December 2, 2023 • 26 mins
If you have ever enjoyed being in the presence of Helene King, you know it is a rare and special time. You not only experience the grace she walks in, but you can also drink deeply from a voice that draws you into her rich world of history and insights. It aways brings encouragement to those within earshot.
Recently Helene spent an evening with an intimate group of friends in a cozy living room where she shared about what she called, “darkness and light”. We were very fortunate to discover afterwards that someone had captured her sharing that evening.
Enjoy the gift of Helene as she illuminates the journey from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, in this message. Helene’s reflective odyssey draws inspiration from timeless wisdom and personal experience that invites us all into the transformative journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Helena King (00:00):
I'll talk about and this is not a tall negative,
but if you looked at the titlethat I've written, I would call
it darkness and light and I'vebeen thinking an awful lot,
probably being the oldest in theroom on the outside, but maybe
(00:20):
the youngest on the inside,because I'm on the nine.
I've been thinking a lot abouthow we journey through life and
I like to learn from people ofthe past as well as people of
today.
And there was a man calledBrendan.
He was born in 484, and he wasan Irish saint.
(00:42):
And one day he went on ajourney, and I don't know, this
just held me.
Brendan and his people leftwhere they were and they were
very encouraged by the wordspoken to them.
May the God of our salvationgrant you a safe journey.
After traveling 40 days, theywere covered in a great darkness
(01:07):
that was so thick they couldhardly see each other, and they
came to understand that thosewho fear the darkness the
darkness that had covered them,that was so thick they could
hardly see each other, and theycame to realize that those who
fear the darkness will never beable to venture far or come into
(01:29):
the fullness of night.
You see, darkness is like thecloud that hides the glory of
God, and it is a pity that it'sjust.
This is where I'm at in thisjourney through life, so I hope
you understand where I'm comingfrom.
It is a pity that so many of uscan be put off by the cloud,
(01:52):
for it's often close to theglory.
There was a man called DavidAdam, who used to be a pastor of
a church on an island inEngland called Holy Island, and
he said this.
He said this not long agobefore he passed on.
It is our journey through theworld, even its darkness, that
(02:16):
prepares us for the wonders anddelights of the world to come.
For me on this journey.
I'm not trying to make God come.
We need to know that he is deepinside every one of us and that
he's actually here.
His presence is here.
(02:39):
I wonder if we realise thateven the ground we're standing
on is holy ground.
This is Advent and I wasthinking about remember our
Christmas story of the shepherdson the hills at Bethlehem.
They were keeping watch atnight when the angels came, but
(03:02):
I believe there was even agreater understanding that came
to them and that was the lightwas never far away.
God, as our Father, is in Hisworld and he wants to reveal
Himself to us in times ofdarkness.
And I wonder if sometimes wefeel we've lost the ability to
(03:26):
see, and I think it's reallyimportant to understand that God
lives in us.
But we also need to come torealise these words have changed
my life so much that in Him welive and move and have our being
.
In Colossians it says that he isbefore all things and in Him
(03:51):
all things hold together, evencreation itself.
There was a mystic long agocalled St Anthony and he came
from Portugal and he was apatron saint of lost things.
He was a patron saint of thepoor.
He was a patron saint ofanimals, of elderly people and
(04:15):
many other things, and he wasasked how did he manage without
books?
And he said this please, I wantyou to get this.
He said my book is the natureof created things and, as I
often, I have a mind to read theword of God there at my hand.
(04:36):
But the beauty of nature.
He created a world for us tolive in.
Before he created us there was aGerman theologian called Master
Eckert, born in 1260.
And he said apprehend God inall things.
Every single creature is fullof God, and it's a book about
(05:00):
God.
Every creature is a word of God, and I'm coming also to
understand that creation itselfwas communion with the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Everything speaks of Hispresence and I came to
understand in a deeper way, evenduring the lockdown, that we
(05:23):
see without eyes, but, moreimportantly, we can see through
the eyes of our heart.
And I started to research thisand I discovered in the Bible
there are over 96 references tothe heart, and this refers to
the very core of our being.
