My Thanksgiving Reflection

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

Yesterday my American friends and family celebrated Thanksgiving. It was made a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln. The Native Americans view this holiday with mixed feelings. It was born out of the European settlers celebrating thanksgiving every time they won a battle, killed or subdued a Native American tribe. History is sometimes hard to forget. It is emotionally and spiritually devastating when the thing that brings joy to other persons bring you pain,

There are so many of these situations on a personal level. My cousin’s father was murdered on her birthday about 6 years ago, and her birthday has never been the same.

The attitude and celebration of thanksgiving, of gratefulness provides an opportunity to stop and reflect on our blessings, to be grateful to, and for the relationships that have done well, that has sustained us that have withstood disagreements and the storms of life. Relationship with family and friends who have become family. Many gather similarly to how we as Jamaicans gather at Christmas and Independence.

Paul encourages us to be thankful no matter the circumstances. This is not an easy ask. The popular versions of the bible say Rejoice. But may require a rewiring of the brain. A rethinking that allows you to experience a deep seated joy in the face of adversity. There are things we cannot change. Life happens. In spite of the difficulty we face, we must be grateful.

The passage speaks to three things Joy, prayer, and gratitude. Three powerful states or attitudes encouraging us to feel them all at once. As spiritual people the ability to find joy, to pray and to be always grateful is found in the hope and promise that God is always present and that God guides always in ways we cannot imagine. The physical benefits of gratefulness cannot be overemphasized as one’s stress level subsides as you put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea. Our relationship with Jesus, as we remain rooted and grounded in Him and Gods love, sustains the spirit of joy. Its our relationship with the divine within us that enables us to be persistent in prayer, and to express thankfulness in all situations.

While I don’t celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving, I have had reason to reflect on my own journey. I am able to say thanks. Some of the recent things I am grateful for:

  1. I was able to visit an old friend a few weeks ago. When I saw her, I said thank you Lord, I can die now. That was the kind of joy I felt in seeing my old pal again. On that occasion I met up with 3 other old friends.
  2. I have a friend who constantly checks in every week. I am grateful. A great sounding board and she encourages me.
  3. Yesterday, I visited with someone whose life I impacted, and I could feel the love, joy and gratefulness of seeing me. She continually tells others about our relationship.

I realize there are so many things to be thankful for. They are all to be found in our relationship with others. Those whose views differ from yours or for whom you can do no right, provide the ability to be grateful for tolerance and patience. Those who accept us and love us as we are make us grateful with humility and like Elizabeth who’s womb jumped in the presence of Mary, our hearts flutter and we are have a sense of satisfaction for having them in in our lives.

Being cheerful no matter what means rejoicing always. We can find joy through our faith in Jesus Christ, in our relationships with other people and the blessings we receive in life. It doesn’t mean that there will not be situations that will get us down or that persons will not disappoint. It just means that these road blocks are surmountable. A grateful heart changes our view. The grass looks greener, the sky is blue and life is sweet.

Gratefulness as Paul implies comes from being who God says you are to be. May we have the courage and persistence to become who God wants us to be. I pray we are able to be always grateful.

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For God’s Sake: following the example of Paul

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 1:5

The words “you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake” jumps out at me. “For your sake what does Paul mean by that?

It brings to mind when Paul went to Athens and saw the monument erected to the unknown God.  He used this to introduce the good news to them. Paul didn’t spin a story then.  The people of Athens did not know the supreme being who made us all, that he became human to show us the way of salvation and remained with us and in us as the holy spirit.  Being the kind of person for the sake of the Thessalonians, did not mean that Paul adapted to their way of life. It meant that using what they already knew of life and God he used that to bring alive for them the story of Jesus Christ.  Paul and his friends spoke and acted in a manner that taught the Thessalonians about the Jesus movement.  They allowed their lives to tell the story.  I imagine it to be preaching the Gospel, using words if necessary.

Verse 6 confirms that view as the passage goes on to say “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy from the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Paul and his friends behaved and acted in a manner that others would know the Christ and the good news. They invited the persons among them to come and learn from them.  These persons in turn mimicked them. Thus building a group of faithful Christians who despite being persecuted, received the word with Joy. Receiving the word with Joy is another powerful manifestation and declaration of being Christlike. 

