Alison has sent in this reflection from a quiet morning at Elsieshields.
Rabbi Yehoshua was once asked “Why did God appear to Moses in such a lowly bush?”
The Rabbi answered “Why in a thorn bush? I’ll tell you: To teach there is no place where the Divine Presence is not found, even in a lowly thorn bush.”
These photos of the sky and sunsets are from the Quartz ‘Glimmers’ WhatsApp group.
I thought that the two would work well together, in a similar way to that in which the gospel writers chose themes in their telling of the good news that would resonate with their Jewish audience.
What connections do you become aware if when you remember the story of the burning bush and Moses, and the story of Pentecost with the wind and fire?
What themes resonate with you and those you live amongst?
The comment from Annie didn’t format in a way which did the poem justice, so it has been added here – ed
I think of R S Thomas’s poem The Bright Field, about the importance of turning aside to see that burning bush, and being fully in the moment:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the
pearl of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past.
It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
R.S. Thomas The Bright Field
2 replies on “Quiet Fire”
The Holy Spirit is the one who decides when and where to settle in our world. S/he is present everywhere but we can sometimes miss the moment if our attention strays inwards and we forget whose world we are in. Fire and sunsets both have the power to mould the elements into a picture of God and lead us beyond ourselves.
I think of R S Thomas’s poem The Bright Field, about the importance of turning aside to see that burning bush, and being fully in the moment:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the
pearl of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.