(05:43):
We're so busy trying to geteverything here you understand
me, don't you?
But when we get it here, itchanges everything.
Because I'm finding thatgreater than our love for God
listen to this greater than ourlove for God is His love for us.
(06:03):
And as we journey in this love,we find we are in the very
heart of God Himself.
The Bible says nothing, nothingcan separate us from the love
that God in Christ Jesus,nothing.
And it is this that allows usto even go on dangerous and
(06:28):
troubled seas.
You see, when God is in ourboat, there's nothing to fear.
Remember the story of Jesus inthe boat, asleep even while the
storm was raging.
But when we come to living inthe knowledge and understanding
of God's love, we're not afraidto go anywhere.
(06:53):
When I was eight years of age, Ihad a desire I want to go to
Pakistan.
I was only eight.
Why Pakistan?
I have no idea.
I waited 75, 76 years and lastyear I went to Pakistan.
And the reason for me sayingthis we're not afraid to go
(07:16):
anywhere.
Everybody said you can't go toPakistan and began to tell me
all the reasons why.
But you see, when God is in ourboat, there's nothing to fear.
And my reason also for sayingthat is whatever dream you have
inside of you, don't let go ofit.
I never, ever, thought after 75, 76 years, I would actually
(07:41):
make it.
I'm being driven up with Andyand Gunala up the hills and I
started to cry as we're going upthe hills.
There was no edge to the road,it just dropped down and I saw
the hills, and behind the hillswith the hills, and behind the
(08:02):
hills with the hills, and Istarted crying and there were
tears of absolute joy.
And Andy says why are youcrying?
I says you don't understand.
It's the beauty of what I'mseeing.
I waited all these years to seeit.
So when you live in thisrevelation of love, you're not
(08:25):
afraid to go anywhere.
You can get lost at sea, but wecan know deep in our heart that
we are not lost eternally.
Our heart is what makes us whowe are.
It is the very core of ourbeing.
You see, our relationship withGod is an affair of the heart,
(08:48):
of the very center of our being.
We really need to become moreand more aware to the real truth
that we are in Him and ourhearts need to rest in Him if
we're to have peace.
I've also come to realize thatwithin us now this is really
(09:09):
important for me and I wouldn'tbe surprised, for many of us
here maybe not everybody, butI've come to realize that within
us there is a kind of desert ofloneliness and no matter what
we try and put in this desertplace, we can still suffer from
feeling dry and have a longingto satisfy our thirst.
(09:32):
I even found out on the newsrecently that loneliness is
gripping the hearts of peopleall over the world, especially
with COVID and everything else.
And I spoke to James Jordanyears ago because he's spoken
loneliness and it was mystruggle and I said do you think
(09:54):
we'll ever be free ofloneliness?
He says not in this lifetime.
But to give you hope, myloneliness is not what it was.
I feel I'm beginning to feelmore and more at home, because
he created this world for us tolive in.
He created a home for us beforehe created mankind.
(10:16):
This desert and emptinesswithin us needs filling, and we
can fill it with all sorts ofthings.
There's too much food with toomuch wine, but I like it.
But can I?
also show you in a different waythere's also a desert in us
(10:37):
that is a kind of place ofcrossing over if you are to get
to the other side.
Before the Promised Land spokenof in the Bible could be
reached, there were deserts tocross.
So interesting to find thatJacob had a dream of God's
presence when he was in thedesert.
Moses, looking after the sheepin the wilderness, found the
(11:03):
ground was holy when he saw theburning bush.
I still question that and Isaid to God was the ground not
holy before?
He's not answered me so I'mstill trying to ponder that one.
Person 2 (11:16):
But he found the ground was holy when he saw the
burning bush.
Helena King (11:22):
You see, our journey is a journey of the
desert.
A journey from slavery tofreedom often involves crossing
the desert.
In the New Testament, the wisemen crossed the desert to find
Jesus.
John the Baptist chose thedesert at the beginning of his
ministry.
Mark's Gospel tells us of Jesusthat the Spirit drove him into
(11:47):
the wilderness for 40 days.
It was the Spirit who led Jesusinto the desert.