I question if I am like Paul? And if not why not? Am I like Paul?  I do not think I intentionally share the word with those I meet. If the opportunity arises I will speak.

Should I be? I wonder.  Just thinking about this is unsettling. I already feel afraid when I think of walking up to somebody and asking if I can share a word of scripture. But there must be something more that I can do that helps strangers to know God.  Do I suggest we have a crusade? What more is God asking me to do?

Some things come to mind about which I need to pray.

  1. An open invitation to those around to come and see, to come and taste
  2. Physical prayer cards and short tracts that can be distributed.
  3. Quarterly evenings of prayer and song.   

Why am I doing this? To get the congregations I serve filled with people on a Sunday? Yes but more importantly so that others may know the God whom I serve. Or is this others knowing God a cop out. Am I trying to accept the fact that it may not bear the fruit I want?

My friend Joseph Ross of Joseph DC Ross▪Poetic-Quotes™ says “The  greatness of man is not governed by the ‘goods’ he has… But by the GOOD… he gives.” By the good he gives… 

It sounds as if in the new year, God is calling me to be different in my approach. God gives the increase, my job is to sow and plant as I understand God. I must remember too that Paul was not a one man band. He had a team with whom he worked. God will guide me as I guide those God has given me to serve so that we together may be for the sake of others and always for God’s sake. 

I am only able to, we are only able to do and be, as the strength of God pilots us. May the power of God preserve us. May the wisdom of God instruct us. May the hand of God protect us. May the way of God direct us. May the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well.

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Quiet Strengths: Humility and Stillness

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

O Lord, I am not proud; * I have no haughty looks. 2 I do not occupy myself with great matters, * or with things that are too hard for me.3 But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother’s breast; * my soul is quieted within me. 4 O Israel, wait upon the Lord, * from this time forth for evermore. Psalm 131


As I read this psalm as part of the Daily Office, I could not get past it. The other 2 psalms went unread. I remembered a time, not so long ago. I had to learn this psalm and recite it in the King James Version. I was told to observe and reflect. This is truly a reflective psalm. It seems like something I should say every day and maybe that is why we had to learn it. Unfortunately the gift of recitation is not mine. I unfortunately reinterpret everything and so I have my own version of most passages. The essence I hope I keep.

There is a saying speak it into being. This psalm speaks in the present tense. It affirms who we ought to be even as we know we are not this person. If each verse had a checkbox beside it. I could honestly and without reservation say that I am not proud nor haughty. Pride, prideful, self importance, arrogance, conceit, stuck up, are not words that can be used to describe me. I am a very down to earth person. I tend sometimes to be very liberal and accepting of situations that most others would frown on. But, God made us all and we each have a conscience. we know right and wrong. It may be my job to point out the error of your ways. it is not my job to be judge and jury deciding your fate or punishment.

There is a prayer that says: God grant me the wisdom to know the difference between the things I can, and cannot change. Many times I do not believe I know the difference. I am the person who will stick her head in places others would not. I will intervene in things that others turn a blind eye to. I couldn’t check the box that says: “I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me.’ I’ll stand alone, if I believe what I am saying to be true, even in the face of danger. But is that a good thing? Yes but. Looking at the world around me, very few people do that, especially when they are a ‘small fry’ in a large sea of fish. Is it right? Should we be sticking our necks out?

We live in a world where anything goes. Those with money and the loudest voices are heard and deferred to. This causes much suffering and frustration. In homes, in schools, at workplaces, there is the sense in which persons feel as if they do not count and what they contribute is not of value. This constant state of frustration and flux lead many to have mental disorders. It causes both the perpetrator and sufferer to become numb to the feelings of others. Frustration turns to anger. Many times, those suffering do not even know what they are angry about. I also believe, that others, who see the satisfaction anger gives, mimic this response . It appears as if it is a good and proper thing to do.

Verse 3 and 4 says we must be still and quiet. We must wait on the Lord. Our attitude should be like a child who has not yet been weaned. Such a child is dependent while at the same time taking time to learn about their surroundings what they can and cannot do. They expect guidance and care. They expect the others around them to give them attention. Isn’t this what we all ask from others? Isn’t this treating others as you want to be treated. We are invited to do the same

The stillness and quiet stands for so much more than just being still. As a child there was a TV show called Kungfu, in which a Shoalin monk comes to America searching for his brother. His demeanor was a soul at peace. His martial arts skills was used to defend the innocent and the abused. He was powerful in mind and physical tactics, but it never showed. It was not something that looking at him you would see or even sense. I do believe it is this kind of stillness and calm spirit the psalm refers to. As we go through today let us read the psalm as an affirmation and prayer.

