September visitors

The above were birds, were the common visitors, in our garden in September 2013. They came regularly to their flight stations as a routine or for seeking feed. 

They have their familiar locations and arrive and leave around the same time in the mornings. 

The month of September was a rainy month, with most mornings cloudy and cold. That did not stop them from beginning their day following the routine. 

I noticed that their body did not appear wet even during the rain. Their feathered body has the ability to dispel water instead of absorbing water and soak the feathers. Even when they are soaked, they shake their body and disperse water to dry their body for flight movements.

The feathery coat is their thermal blanket. They attend to keep their coat as their protection. 

The contour of the body and the differently structured and distributed feathers serve them well, whether for flight or for thermal regulation. 

They value their life, live flying and learn to fend for themselves. The avian behaviour is worth studying, to get a sense of the mission in life. 

Jesus of Nazareth was a good friend of some fisher men and chose some of them to be with Him to become His close companions.  I often wondered how they became the people, that  Jesus desired for them to be!  

I came across a passage in Luke's gospel chapter 5 verse 2, which gave me an insight about fishermen and their routines. Jesus 'saw two boats  lying at the edge of the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets'. 

For fishermen, there were three essentials to relate to each day. Their boat, net and sea. 

In the statement above, the fishermen had left their boats at the edge of the lake. That was the place of safety for their boat, till they set out fishing next time. They ensured the safety of their boat. Having watched fishermen at the beach close by to our home, I remembered how fishermen inspected their boat after unloading the fish caught, and applied protective layer of oil on the outside the boat to keep it waterproof. They do a detailed check up of their boat once in two weeks. 

They attended and mended their nets after each fishing trip. Sometimes, we can see the fishermen taking time to examine each portion of the net and mend it to secure it. They do this on the shore. The net is their provider. It catches the fish for them, for which they keep the net ready. 

It was during such times, the fishermen experienced the 'slow time', which in the words of Sue Stuart-smith, in her book, 'The well gardened mind' is 'entering into a living relationship with the present'. The slow time 'is not doing things more slowly'. Quoting from Carl Jung, the author proposed that, 'At times, I feel as if I am spread out over the landscape and inside things, and myself living in  every tree, in the splashing of waves, in the clouds and the animals that come and go, in the procession of seasons'. The sense of awareness or mindfulness is a gift that we can give to ourselves, when we get engaged in different activities,  to grow in the sense of presence. 

I suspect that the fishermen were such people. That is why Jesus of Nazareth could use several illustrations of things seen and experienced around them as truths, which could be spoken in a parable style. The injured man in the Good Samaritan story is one such story, emphasising the neighbourliness that we are to carry with us towards others in need. 

Jesus of Nazareth needed His followers to carry a heightened sense of awareness about themselves and their neighbours. 

The third in the triad of daily experience of the fishermen was  the sea. In the passage referred to here, it is mentioned that they returned from the fishing expedition without catching any fish (v 5). This is beyond the domain of the fishermen. They would get a good catch or none at all! Their livelihood was based on what they caught. There was a daily insecurity that they lived with. They got used to the varying experiences of having plenty as well as the denial of the daily provision. 

The fishermen could take care of their boats and nets. But they were subject to the unknown situations in the sea and the outcome of the fishing trip. 

I presume that Jesus of Nazareth would have been fascinated by the responsible behaviour of the fishermen on the domains that they could be in control and living with hope pertaining to the domains outside their control. 

Life has two realities. 

In our daily living, one reality is that, lot is in our charge and domain. It is in as much as we are able to be stewards in the domains that are in our control, we live with a sense of responsibility. 

The birds that I referred to could keep their body, dry, oiled and groomed. They could not control the wind or the weather! By keeping  their feathers dry and well groomed, they protect themselves from the adverse impact of the wind and weather. 

The fishermen by keeping their boat and net ready to use, ensued their voyage into the sea to become purposeful. 

A parent told me recently, that in her desire to introduce some routines to her six years old son, she was grooming him to  accept responsibility. He would lay the table and help in clearing the table. He could polish his shoes. He unloads the washing machine and spreads the clothes on the line to dry. He attempts to keep the Child's Corner tidy and user friendly. In introducing these tasks, he according to the mother, is learning to be attentive to the needs of others at home. What a commendable way of introducing a child to be conscious of the home and its environment!

This lady went on to share something about her husband in an admirable way. It is he who polishes their son's shoes after supper while she reads to their son in preparation for bed time. During this time her husband would iron the clothes of their son and of her and  her husband, to be ready for the next day. He would then take their dog for a short walk before its bed time. By the time this routine is over it is usually 9 pm, when both of them have a reading time from a book, and a prayer time with Scripture reading. 

As most of the preparations to begin the next day were attended to in the evening, the mornings were not rushed. On some days the family had time for playing Caroms for a short time, before their son left for the school by bus at 7. 30am. 