So the desert can be a positiveplace because there can be
space for us to face what'sgoing on inside of us.
I am becoming very aware, evenmore so, especially in the
(12:10):
season that we're living in,that dryness is entering the
hearts and souls of people eventoday, and I'm realising, if we
don't allow ourselves to beemptied, it's often because
we're afraid of the growingemptiness within.
We are called to love the Lord,our God, with all our heart,
(12:33):
with all our soul, with all ourmind, but we live in an age, all
of us here, where we're notsure if His presence is really
with us.
People often seem, like today,like orphans in the lost world.
People often feel lonely inthis world and don't know how to
(12:57):
go forward.
It seems, in this century thatwe're living in, that so many
have lost relationship with Godas a father.
This is why I'm so grateful toJames Jordan.
I want to honour him until Imeet him in eternity.
He's still on earth, but I domeet him.
(13:17):
But I don't know where I'd beif I'd never began to come into
this relationship with God as afather.
I really do believe it'simportant in this day and hour
to come to know that God is ourFather and my prayer is that
it's not lost through confusionin our present world.
(13:40):
Jesus talked of this situationand his story of the prodigal
son.
It was not that the Fatherwouldn't give to His Son, it was
not that the Father moved away.
It was the Son who was not athome in the present moment.
The Son wanted to make Himselfthe centre of His world.
He had come of an age and hethought I don't need a father.
(14:03):
But I wonder if we need torealise that when this
relationship with God as ourFather is broken, all other
relationships break down as well.
The prodigal Son learned thatyou cannot buy love.
It must be freely given.
And I'm also coming tounderstand.
(14:28):
It is no use in possessingthings If you're empty on the
inside.
You know I'm being the oldesthere.
I've got a lovely little modernflat, a one bedroom.
I love it.
But I've noticed somethinghappening with me.
I'm going through my bookcaseand I take a book, I start
(14:50):
reading it and I give it awayand I look at something in my
cupboard.
I've not used that, so I giveit away.
And I've got a friend Markwho's a friend of mine.
I've got a friend Mark who wasone of the leaders in my mum.
He says Helena, I've noticedsomething.
Every time you give somethingaway, god does something inside
of you.
It's like I'm getting rid ofjunk and but I'm also coming to
(15:18):
understand that there's no usepossessing things if you're
empty on the inside.
When the Son returns home, allhe wants is a relationship with
His Father.
A relationship even amongstthis group here isn't gained by
duty, or is it worked for?
Although I think somebody'sworked very hard here, aww.
(15:40):
But it is of the heart.
She's done this because shewants us here.
I don't know why.
I don't know why, but his loveis becoming more real to me as I
live in this, and I really wantour soul to begin to live in
(16:02):
this love.
It changes absolutelyeverything.
I believe it even changes theatmosphere.
See, the Bible tells us that Godis not a God without feelings.
He is not a God who made thisworld and then left it.
He is at home in it and hecares for it.
God loves this world.
(16:23):
In fact, he loves the world somuch that he gave himself for it
.
And the amazing thing is it'snot just for us as human beings,
but his love is for the wholeworld.
I'm also coming to understandthat the whole world belongs to
(16:44):
God, and this, I believe, opensup us up to a world of discovery
.
We really are part of somethingfar greater than we can ever
possibly imagine, and as webecome aware of this, we find
that all things work togetherfor good.
God, as our Father, wants us tomake ourselves at home in this
(17:11):
world, because it's His worldthat we are living in in the
present moment.
And just to let you know onething, I found something a few
months ago.
That had me absolutely laughing.
It says in Isaiah 46, even inyour old age and gray hairs, I
(17:33):
am he.
I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I willsustain you and I will rescue
you.
I went hysterical when I readthat he's mentioning me in the
Bible.
There really is a danger in thetime in which we're living in,
(17:54):
where we're encouraged to chaseafter too many things.
By seeking to possess things,we can often be possessed by
them, things like our appetiteis never satisfied.
I never realised, like I saidearlier, that having the need to
(18:18):
possess lots of things is oftena sign of poverty within.