Let us pray
O Lord, we are not proud. We have no haughty looks. We do not occupy ourselves with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me. But we still our soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother’s breast; Our souls are quieted within us. Enable us to be. Amen

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Nurturing the Ground of Our Hearts

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

“And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.” Mark 4: 20

Good ground. What does that look like? Good ground is fertile soil, ready to sustain whatever is planted in it.

In the parable of the seed, Jesus speaks about the seed being planted in several different places. Where the seed is planted determines what happens to it.  The seed is the word of God that provides the principles by which we should live. The first take away is whatever we do in this life has consequences. We do not necessarily see it as we act.  We may believe we are doing the best thing.  We never know what will happen.  We must therefore ensure that our hearts are of good soil, so that in our actions we do our best to guarantee good results.  Good soil must be maintained and nourished. Its goodness can be used up, making the soil less productive over time.

Secondly, allowing ourselves to be fertile ground means we come with an open heart. We are ready to nurture the word we are given. Ready to listen, to mull over it and to see how we can best practice it in our lives.  Whatever comes into our heart, we improve it before passing it on.the word or action leaves our heart better said and with a better vibe. Take for instance someone says something that angers you. Instead of responding in anger or to the anger, you seek to understand why this was said. You also answer in such a way to diffuse the tension.

As an agriculturist, I know that good soil can be made. Even the best soil sometimes requires added nutrients to produce certain crops.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 speaks about building on a foundation.  He says no one can lay any foundation other than the one that is laid.  It therefore is our task to ensure that the soil of our soul is of good quality.  We must nurture it. We must feed it so we will bear good fruit – the fruit of the spirit.

How do we feed our heart? Reading and discussing the scripture, singing songs or hymns of praise. Yes these help to reinforce what is already there. Like the prophets of old we observe, reflect on what God is doing and respond.  As good Christians, we not only want to maintain and preserve the soul. We must also seek to develop a deeper relationship suited for the times we are living in.  We must develop new skills for the times we are in.  We must constantly think about where God active and respond as we see appropriate. New things happen every day to which one must respond and adapt. For example sending a letter by post versus sending an email. Having a telephone conversation versus sending a voice note on WhatsApp.  The voice note on WhatsApp can be left at any hour of the day. A telephone conversation can only be had during business hours or a polite time for friendly conversations.  

Another good example of reflecting on current events and responding is the Feast of Christ the King. We celebrated this last Sunday.  This feast day was not celebrated or commemorated by the early Christians. It started in 1925. The 1st world war had ended, but the world was unsettled. Rumblings of a second war were in the making. It was decreed during a time of unrest. The world and Christians needed a reminder that Jesus was Lord of everything. This assurance was necessary despite what the world powers thought or what was happening.  The pope, at that time, saw the world needed nurturing. He realized this was essential to move forward after a world war. People needed a safe and comforting space.  Keeping the feast every year serves as a reminder to us all. No matter what is going on in our lives or in the world, it does not change who Jesus is. It also doesn’t change who God is.  Jesus is supreme. 

Being good soil constantly and consistently is not easy. It requires a lot of effort to nurture. You need to examine what needs to be done to maintain a high level of productivity. Avoid becoming lukewarm.  But god gives us grace and sustenance to do so. May God our Heavenly Father, continue to grant us the peace and stillness. May He give us the wisdom to discern how to grow and produce good fruit. Grant us the courage to allow ourselves to be molded into good soil, and enable us to nurture others as they need it.

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The Authenticity of Worship

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

For God alone my soul in silence waits; *
from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, *
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.
In God is my safety and my honor; psalm 62:1, 7

As I read this i thought about how we wait on God. Do we only wait in the quiet of our private devotions? Am I waiting on him, when I get miserable about something, or disappointed in how others behave and react. Do we wait on him during the church services.

My mind gets muddled as I now start thinking about how we do church and the quietness of our worship as compared to that of others. I reflect on the concert we had last Sunday. The noisiness but ‘worshipfulness’ of it was ‘awefilling’ (When your vocabulary is limited you make your own words). It was different from Church.

