Hello Faith Pals,
Welcome to the warmth of spring! Some lovely blooms are in the garden, our pink carmelia bush is magnificent, displaying something of God’s grandeur.
The angel Israfel is part of Islamic tradition. In Judaism and Christianity, he is commonly known as the archangel Raphael. In 1831 Edgar Allen Poe wrote a poem called ‘Israfel:’
‘If I could dwell
where Israfel
hath dwelt, and he where I,
he might not sing so wildly well
a mortal melody,
while a bolder note than this might swell
from my lyre within the sky.’
In Islam, this angel is thought to be the one who will blow his trumpet, from the holy rock in Jerusalem, on the Day of Resurrection. He is the angel of music, said to sing praises to God in thousands of languages. In the mystical tradition of Sufism, the perfect human being is said to have a heart like Israfel’s.
Israfel’s heartstrings are a lute, or a harp.
What about your heart? I know some of you have had stents etc inserted. What sounds do our hearts sing or make? Sweetness, or sadness/lament? Do our strings need tuning? What do we need to do to tune our heart strings, so they sing praises to God and are light and full of zest and life? Do we need to have more joy in our lives? I know these are challenging times, but we can choose our responses.
Perhaps we need to think back to a wonderful memory or two. Maybe a special birthday. When I was a child, my mother would make me an ice-cream birthday cake. Birthday parties were great fun, with games like pin the tail on the donkey, hide and seek, musical chairs. I couldn’t sleep the night before my birthday. Do you have a fond memory of a particular birthday?
In some traditions, tomorrow (8th September) is celebrated as the birthday of the Virgin Mary. If you need a reason to celebrate, why not do something special in her honour, tomorrow? Maybe sing out loud the hymn: ‘Tell out my soul.’ In our Protestant tradition, we remember Mary for her willingness to say “yes.” For her bravery and courage. For giving birth to Jesus, and for being a loving parent. A good thing for us to reflect on, to pray about. Are we willing to do what God requires of us? We each have a part or role to play.
Other ways to play lightly on our heart strings is to balance sad/tough news about covid-19, with the positives we can gather from this experience. Some of you are already doing this. I know Sarah Simko is keeping an ‘isolation diary’ and wondered if some of you are also making notes/keeping a record of this unique experience in which we find ourselves ? If, as someone discussed with me the other day, it is a little like the movie Ground Hog Day (the movie was repeating the same day over and over again…until it got better/lessons were learned…Bill Murray became a nicer, generous, compassionate person) in that some days may seem the same…BUT THEY NEVER ARE! We each have the power to make them different, and to change our attitude too. I am not advocating that we become naive, but we can use this time well to tally up lessons learned. Some of these might include:
-the importance of family
-blessed with a phone/computer
-being able to sit in my garden
-having hot and cold running water
-reading a particular book I have wanted to for years
-noticing the small things of life-the bees, bird song
-enjoying hearing children out riding their bikes
-becoming more patient
-including politicians in our daily prayers (who would want their jobs? Oh I do feel sorry for them).
What helps you? Some laughter? Some perspective? I find that if I get stuck, I grab a Christmas book, or a children’s picture book,for a quick read. The Gospels are good too! Or a cuppa in the garden.
This too will pass.
I couldn’t resist ending with the following!
Now, according to Edward Hays, September 10 is ‘Iron Retirement Feast, or Liberation Day, 1954’. Before the 1950s, it was necessary to spend up to 20 hours a week ironing-shirts, skirts, tablecloths, bed linen. Then a new age arrived, with the invention of synthetic fabrics, the ‘wash and wear’ era. So, Hays wants to know, where have those 20 extra/free hours a week gone? He wants to know who stole your free time, your 20 hours or so? I confess, I don’t iron much-that is my bit for the environment! When we lived in Canberra, and our son was young, a friend from Melbourne would visit several times a year. Our son loved to watch our friend use our iron (she is keen on ironing) as he rarely saw us use it! The iron still doesn’t get out much-sometimes I think I hear it and my swim suit lament their years stuck in the cupboard! They have become good friends.
This photo is from a youtube segment ‘ How to iron a shirt.’ I won’t need to watch it, so have saved some myself several minutes!
‘I will give thanks to the Lord
with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.’
-Psalm 9:1-2
Blessings and love
Barbara
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