We can be surrounded by worldlythings and still feel poor and
unsatisfied within, and we seem,in this day and hour, to
measure people by their successor what they've gained or by the
(18:41):
position they hold.
But listen to this we really doneed to see again and again
with fresh eyes that Jesus cameas the Son of God.
But do you know what I'm saying?
Do you know?
He was a carpenter's son.
He was born at a stable and inMatthew 13, we read the kingdom
(19:03):
of heaven is like a merchantseeking beautiful perils, and
when he found one pearl of greatprice, he sold everything and
bought it.
And I believe that the perilthat we are seeking for today is
the presence, the divinepresence, that will never, never
, leave us.
(19:23):
John said this that the darkesthour is just before the dawn.
And I want to finish with onelittle thing.
Anybody heard of DietrichBonhoeffer.
He was a German and Copa theNazis, and he was not long
(19:45):
before he was hung because ofhis faith.
He said this, and I read thisoften and often and often.
And he says what will Christmean in the future?
We need a new form ofChristianity when the time of
this world is come of age.
There's only one purpose forreligion in this modern world,
(20:10):
when people must share eachother's suffering and the
suffering of God.
In this godless world, we needmore than religion in the former
sense.
We need a faith and JesusChrist at the centre.
Real Christianity means sharingeach other's pain.
He goes on to say it's not forus to prophesy when men will
(20:36):
once more ask God, when will theworld be changed and renewed.
But when that day arrives,there will be a new language, a
non-religious language.
It will be liberating andredeeming as Jesus' language.
It will shock people.
It will shock them by its power.
(20:58):
It will be a new truthproclaiming God's peace with man
.
And I'd just like to finish witha prayer that I found.
Somebody wrote one day and Ireally like it yeah, I can pray,
but I don't know.
I just kind of drink from thisFather.
(21:19):
At the beginning of creation,you calm the troubles of the
world.
Be present now to those of usin this room whose lives are
filled with troubles.
Grant them the grace of calm inthe midst of confusion.
You have always shown us theway from darkness into the light
(21:43):
.
For those struggling now to seethe light, we ask that you
shine it a bit brighter in ourworld.
Grant us all the grace to see away forward through the present
darkness.
In Jesus' name.
I see we're all on a journey.
(22:11):
We really are and we need oneanother on this journey.
You know when I feel flat, andwe will do.
And I want to finish with onething.
I've probably said before thatHildegard of Bingen have taught
me something so profound.
Hildegard of Bingen saysthere's something inside us that
(22:33):
wants to fly, and that's whatJames Jordan always says
something in us that wants tofly.
But she says this in order tofly like an eagle.
And I discovered in the Biblethat there are over 30
references to an eagle and Ithought why is this?
And I discovered that an eagleOne type of eagle lives 40 years
(23:03):
, goes into hibernation, picksall its feathers off, waits five
and a half months for newfeathers to grow in and then
begins to fly till it's about 70years.
I thought an eagle does that.
So I thought a lot about whatJames says.
Something in us wants to fly.
(23:24):
I discovered Hildegard ofBingen.
Some of you know this, butHildegard of Bingen said there's
something in us that wants tofly, and she says that in order
to fly, you need two wings.
You need the wing of theawareness of beauty, but you
also need the wing of theawareness of pain and suffering.
(23:46):
If you only focus on the beauty, you can't fly.
But if you only focus on thepain and suffering, you can't
fly.
We need both wings of awareness.
So when troubles come in ourlives and they will come it's
good to look at the beauty, butit's also to be aware of the
(24:09):
pain and suffering.
So may each one of us and Ispeak into myself spend time to
look at the beauty, but also tobe aware of the pain and
suffering.
There's the law of gravity if Ifall down, I'll fall down, I
won't fall up the wing.
So with pain and suffering, weneed to be aware of, but also be
(24:33):
aware of the beauty.
So for me, back home on my ownafter the lockdown was over, I
thought do you know, I focus somuch on the suffering?
I've not focused on the beauty.
So I decided to go a walk downto the park and I thought to
(24:54):
myself five hugs a day preventwrinkles.
I've not been allowed to seeanybody, so I thought well,
there's a tree.