As I reflect on that experience I can’t help but think of what happens on a Sunday morning as I experience the service. I don’t always feel the participation of the congregation. I maybe wrong but it feels like we are doing it by rote. Like the worshipers are far removed from what I am experiencing. It does not feel as if the reciting of the prayers and the familiarity of the hymns are providing comfort, healing and confidence in our way of life. It does not feel as if the congregation believes that God is there rock and strength. Many times it just seems mindless to me. I do my best to emphasize and make interjections to see if the experience I receive from the congregation can be
different.

My God is a different kind.

I broke from preparing this, as somebody called to check on me. Before I came back to writing, I checked my email and in a devotion the writer – Fr. Glen Chun, of the Society of the Jesuits, a priest of the Midwest Province, and community minister of Bellarmine House of Studies in St. Louis. using a different passage reflects on the same thing. God knew I needed an answer to my present disquiet.

Father Chun says “It never ceases to surprise me how automatic and lackadaisical—in a thoughtless, mindless, and mind-wandering sort of way—I repeat the prayers and responses in worship and Mass. I consider how automatically I make the sign of the cross, recite the Our Father prayer, and even receive communion; and I recall how little recall I have of the readings at Mass or the Eucharistic prayers or the homily. “
He considers this familiarity a gift while at the same time acknowledges that we can

fall into the trap of being superficial in our worship. It is my greatest fear, hence I do my best to pray and say the words in a meaningful way, in an effort for us to pay attention. Fr. Chun says offering our whole attention is to share our full selves with the Lord and to be present with God. Therefore when we in silence wait on God we are offering ourselves to God to do as God wills.

So we wait on God at all times even when we don’t realize it. Because God works out everything in due time. He is the rock we hold on to when the mind becomes muddled. God becomes the stay the constant in our overthinking. Be with us, Lord in all our prayers, and direct our way towards the attainment of salvation; that among the changes and chances of this mortal life, we may always be defended by your
gracious help. Amen

Picture: Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds – Rising Table (1972), John Pringle Collection, NGJ

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The Third lesson from Bartimaeus: Take Heart – the Power of Recognition and Compassion

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” Mark 10:49

In our story on Bartimaeus, when Jesus acknowledges and calls him out, the crowd joins in the call. They say to him “Take Heart”. Be of good cheer, be of good comfort are other biblical translations of the phrase “take heart”. 

The crowds were shutting up Bartimaeus. His needs were not important to them.  He was blind and I suppose for them, that was his lot in life. There was no possibility of change, of being able to see again.  We too behave this way in the face of injustice, violence, oppression, things we believe to be a part of the status quo on which we are not willing to rock any boats. 

The Jews believed that we are being punished by God when bad things happen to us.  Many still believe that today. But life happens. God gives us free choice to change the trajectory we are on.

It is only when Jesus calls Bartimaeus that the crowd recognizes that maybe, just maybe a change can occur and they jump on the bandwagon of Bartimaeus healing and lend moral support. .  I can hear them recounting the story and saying they knew if Jesus heard him, he would be healed.  Yet they had shut him up.    The story of Bartimaeus illustrates a profound truth about human nature and the transformative power of recognition and compassion. When Jesus acknowledges him, the crowd shifts from indifference to support, revealing their potential for empathy. This shows  how our perceptions can limit others and ourselves, trapping us in a cycle of blindness to possibilities.

Something similar happened in the story of The Good Samaritan. People saw the injured man but passed him by.  We do not want to get involved in things that will distract us from our own business, nor in things where there is no real benefit to us.  However, once there is something to be gained we join in.  We give moral support since in this instance physical support was not necessary  Saying take heart lends the support that Bartimaeus needs.  It gives a sense of “we are with you in this.”  Take heart says rest easy. There is no need to be anxious, things are going to work out. 

Many of us go through life being blind to the possibilities which life offers until it stares us full in the face.  Sometimes not even then do we take notice. We believe that what we see around us is all of life’s existence.  It is why some persons do not achieve their full potential.  Like the crowd they cannot see beyond the present and there is no reason to take heart.

Take heart says to us, open your eyes and see. Not just the physical eye, but the spiritual eye, the emotional eye. Give yourself permission to see possibilities that you never saw before.  Allow yourself to awaken within you, things that will help you be a better person, but which you may have put to rest. Taking heart is an invitation to see the creativity and inner strength that lies within you.