This story of this family amazed me about the calling of living they practice! They did not surrender the the demands of the day, but weaved a fabric of order, around the chores which they had to attend to each day.  

The other reality in our life is the unknowns of each day. 

I travelled back in the memory lane to recollect the events of the last three weeks, in preparation to write this narrative. 

I slipped and fell, injuring my nose with a small fracture of the nasal bridge. There was a disturbing event in the family, which plunged us into grief. The facility that I was involved in creating for child development,  in the hospital where I worked until recently, was getting dismantled to create another focus. There were leaks from the roof in our 70 years old cottage during rain,  which needed immediate attention. I narrowly escaped loosing control of the car, I was driving, when one front tyre burst. 

The above negative things surfaced as if, they alone mattered in the last three weeks. I wanted to go beyond this one sidedness of my recollection. 

That was when I recalled a longer list of pleasant surprises. A taxi driver whom we know for a while, brought food for an evening meal in order to share the joy of a happy event in his family. The wood cutter came to trim all the trees in the campus, for which a respite of rain was needed. The domestic helpers worked collaboratively to make the barn free of bugs,  which multiplied during the rainy season.  The quiet room where I spend most of the day needed a coat of paint, which was attended to. Two friends called to enquire about Anna and me and offered to visit us. One friend remembering a greeting card I gave after I retired from CMC Vellore in 2019, sent message appreciating that gesture after 14 years. A friend who is looking for an opportunity to study further had a promising response. 

The above is about living the calling, experiencing the events in life as formative and enlarging in nature!

The followers of Jesus of Nazareth were called to be 'with him'.  They were habituated to be responsible for the domains in their control- keeping their boat and net safe and secure. 

What was beyond their domain was the lake and the outcome of the fishing trip. 

This dimension of learning from their calling  happened when the followers of Jesus responded to His suggestion to cast the net into the lake.  

Living has a dimension beyond what we are habituated to. The edge of the lake, where they berthed the boat and the shore where they sat down to mend the net, were safer places to be in. They were probably resigned to return to their homes on that day with no catch of fish.

The turning point in this lake shore miracle, occurred when Jesus occupied the boat owned by Simon Peter and asked him to move beyond the shore, for Jesus to address the gathering, who had throned on the shore. 

After finishing the address, Jesus of Nazareth, said to Simon, 'Put out  into the deep water and let down the net for a catch'(v 4). They gathered a large catch of fish, so much so, their boats began to sink with the load of fish they caught. Their nets began to break; they needed helpers to gather the fish; they were seized by amazement (Luke. 5: 5-9)

The deep is a place where fish hide. The deep is also a place where there are uncertainties of storm, strong current and risk of drifting. Even in such situation, this event Jesus guiding the disciples to find fish would be an indication of God accompanying us into the journey towards the deep.

Anna and I were in deep trouble, about ten months ago. The intelligence officers from the government of India came to verify the details of the charitable trust that we have been associated with for forty years.  It was the time for the renewal of the permission to continue the activities of the trust for the next five years. They apart from gathering documents and information form us, enquired from two institutions, which the trust supported to create facilities of child development. The custodians of both facilities refused to have had any association with the trust or having received any help, in spite of the documents existing in evidence of that. The intelligence agencies were shocked by the behaviour of the people concerned. The officer took more time to enquire and recommend for the renewal of permission to continue for another five years. Anna and I wondered whether the officers would go by what was told to them in the two places, in which case, we would have been termed to be untruthful. The officers who called me from two offices consoled me and commented us for the good work that we have been involved in. 

We would be drawn into deep situations of stress and trial sometimes. That is the place, where we would encounter surprises and affirmation to continue, as the One who takes us to the deep and intervenes to redeem us, is the God of our lives.  God makes us ready to receive surprises, which is inherent to His nature.  

Those months of waiting in suspense made us anxious. The dishonouring behaviour of friends in the two places where the trust made significant contributions shocked us. Out of the crisis of those months, came an awareness that new experience of the goodness of God in troubled times. When we are made to enter the deep, risk and blessing co-exist. 

Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth before she was married, when received the announcement from an angel that she would, '..conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus (Luke 1:31), was moved to say, 'Behold the bond slave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word'(v38)! God would surprise us sometimes by what He plans for us through what seems unnatural ! 

Life is for living and learning. 

We are called to be diligent and responsible in the domains, where we are in control. The call to the 'deep' is worth exploring, because there resides surprises in the domain of God's good purpose for our lives. 

It was while watching the September avian visitors, the thoughts shared above, got assembled into its present state of clarity!

The spectacular sight, in the photo of the Butter cups below,  of the water drops on the petals of the flowers brought a message of hope. The rain drops stayed on the petals.

There is an affinity between water drops and flower petals.  Jesus and His fishermen followers lived in the intimacy of such a relationship.

The fragile flowers received an ornamental appearance with water drops covering the petals. It became a symbol of the grace of God enveloping all those,  who turn to God!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)