So I looked about.
I looked about and there wasnobody near me, so I put my arm
around the tree in front of them, but it was when Hildegard had
(25:16):
been when she said that.
I thought I understand that wehave to be aware of pain and
suffering, but we also have tobe aware of beauty.
And there's a beauty in you,young man.
You're a beautiful boy.
Do you believe me?
Yeah.
(25:39):
But it's true, we need to havetwo wings of awareness.
So go into beauty and feel yourspirit sewer, but also be aware
that if you trip over a stoneyou're going to fall down.
So I just wish you.
Thank you, thank you.
I'll talk about and this is not a tall negative,
but if you looked at the titlethat I've written, I would call
it darkness and light and I'vebeen thinking an awful lot,
probably being the oldest in theroom on the outside, but maybe
(00:20):
the youngest on the inside,because I'm on the nine.
I've been thinking a lot abouthow we journey through life and
I like to learn from people ofthe past as well as people of
today.
And there was a man calledBrendan.
He was born in 484, and he wasan Irish saint.
(00:42):
And one day he went on ajourney, and I don't know, this
just held me.
Brendan and his people leftwhere they were and they were
very encouraged by the wordspoken to them.
May the God of our salvationgrant you a safe journey.
After traveling 40 days, theywere covered in a great darkness
(01:07):
that was so thick they couldhardly see each other, and they
came to understand that thosewho fear the darkness the
darkness that had covered them,that was so thick they could
hardly see each other, and theycame to realize that those who
fear the darkness will never beable to venture far or come into
(01:29):
the fullness of night.
You see, darkness is like thecloud that hides the glory of
God, and it is a pity that it'sjust.
This is where I'm at in thisjourney through life, so I hope
you understand where I'm comingfrom.
It is a pity that so many of uscan be put off by the cloud,
(01:52):
for it's often close to theglory.
There was a man called DavidAdam, who used to be a pastor of
a church on an island inEngland called Holy Island, and
he said this.
He said this not long agobefore he passed on.
It is our journey through theworld, even its darkness, that
(02:16):
prepares us for the wonders anddelights of the world to come.
For me on this journey.
I'm not trying to make God come.
We need to know that he is deepinside every one of us and that
he's actually here.
His presence is here.
(02:39):
I wonder if we realise thateven the ground we're standing
on is holy ground.
This is Advent and I wasthinking about remember our
Christmas story of the shepherdson the hills at Bethlehem.
They were keeping watch atnight when the angels came, but
(03:02):
I believe there was even agreater understanding that came
to them and that was the lightwas never far away.
God, as our Father, is in Hisworld and he wants to reveal
Himself to us in times ofdarkness.
And I wonder if sometimes wefeel we've lost the ability to
(03:26):
see, and I think it's reallyimportant to understand that God
lives in us.
But we also need to come torealise these words have changed
my life so much that in Him welive and move and have our being
.
In Colossians it says that he isbefore all things and in Him
(03:51):
all things hold together, evencreation itself.
There was a mystic long agocalled St Anthony and he came
from Portugal and he was apatron saint of lost things.
He was a patron saint of thepoor.
He was a patron saint ofanimals, of elderly people and
(04:15):
many other things, and he wasasked how did he manage without
books?
And he said this please, I wantyou to get this.
He said my book is the natureof created things and, as I
often, I have a mind to read theword of God there at my hand.
(04:36):
But the beauty of nature.
He created a world for us tolive in.
Before he created us there was aGerman theologian called Master
Eckert, born in 1260.
And he said apprehend God inall things.
Every single creature is fullof God, and it's a book about
(05:00):
God.
Every creature is a word of God, and I'm coming also to
understand that creation itselfwas communion with the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Everything speaks of Hispresence and I came to
understand in a deeper way, evenduring the lockdown, that we
(05:23):
see without eyes, but, moreimportantly, we can see through
the eyes of our heart.
And I started to research thisand I discovered in the Bible
there are over 96 references tothe heart, and this refers to
the very core of our being.
(05:43):
We're so busy trying to geteverything here you understand
me, don't you?
But when we get it here, itchanges everything.