Take Heart says hope exists. We have a Jamaican proverb that says “wey no dead nuh dash it wey.” There is always reason to take heart.  There is always the hope of better. There is always the potential for greater things, but in order to see it, and  to achieve it, we must take heart.  We must have courage to change our stance from a position of shutting up or keeping someone in their place, to a stance of recognition that within each of us lies the potential of greatness.  Greatness may not be the same for all of us but it certainly describes the possibility of goodness that resides in each of us – our God-given potential.

Taking heart is a choice we are making for better lives all around.  Taking heart is choosing to comfort and be comforted in life. It is choosing to acknowledge and support those in need, as we ourselves navigate  life’s challenges. 

We are not only changing their lives, we are enriching our own, fostering a world filled with hope and potential uplifting each other.  

It is a way of living compassion as Jesus did.  Always being optimistic always looking at the potential in others, not so much the blindness or the hindrances that beset us.   May we feel God present as we take heart. “May the strength of God pilot us; the power of God preserve us; the wisdom of God instruct us; and the hand of God protect us. May the way of God direct us; the shield of God defend us and the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.” Where God is, all is well, all will be well. All manner of things will be well.

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Lesson from Bartimaeus: Bold Faith, Throw off your Cloak

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Mark 10:50 – 51


Jesus is walking from Jericho to Jerusalem. I believe Jericho to be Samaritan country. I can find no clear evidence to substantiate my stance. But if Jericho was Samaritan country it means that Bartimaeus could well have been of Samaritan descent, making him doubly handicapped. But while I introduce the possibility I cannot use this as part of my reflection.

Persons who are blind usually have heightened hearing abilities. They are able to tell who entered a room by the sound of their steps or how they move. Familiarity causes them to do that. Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus and refers to him as Son of David. Giving one the sense that he knew the significance of who Jesus was. For Bartimaeus Jesus was not just any healer. He was from the line of David and so divinely appointed. Similar to the kind of esteem that Haile Selassie is held by some Rastas. He therefore calls out in expectation of great things happening when Jesus hears him. He calls out despite persons saying shush. When he is heard, He throws of his cloak.
This action implies one who was not afraid to take on challenges. I do not believe I am being overly dramatic but the passage says he threw off his coat and sprang up. Suggesting a swift action with no hesitation. The word used for throwing off his coat is used one other time in the bible in Hebrews 10:35 where the writer says . And it speaks to boldness. It says “Do not, therefore, abandon that boldness of yours; it brings a great reward. Bartimaeus was bold in coming forward for healing and we too must be bold in coming to Jesus. We must not be afraid when things are difficult. Putting the 2 passages together. We must be bold, because in boldness there is great reward. Bartimaeus wasted no time when given the opportunity to be healed. He did not wonder if it would happen. He did not listen to the crowd even though some were willing to cheer him on once Jesus had acknowledged him. It shows us that Things did not happen by wishing them to happen. We must throw off the coat. The coat that has covered us that has sheltered us. The coat that has kept us secure yet it may be preventing us from moving forward. The time had come for Bartimaeus to throw off the coat as it hampered him getting to Jesus. So we should see what is hampering us and through it off as we look boldly to Jesus for healing and restoration.

We in our lives have many things that have been a cloak to us. Relationships, physical health, what others say, what we once believed to be true. Many times our cloak is not on the outside but within us. Our bruised egos and our insecurities. Sometimes it is our backward thinking. Things like women should not wear pants is a good example of what I am driving at or the wearing of anklets. These are outward things and do not speak to the heart. Sometimes our cloak is our friends who we are afraid will no longer be our friends if we do not stand with them. If we look at Bartimaeus he recognized he was hampered. The cloak was probably heavy so he threw it off so he could move faster and claim what was to be his blessing of sight.

A blessing awaits us too. But we have to throw off our cloaks. And spring up. We need to embrace the healing and change that awaits us by giving ourselves over fully to Jesus, knowing that what we receive is better than where we were before. May the strength of God pilot us. May the power of God preserve us. May the wisdom of God instruct us. May the hand of God protect us. May the way of God direct us. May the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well all will be well. All manner of things will be well.

