a remarkable way becomes visible when joined to an intellectual creature, so that Divine Essence is the only thing visible in the intellectual creature. Its ineffable excellence so surpasses every nature which participates in It that nothing beside It makes an impression on the understanding, although in Its pure state, as we have said, It is completely invisible.
John the Scot continues his explanation of theophany in Periphysion.
More about things going on at this time of year