Because I'm finding thatgreater than our love for God
listen to this greater than ourlove for God is His love for us.
(06:03):
And as we journey in this love,we find we are in the very
heart of God Himself.
The Bible says nothing, nothingcan separate us from the love
that God in Christ Jesus,nothing.
And it is this that allows usto even go on dangerous and
(06:28):
troubled seas.
You see, when God is in ourboat, there's nothing to fear.
Remember the story of Jesus inthe boat, asleep even while the
storm was raging.
But when we come to living inthe knowledge and understanding
of God's love, we're not afraidto go anywhere.
(06:53):
When I was eight years of age, Ihad a desire I want to go to
Pakistan.
I was only eight.
Why Pakistan?
I have no idea.
I waited 75, 76 years and lastyear I went to Pakistan.
And the reason for me sayingthis we're not afraid to go
(07:16):
anywhere.
Everybody said you can't go toPakistan and began to tell me
all the reasons why.
But you see, when God is in ourboat, there's nothing to fear.
And my reason also for sayingthat is whatever dream you have
inside of you, don't let go ofit.
I never, ever, thought after 75, 76 years, I would actually
(07:41):
make it.
I'm being driven up with Andyand Gunala up the hills and I
started to cry as we're going upthe hills.
There was no edge to the road,it just dropped down and I saw
the hills, and behind the hillswith the hills, and behind the
(08:02):
hills with the hills, and Istarted crying and there were
tears of absolute joy.
And Andy says why are youcrying?
I says you don't understand.
It's the beauty of what I'mseeing.
I waited all these years to seeit.
So when you live in thisrevelation of love, you're not
(08:25):
afraid to go anywhere.
You can get lost at sea, but wecan know deep in our heart that
we are not lost eternally.
Our heart is what makes us whowe are.
It is the very core of ourbeing.
You see, our relationship withGod is an affair of the heart,
(08:48):
of the very center of our being.
We really need to become moreand more aware to the real truth
that we are in Him and ourhearts need to rest in Him if
we're to have peace.
I've also come to realize thatwithin us now this is really
(09:09):
important for me and I wouldn'tbe surprised, for many of us
here maybe not everybody, butI've come to realize that within
us there is a kind of desert ofloneliness and no matter what
we try and put in this desertplace, we can still suffer from
feeling dry and have a longingto satisfy our thirst.
(09:32):
I even found out on the newsrecently that loneliness is
gripping the hearts of peopleall over the world, especially
with COVID and everything else.
And I spoke to James Jordanyears ago because he's spoken
loneliness and it was mystruggle and I said do you think
(09:54):
we'll ever be free ofloneliness?
He says not in this lifetime.
But to give you hope, myloneliness is not what it was.
I feel I'm beginning to feelmore and more at home, because
he created this world for us tolive in.
He created a home for us beforehe created mankind.
(10:16):
This desert and emptinesswithin us needs filling, and we
can fill it with all sorts ofthings.
There's too much food with toomuch wine, but I like it.
But can I?
also show you in a different waythere's also a desert in us
(10:37):
that is a kind of place ofcrossing over if you are to get
to the other side.
Before the Promised Land spokenof in the Bible could be
reached, there were deserts tocross.
So interesting to find thatJacob had a dream of God's
presence when he was in thedesert.
Moses, looking after the sheepin the wilderness, found the
(11:03):
ground was holy when he saw theburning bush.
I still question that and Isaid to God was the ground not
holy before?
He's not answered me so I'mstill trying to ponder that one.
Person 2 (11:16):
But he found the ground was holy when he saw the
burning bush.
Helena King (11:22):
You see, our journey is a journey of the
desert.
A journey from slavery tofreedom often involves crossing
the desert.
In the New Testament, the wisemen crossed the desert to find
Jesus.
John the Baptist chose thedesert at the beginning of his
ministry.
Mark's Gospel tells us of Jesusthat the Spirit drove him into
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the wilderness for 40 days.
It was the Spirit who led Jesusinto the desert.
So the desert can be a positiveplace because there can be
space for us to face what'sgoing on inside of us.