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Lesson from Bartimaeus: Do not follow the crowd

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Mark 10:46-52 tells the story of Bartimaeus who was blind.  He heard Jesus passing and wanted to be healed. He called out but he was shushed by those around him. He shouted louder. Jesus heard him and called him. The persons then said take heart he is calling you. Bartimaeus threw off his coat sprang up and went to Jesus. Jesus asked him what did he want and he  answered to see.  

There is a lot to unpack in this story. There is the crowd’s response and Bartimaeus’ responses to the crowd and to Jesus. Are we blind too and in what ways?

The healing of Bartimaeus is the last healing recorded by Mark.  After Bartimaeus was healed he became a disciple of Jesus and went with him to Jerusalem. When Jesus does something good for us do we follow him closely or do we go back to our old ways till the next time we need healing or another favour?

There was a crowd around Bartimaeus and he was not conforming to what was expected of him.  He was making a noise wanting to be heard.  They thought he should shut up.  Do you think they thought he could not be helped? That Jesus would not notice him?   In 21st century Jamaica we would have done the same thing. We would have thought that he should shut up and keep in his space.  Who was he that he should be disturbing those around him.

I am reminded of the blind persons I used to see playing the accordion or harmonica and persons dropping coins in their pan. I wonder if that was something Bartimaeus would have done. For those who were shushing him, he was already broken, so what did he hope to accomplish with calling on Jesus.  He had no friends like the man who was let down through the roof in Luke.  He only had himself to rely on.   So Bartimaeus shouted louder.  He paid no attention to the crowd.  He knew what he wanted and went for it. 

Bartimaeus’ determination to be healed, to make better for himself is seen in his response to Jesus hearing him.  The passage says “And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you. So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus”.  All of a sudden, the crowd notices Bartimaeus because Jesus a man of importance notices him.  Before he was a nobody, a person whose status was not important. Do we behave in a similar manner?  We keep others down instead of helping them up? We pay no attention to the little people around us. The physically challenged, the unfortunate, the ones who have been hit down by life and see no way of standing up again, those who eek out an existence dependent on the mercy of others to live.  

Maybe we feel that we are like Bartimaeus.  Hit down by life’s challenges and see no way out.  The people around us crowd us out.  They overshadow us and at every step of the way as we try to be noticed and stand on our feet, they shut us up. They keep us down instead of helping us.  But Bartimaeus was not deterred and we who feel that we have been marginalized and shushed should not either. 

The passage says Bartimaeus flung of his coat and sprang up. When he was called he rose to the occasion. Many times we are in a space where we feel handicapped but when called out to make a change we remain in the same space, because we are afraid of being that better person.  We believe the crowd and what they say about us. We never throw off our coat and come for healing.

Today is the day Jesus is calling you to come out of your little space into a larger one of abundant love and life, where opportunities abound. You just have to come and see.  Bartimaeus was bold in coming forward for healing and we too must be bold in coming to Jesus, to have our needs met. We must not be afraid of the crowd but boldly call out and affirm our right to dignity. We do so as the strength of God pilot us; the power of God preserve us; the wisdom of God instruct us; and the hand of God protect us. May the way of God direct us; the shield of God defend us and the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is all is well, all will be well. All manner of things will be well.

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Awakening to God’s signs: Seeing beyond the surface

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Luke 12:54-56

Why don’t we know how to interpret the times?  The answer is simple.  We believe we are in charge of the outcome of our lives. We know what will happen and can adjust what will happen making it more convenient for ourselves.  Nuh true? The other possible reason is that we are so focused on the coming of Jesus at the end of time, we pay little attention to the livity of the present. Each of us making clear our path, but not helping others do the same.

We have no control over when or how it rains or if the wind comes as a soft breeze or hurricane force winds, so we pay attention. We live our lives around them.  

Jesus in this passage calls us to pay attention to all that is happening around us. There are things that impact or is going to impact us and we do not see it coming until it is up on us. We must pay attention.

We must pay attention by looking at all of life through the eyes of God. What is God saying to us, what is God doing, as we remind ourselves that God is in all things. God uses the things that touch our various senses to remind us that God is present, that God is here, that God is near.  God also has an expectation that as coheirs of the kingdom we will ensure that God’s justice and mercy is seen and felt in the world.

