Outside

Getting out of the house is one of the best decisions I can make on a daily basis, so I don't know why I am always surprised by how wonderfully refreshing it is. Outside is full of all of Ignatius' current favourite things - noisy things; motorbikes, diggers, trucks, buses, planes and birds. He is in awe of just about anything that moves which is such a delight to see. Well... that is when he is not grumbling for no good reason we can decipher as of late... (thus the abandonment of accomplishing any kind of housework and heading out the door!) but on the whole, he is a charming chap. I love how much more of the world and it's peculiarities we see on foot (today, but often to be seen doubling on my bike these days). This is the suburb Joshua and I lived in as newly weds, so there is something lovely about being back here. I also spent a great deal of my childhood in this very house we now call home, with dear family friends who are now our kind landlords. We love this little patch of Brisbane. The lamps are from an amazing antique lighting store up the road. I am so pleased these timeless corner stores still exist. Here is another charming Brisbane street near where we lived with my mum and dad last year.

lately

Post note: I really must include this beautiful prayer we read as a grace for our Resurrection Sunday feast. We picked this book up for a bargain at a Vinnies store in Maryborough on our way back from Agnes Waters earlier this year. It is such a gem of a book! Click on it to enlarge. Australian Prayers by Bruce D. Prewer; Lutheran Publishing House; Adelaide; 1983.

Ethel

I recently took an excellent online photography course through The Define School, (which I can highly recommend as far as my experience goes). Part of our 'homework' was to photograph a stranger - preferably with permission (!). It was a fun challenge. I'd like to do it more often. I had Ignatius with me which I thought might possibly be a hindrance, but honestly, he was the best little assistant I could have asked for. We were waiting down at our local supermarket on a bench seat, people watching, when beautiful Ethel (and her friend Kathy) came and sat down next to us. Iggy was schmoozing with them before I had even realized. He's great at making new friends. So this is Ethel. Isn't she incredibly beautiful?! I was able to hear a little of her story. By now she is back home in northern Queensland and chemo treatment is over for good. Praise the Lord!

Malchus: an encounter with grace.

In Leviticus 14:14, instructions are given for the cleansing of those suffering leprosy; they are to be anointed on their right ear lobe (and right hand and foot), with the blood of a spotless lamb. Earlier in Leviticus (8:23) Moses also anoints Aaron for priestly ministry with the blood of a ram on his right ear.

Amidst all this gory detail, I am continually drawn to the powerful imagery of Leviticus. I sketched a right ear lobe in my journal many years ago, pondering what it meant that an ear be anointed. Surely, this speaks about the necessity of listening and truly hearing?

The right ear appears again in Luke (22:47-53). Malchus, a servant of the High Priest is sent with a band of others to arrest Jesus. He is employed (or perhaps even coerced?) to do the dirty work of the Jewish leaders.

When Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss Malchus and the band of men move forward to grab and bind Jesus. One of the disciples asks "Lord, should we strike with the sword?", but before he has time to answer, Simon-Peter, loyal but impetuous, strikes out in Jesus’ defence, cutting off the right ear of the man closest- Malchus.

Jesus rebukes the use of violence against the very people who are about to send him to a violent death. As a powerful sign he picks up the severed, bloody ear, and brings healing to Malchus with a gentle touch to his right lobe.

Healing comes through the spotless lamb, ready for the slaughter.

I imagine Malchus stepping back from the commotion.
Touching his re-created ear.
Taking in the unfolding scene with a new perspective.
Looking across at the man who healed and anointed him.
Listening intently.

 

*This was my contribution to a Lent devotional booklet put together by GCBC around the theme of Encounters on the Way to the Cross: Losing our Lives to Find Them. PDF booklet available for download online. Also listen to and download beautiful songs which were written by others as part of their reflection on the theme.