I am becoming very aware, evenmore so, especially in the
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season that we're living in,that dryness is entering the
hearts and souls of people eventoday, and I'm realising, if we
don't allow ourselves to beemptied, it's often because
we're afraid of the growingemptiness within.
We are called to love the Lord,our God, with all our heart,
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with all our soul, with all ourmind, but we live in an age, all
of us here, where we're notsure if His presence is really
with us.
People often seem, like today,like orphans in the lost world.
People often feel lonely inthis world and don't know how to
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go forward.
It seems, in this century thatwe're living in, that so many
have lost relationship with Godas a father.
This is why I'm so grateful toJames Jordan.
I want to honour him until Imeet him in eternity.
He's still on earth, but I domeet him.
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But I don't know where I'd beif I'd never began to come into
this relationship with God as afather.
I really do believe it'simportant in this day and hour
to come to know that God is ourFather and my prayer is that
it's not lost through confusionin our present world.
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Jesus talked of this situationand his story of the prodigal
son.
It was not that the Fatherwouldn't give to His Son, it was
not that the Father moved away.
It was the Son who was not athome in the present moment.
The Son wanted to make Himselfthe centre of His world.
He had come of an age and hethought I don't need a father.
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But I wonder if we need torealise that when this
relationship with God as ourFather is broken, all other
relationships break down as well.
The prodigal Son learned thatyou cannot buy love.
It must be freely given.
And I'm also coming tounderstand.
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It is no use in possessingthings If you're empty on the
inside.
You know I'm being the oldesthere.
I've got a lovely little modernflat, a one bedroom.
I love it.
But I've noticed somethinghappening with me.
I'm going through my bookcaseand I take a book, I start
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reading it and I give it awayand I look at something in my
cupboard.
I've not used that, so I giveit away.
And I've got a friend Markwho's a friend of mine.
I've got a friend Mark who wasone of the leaders in my mum.
He says Helena, I've noticedsomething.
Every time you give somethingaway, god does something inside
of you.
It's like I'm getting rid ofjunk and but I'm also coming to
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understand that there's no usepossessing things if you're
empty on the inside.
When the Son returns home, allhe wants is a relationship with
His Father.
A relationship even amongstthis group here isn't gained by
duty, or is it worked for?
Although I think somebody'sworked very hard here, aww.
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But it is of the heart.
She's done this because shewants us here.
I don't know why.
I don't know why, but his loveis becoming more real to me as I
live in this, and I really wantour soul to begin to live in
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this love.
It changes absolutelyeverything.
I believe it even changes theatmosphere.
See, the Bible tells us that Godis not a God without feelings.
He is not a God who made thisworld and then left it.
He is at home in it and hecares for it.
God loves this world.
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In fact, he loves the world somuch that he gave himself for it
.
And the amazing thing is it'snot just for us as human beings,
but his love is for the wholeworld.
I'm also coming to understandthat the whole world belongs to
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God, and this, I believe, opensup us up to a world of discovery
.
We really are part of somethingfar greater than we can ever
possibly imagine, and as webecome aware of this, we find
that all things work togetherfor good.
God, as our Father, wants us tomake ourselves at home in this
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world, because it's His worldthat we are living in in the
present moment.
And just to let you know onething, I found something a few
months ago.
That had me absolutely laughing.
It says in Isaiah 46, even inyour old age and gray hairs, I
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am he.
I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I willsustain you and I will rescue
you.
I went hysterical when I readthat he's mentioning me in the
Bible.
There really is a danger in thetime in which we're living in,
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where we're encouraged to chaseafter too many things.
By seeking to possess things,we can often be possessed by
them, things like our appetiteis never satisfied.
I never realised, like I saidearlier, that having the need to
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possess lots of things is oftena sign of poverty within.
We can be surrounded by worldlythings and still feel poor and
unsatisfied within, and we seem,in this day and hour, to
measure people by their successor what they've gained or by the
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position they hold.
But listen to this we really doneed to see again and again
with fresh eyes that Jesus cameas the Son of God.
But do you know what I'm saying?
Do you know?
He was a carpenter's son.
