Charles Williams : The New Christian Year

4th Friday in Lent (February 29th, 2008)

        England! awake! awake! awake!
        Jerusalem thy sister calls!
        Why wilt thou sleep the sleep of death,
        And close her from thy ancient walls?

        Thy hills and valleys felt her feet,
        Gently upon their bosoms move:
        Thy gates beheld sweet Zion's ways;
        Then was a time of joy and love.

        And now the time returns again:
        Our souls exult, and London's towers
        Receive the Lamb of God to dwell
        In England's green and pleasant bowers.

Blake: Jerusalem.

He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.

William Blake: Jerusalem.

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
   Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?

John 18:33-34

  Others have always told it; the Other has always told it.  All initiation is from him, whether of curiosity or of faith.  He mediates it through others, because his delight is to involve others.  He plays, as Bacon said, hide and seek with his creatures, but we only find them by holy luck when we are looking for him.

Anonymous.

Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

John 18:35

  There is no doer but He . . . All this showed he fill blissfully, signifying thus: See! I am God: see! I am in all thing: see! I do all thing! see!  I lift never mine hands off my works, nor ever shall, without end: see!  I lead all thing to the end I ordained it to from without beginning by the same Might, Wisdom, and Love whereby I made it.  How should any thing be amiss?

Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

John 18:36

  The whole nature of the Christian religion stands upon these two great pillars, namely, the greatness of our fall and the greatness of our redemption. . . . [The sinner] has so seen the exceeding Love of God in the manner and degree of his redemption that it would be the greatest of pain for him to do anything but upon a motive of Divine Love.

William Law: Christian Regeneration.

  Hear then, ye Jews and Gentiles; hear, O circumcision; hear, O uncircumcision; hear, all ye kingdoms of the earth: I interfere not with your government in this world, 'My kingdom is not of this world.' What would ye more?  Come to the kingdom that is not of this world; come, believing.

St. Augustine: Lectures on St. John.

4th Thursday in Lent (February 28th, 2008)

A certain monk was sitting by the monastery, and whilst he was occupied in great labours, it happened that strangers came to the monastery, and they forced him to eat with them contrary to his usual custom, and afterwards the brethren said unto him, "Father, wast thou not just now afflicted?" and he said unto them, "My affliction is to break my will."

The Paradise of the Fathers.