April 1stFive Minutes on Friday #23
CLOUDS
‘Clouds are having a moment, baby.’ So writes Ian Brown in the Globe & Mail, March 19, 2022. “But why?” he goes on. “There is more to be concerned about around the globe at this moment than water vapor scudding across the sky. That might be the point.”
One of the key reasons Brown thinks this is so is that clouds remind us of the greater ‘material’ world around and above us in a time when so much of what we see and know comes to us through a tiny rectangle in the palm of our hands. The icloud has nothing on real clouds you can see and appreciate above you. See the article with paintings at …
CONVERSION
“Conversion is a continuous and lifelong process. Conversions proceed layer by layer, relationship by relationship, here a little, there a little—until the whole personality, intellect, feeling and will have been recreated by God. [John Westerhoff]
"We need to unlearn a lot, it seems, to get back to that foundational life which is 'hidden in God' (Colossians 3:3). Yes, transformation is often more about unlearning than learning, which is why the religious traditions call it 'conversion' or 'repentance.'" [R. Rohr]
SUNDAY – John 15.1-8
This week’s text is rich in imagery and imagination. I offer these questions for reflection on the text.
1 Where do you struggle to ‘remain in the vine?’
Busy with little time for cultivation?
Distracted – you fill in the blank.
Disappointed – God seems to have let me down.
2 What kind of fruit would you like to see in your life as a disciple?