He was born at a stable and inMatthew 13, we read the kingdom
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of heaven is like a merchantseeking beautiful perils, and
when he found one pearl of greatprice, he sold everything and
bought it.
And I believe that the perilthat we are seeking for today is
the presence, the divinepresence, that will never, never
, leave us.
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John said this that the darkesthour is just before the dawn.
And I want to finish with onelittle thing.
Anybody heard of DietrichBonhoeffer.
He was a German and Copa theNazis, and he was not long
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before he was hung because ofhis faith.
He said this, and I read thisoften and often and often.
And he says what will Christmean in the future?
We need a new form ofChristianity when the time of
this world is come of age.
There's only one purpose forreligion in this modern world,
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when people must share eachother's suffering and the
suffering of God.
In this godless world, we needmore than religion in the former
sense.
We need a faith and JesusChrist at the centre.
Real Christianity means sharingeach other's pain.
He goes on to say it's not forus to prophesy when men will
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once more ask God, when will theworld be changed and renewed.
But when that day arrives,there will be a new language, a
non-religious language.
It will be liberating andredeeming as Jesus' language.
It will shock people.
It will shock them by its power.
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It will be a new truthproclaiming God's peace with man
.
And I'd just like to finish witha prayer that I found.
Somebody wrote one day and Ireally like it yeah, I can pray,
but I don't know.
I just kind of drink from thisFather.
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At the beginning of creation,you calm the troubles of the
world.
Be present now to those of usin this room whose lives are
filled with troubles.
Grant them the grace of calm inthe midst of confusion.
You have always shown us theway from darkness into the light
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.
For those struggling now to seethe light, we ask that you
shine it a bit brighter in ourworld.
Grant us all the grace to see away forward through the present
darkness.
In Jesus' name.
I see we're all on a journey.
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We really are and we need oneanother on this journey.
You know when I feel flat, andwe will do.
And I want to finish with onething.
I've probably said before thatHildegard of Bingen have taught
me something so profound.
Hildegard of Bingen saysthere's something inside us that
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wants to fly, and that's whatJames Jordan always says
something in us that wants tofly.
But she says this in order tofly like an eagle.
And I discovered in the Biblethat there are over 30
references to an eagle and Ithought why is this?
And I discovered that an eagleOne type of eagle lives 40 years
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, goes into hibernation, picksall its feathers off, waits five
and a half months for newfeathers to grow in and then
begins to fly till it's about 70years.
I thought an eagle does that.
So I thought a lot about whatJames says.
Something in us wants to fly.
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I discovered Hildegard ofBingen.
Some of you know this, butHildegard of Bingen said there's
something in us that wants tofly, and she says that in order
to fly, you need two wings.
You need the wing of theawareness of beauty, but you
also need the wing of theawareness of pain and suffering.
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If you only focus on the beauty, you can't fly.
But if you only focus on thepain and suffering, you can't
fly.
We need both wings of awareness.
So when troubles come in ourlives and they will come it's
good to look at the beauty, butit's also to be aware of the
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pain and suffering.
So may each one of us and Ispeak into myself spend time to
look at the beauty, but also tobe aware of the pain and
suffering.
There's the law of gravity if Ifall down, I'll fall down, I
won't fall up the wing.
So with pain and suffering, weneed to be aware of, but also be
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aware of the beauty.
So for me, back home on my ownafter the lockdown was over, I
thought do you know, I focus somuch on the suffering?
I've not focused on the beauty.
So I decided to go a walk downto the park and I thought to
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myself five hugs a day preventwrinkles.
I've not been allowed to seeanybody, so I thought well,
there's a tree.
So I looked about.
I looked about and there wasnobody near me, so I put my arm
around the tree in front of them, but it was when Hildegard had
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been when she said that.
I thought I understand that wehave to be aware of pain and
suffering, but we also have tobe aware of beauty.
And there's a beauty in you,young man.
You're a beautiful boy.
Do you believe me?
Yeah.
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But it's true, we need to havetwo wings of awareness.
So go into beauty and feel yourspirit sewer, but also be aware
that if you trip over a stoneyou're going to fall down.
So I just wish you.
Thank you, thank you.
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