We must pay attention to see clearly God’s continuous providence and care of God’s creation and God’s people.  God is not distant from us. God did not make the world and leave it. God does not leave us either. God gave us the care of the created world and ourselves.  The last thing Jesus says in Matthew 28 is that he would be with us until the end of time. Just as we make provision to respond to the rain and wind – the physical things, we must at the same time see what is happening in other spheres of life and respond accordingly. Our response is not necessarily reactive as in the case of the wind and rain, but is protective and prophetic.  

 Jesus is calling us to respond in a manner that ensures that God’s law of loving God and neighbour as self is adhered to.  We look for signs of God’s activities in our personal lives, community and national affairs and help others understand what God is saying and how all of us are to respond.  God calls us to speak out against the injustices. We take corrective or mitigating action in the case of the wind and the rain. Our prophetic and protective action is also correcting and mitigating against the injustices as God points them out to us.  God did not put us here for our good looks. God did not give us money or talent for ourselves but to be used for and to the glory of God.  We become hypocrites when we see the injustices and prefer not to use our resources for corrective action.  “May the strength of God pilot us. May the power of God preserve us. May the wisdom of God instruct us. May the hand of God protect us. May the way of God direct us. May the shield of God defend us. May the host of God guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world.” Where God is all is well all will be well. All manner of things will be well.

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Remember who we are: Preserve our Heritage and Identity

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Hilda Vaughan

Now keep this in mind: it was you, not your children, who saw and experienced firsthand all the lessons the Eternal your God taught you. So let what I’m saying sink deeply into your hearts and souls. Do whatever it takes to remember what I’m telling you: tie a reminder on your hand or put a reminder on your forehead where you’ll see it all the time, and on the doorpost where you cross the threshold or on the city gate.  Teach these things to your children. Talk about them when you’re sitting together in your home and when you’re walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning. Deuteronomy 11:2, 18-19 The Voice

We must look back. We must not forget. We must not forget what God has done.  It is in looking back that we can see where we are coming from. Looking back helps us to see the errors of our ways as a nation as a church and as individuals.  Looking back allows us to reframe and reset to a better way of thinking, new ways of understanding that best reflects our Jamaican context.  Looking back is not just about focusing on the regrets or misfortunes, but seeing the hand of God’s faithfulness through the years.

The passage says we must tell our children. We must recite what happened in the past over and over again.  I too believe it is important.  We have lost so much of our history. So much of who we are, is now subsumed in North American culture.  The handmade peppermint candy, Asham, Jackass Corn, have all been lost to Donuts and fancy cakes. What of Jonkonnu bands at Christmas. Do we even know where that came from? We don’t see them anymore.

We are forgetting who we are as a nation. When we do that we also lose our integrity, our substance and authenticity .  We pattern others whose heart, DNA foundation and culture may be similar but it is not ours.   We are therefore forgetting who God says we are and who we are to be. We must keep what is ours alive. We must not forget. We must teach our children.  We must carry a reminder at all times.  

The Israelites had a strong oral tradition.  Unlike today, only special people in their society wrote, so everything was passed by word of mouth.  They would recount the stories. Even today the religious Jews repeat the story of God’s deliverance from Egypt when the family sits for the Sabbath meal –  The Seder.

We need some of that remembrance in our lives as a nation – the recounting of the stories.  It is for this reason I defend the Maroons. I don’t know if what they say is true. Their strong oral history says one thing but the written laws of the British say another.  The British wrote from a place of privilege and brutal authority. Not only that! Who says that those who signed the treaty could read it?  Why is it so difficult to trust and respect the Maroon’s oral tradition as an authentic source of knowledge? Instead we who are now the privileged, side with them instead of believing that maybe, just maybe the Maroons could be right and that for Justice to be served they too need to be heard and their views acknowledged.

We must as a nation come to a consensus about who we are and move forward, understanding that all of us must move together. Only then can true liberation and autonomy take place. We must know who we are and where the hand of God is guiding.

Your hand, O God, has guided your flock from age to age;
your faithfulness is written on history’s open page.
Our fathers owned your goodness, and we their deeds record;
and both to this bear witness: one church, one faith, one Lord!

God’s mercy will not fail us nor leave God’s work undone;
with God’s right hand to help us the vict’ry shall be won.
And then by earth and heaven your name shall be adored;
and this shall be our anthem:
One love, One faith, One Heritage, One Lord!

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