The Pen of the Wayfarer

"If I profess, with the loudest voice and clearest
exposition, every portion of the truth of God except
precisely that little point which the world and the
devil are at that moment attacking, I am not
confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing
Christ. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of
the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the
battle fields besides is mere flight and disgrace if
he flinches at that point." - Martin Luther

photograph taken in Kalinin, formerly USSR, around 1986
now the city of Tver in Russia

Few souls understand what God would
accomplish in them if they were
to abandon themselves unreservedly
to Him and if they were to allow
His grace to mold them accordingly.
- Ignatius

photo taken in Feeding Hills, MA

Christ’s excellency is always fresh and new,
and tends as much to delight, after it has
been seen a thousand or ten thousand years,
as when it was seen the first moment….

The soul that comes to Christ, feeds upon this,
and lives upon it; it is that bread which came
down from heaven, of which he that eats shall
not die: it is angels’ food, it is that wine
and milk that is given without money, and
without price. This is that fatness in which
the believing soul delights itself; here the
longing soul may be satisfied, and the hungry
soul may be filled with goodness.

The delight and contentment that is to be found
here, passeth understanding, and is unspeakable
and full of glory. It is impossible for those who
have tasted of this fountain, and know the
sweetness of it, ever to forsake it.
--Jonathan Edwards

photo taken in Feeding Hills, MA

Jonathan Edwards

"When I had drunk the spirit from Heaven,
and the second birth had restored me so as
to make me a new person, then immediately
in a marvelous manner doubts began to be
resolved, closed doors to be opened, dark
places to be light; what before was
difficult now seemed easy."
- St. Cyprian -

photograph taken near Pownal, Vermont

Silent love knows much in
effortless pleasure.
How little the body knows
what love does in stillness!
- Mechthild of Magdeburg

photo taken near Williamsburg, MA

Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, To an inheritance incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time.
-- 1 Peter 1:3-5 (KJV)

photo taken at Chesterfield Gorge,
Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Who are you to judge someone else's
servant? To his own master he stands or
falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is
able to make him stand.
-- Romans 14:4 (NIV)

feet of a seagull,
photo taken in Weekapaug, Rhode Island

"I advise you to remain simply in God,
without trying to do anything there,
and without asking anything of
Him, unless He urges it."
- St. Francois de Sales -

photograph taken at Chesterfield Gorge,
Chesterfield, Massachusetts

Chesterfield Gorge

The Jews would not willingly tread
upon the smallest piece of paper in
their way, but took it up; for possibly,
they say, the name of God may be on it.

Though there was a little superstition
in this, yet truly there is nothing but
good religion in it, if we apply it to
men. Trample not on any; there may be
some work of grace there, that thou
knowest not of. The name of God may be
written upon that soul thou treadest on;
it may be a soul that Christ thought so
much of, as to give His precious blood
for it; therefore despise it not.
... S. T. Coleridge (1772-1834),
Aids to Reflection,

photo taken on the Orient Express in
what used to be Yugoslavia

And there shall come forth a rod out
of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall
grow out of his roots:

2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest
upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the LORD;

3 And shall make him of quick understanding
in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not
judge after the sight of his eyes, neither
reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4 But with righteousness shall he judge the
poor, and reprove with equity for the meek
of the earth: and he shall smite the earth:
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath
of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the
calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young
ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole
of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the cockatrice' den.

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse,
which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it
shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the
Lord shall set his hand again the second time to
recover the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros,
and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and
from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,
and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the
four corners of the earth. --Isaiah 11

photo taken near Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, Israel

--this image may not be reproduced or shared without
consent of the photographer.

Isaiah 11
knowledge of God
the Messiah
the Day of the Lord
Israel

When Abraham sat at his tent door,
according to his custom, waiting to
entertain strangers, he espied an old man,
stooping and leaning on his staff, weary
with age and travail, coming towards him,
who was a hundred years of age.

He received him kindly, washed his feet,
provided supper, caused him to sit down;
but observing that the old man ate and prayed
not, nor begged a blessing on his meat,
he asked him why he did not worship the
God of heaven.

The old man told him that he worshipped the
fire only, and acknowledged no other God. At
which answer Abraham grew so zealously angry,
that he threw the old man out of his tent,
and exposed him to all the evils of the
night and an unguarded condition.

When the old man was gone, God called to
Abraham, and asked him where the stranger
was. He replied, "I thrust him away, because
he did not worship thee." God answered him,
"I have suffered him these hundred years,
though he dishonored me; and wouldst thou not
endure him one night?"

... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667),
The Liberty of Prophesying
[1647]

photo taken in the Wyre forest near Hanbury Hall,
Worcestershire, England

Hanbury Hall
Worcestershire, England
Wyre Forest
Jeremy Taylor
mercy
patience
photography Worcester, England

It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind
that we make use, from time to time, of playful
deeds and jokes.--Thomas Aquinas

photo taken in Weekapaug, Rhode Island

A Monarch of long ago had twin sons. As they
grew to young manhood, the king sought a fair
way to designate one of them as crown prince.
All who knew the young men thought them equal
in intelligence, wit, personal charm, health,
and physical strength. Being a keenly observant
king, he thought he detected a trait in one
which was not shared by the other.

Calling them to his council chamber one day,
he said, "My sons, the day will come when one
of you must succeed me as king. The weight of
sovereignty is very heavy. To find out which
of you is better able to bear them cheerfully,
I am sending you together to a far corner of
the kingdom.

One of my advisors there will place equal
burdens on your shoulders. My crown will one
day go to the one who first returns bearing
his yoke like a king should." In a spirit of
friendly competition, the brothers set out
together. Soon they overtook an aged woman
struggling under a burden that seemed far too
heavy for her frail body. One of the boys
suggested that they stop to help her. The
other protested: "We have a saddle of our
own to worry about. Let us be on our way."

The objector hurried on while the other
stayed behind to give aid to the aged woman.
Along the road, from day to day, he found
others who also needed help. A blind man
took him miles out of his way, and a lame
man slowed him to a cripple's walk.

Eventually he did reach his father's advisor,
where he secured his own yoke and started home
with it safely on his shoulders. When he
arrived at the palace, his brother met him
at the gate, and greeted him with dismay.
He said, "I don't understand. I told our father
the weight was too heavy to carry. However
did you do it?"

The future king replied thoughtfully, "I
suppose when I helped others carry their yoke,
I found the strength to carry my own."
--author unknown

photo taken in Leuven, Belgium

To have faith is to rely upon Christ,
the Person, with the whole heart. It
is not the understanding of the mind,
not the theological opinion, not creed,
not organization, not ritual. It is the
koinonia of the whole personality with
God and Christ, ... This experience of
communion with Christ is itself the
continual attitude of dependence on
the Savior which we call faith.
... Kokichi Kurosaki (1886-1970),
One Body in Christ 1954]

photo taken on the path to St. Anne's Well,
Malvern, England.

St. Anne's Well
photography Malvern, England

So what to do? Two things, it seems
to me. At least two. Use up each day.
Fill it overflowing with good.
Deliberately enjoy it.

Two, begin now. Mend a fractured
friendship, mail an overdue letter,
repair a broken heart, lay aside a
griveance, act on a noble impulse.
As we all know, The night cometh.
- Lanny Henninger

Night indeed cometh. But the Light
overcomes the darkness.

photo taken near the English/Welsh border

"Unless we change direction, we are likely to
end up where we are going."
- Chinese Proverb

photo taken in Worcester, England
on the banks of the River Severn.

Worcester, England
change

We have all been inoculated with Christianity, and
are never likely to take it seriously now! You put
some of the virus of some dreadful illness into a
man's arm, and there is a little itchiness, some
scratchiness, a slight discomfort--disagreeable,
no doubt, but not the fever of the real disease,
the turning and the tossing, and the ebbing strength.

And we have all been inoculated with Christianity,
more or less. We are on Christ's side, we wish him
well, we hope that He will win, and we are even
prepared to do something for Him, provided, of
course, that He is reasonable, and does not make
too much of an upset among our cozy comforts and
our customary ways.

But there is not the passion of zeal, and the burning
enthusiasm, and the eagerness of self-sacrifice, of
the real faith that changes character and wins the world.
... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), From the Edge of the Crowd
[1924]

photo: summer's night thunderstorm,
Feeding Hills, MA

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for
the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for
the blue dream of sky and for everything which
is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~e.e. cummings

photo taken in Worcester, England

I will charge my soul to believe and
wait for Him, and will follow His
providence, and not go before it,
nor stay behind it. - Samuel Rutherford

I love to think of nature as an unlimited
broadcasting station, through which God
speaks to us every hour, if we will only
tune in. ~George Washington Carver

photo taken in Catskill, New York