Well hello my friends,
This is Mark Gludman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to day 12 of 12 of our journey looking at abiding through the lens of Paul's letter to the church in Colossae.
We've reached the final day of this journey and for 12 days we've been walking slowly through the letter to the Colossians,
Allowing its words to shape our attention,
Deepen our awareness and steady our lives.
To review where we've been,
We began by noticing what was already growing,
Learning to recognise life unfolding quietly beneath the surface.
We learned to trust steadiness over pressure,
We widened our vision to see reality held together from within,
We trusted that reconciliation runs deeper than fragmentation,
We turned inward to discover presence as something that comes from within,
Not without.
We allowed roots to deepen rather than rushing growth,
We learned discernment in the midst of noise,
We practised attention that shapes identity,
We watched presence become visible in relationship,
We entered familiar households with a new renewed awareness and yesterday we learned watchfulness,
Remaining awake to what is unfolding within and around us.
And now the letter ends with something deceptively simple.
Before we read it together,
I invite you just to stop and pause and bring yourself fully into this moment,
That you would return your awareness to the voice of the Spirit as we hear it in the words of Paul today.
Breathing deeply in and out,
Allowing yourself to be fully present as we hear the words written by Paul in Colossians 4 verses 5 and 6.
Paul writes,
Conduct yourselves wisely towards others,
Making the most of the time.
Let your speech always be gracious,
Seasoned with salt,
So that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.
Now you might say,
Well they're simple instructions,
Yes,
But they're deeply practical aren't they?
Because this final part of the letter before Paul starts to send some cheerios to the church there,
Turns outward.
But it's not outward away from contemplation,
This is outward into the world,
The public spaces,
The conversations,
Into encounters with those beyond our familiar circles.
This is public spirituality.
A lot of people mistake contemplation as being about retreat or withdrawal,
But true contemplation is about participation,
Aware participation.
Paul speaks here of walking in wisdom.
Notice walking,
There's movement,
No stagnation,
There's no remaining in isolation,
There's direction and engagement and participation in life as it unfolds.
But walking in wisdom means moving with awareness.
Wisdom in this sense then,
Isn't information,
It's applied awareness.
Awareness that we express through our choices,
Through our responses,
Through presence in moments that might otherwise have passed by unnoticed.
And then comes another phrase that invites deeper reflection.
He says,
Redeem the time,
Or as some translations put it,
Make the most of every opportunity.
Now we mustn't get dragged into the idea that Paul here is speaking of being productive.
He's not saying squeeze more tasks into the day and you know,
Try and suck as much out of life as you can in that way.
But he's talking about being attentive again,
Recognize that time isn't simply something that we spend,
But it's something we inhabit.
Moments are spaces that we enter.
I mean,
Now is the only moment we have.
How often do we forget that we're actually in this moment?
And these spaces are where presence can be noticed and awareness can shape responses.
And so to redeem time is to recognize that every moment carries possibility for patience,
For kindness,
For wisdom,
For small graces and responses,
Small choices that shape the atmosphere of daily life.
And then maybe the most practical thing of all,
Paul talks about speech saying,
Let your speech always be gracious.
Now our speech is where awareness becomes unmistakably visible.
Because our words are public.
And sometimes our words are spoken quickly and carelessly,
Sometimes thoughtfully.
And so speech is actually a revealer of what's happening within us.
Have you ever noticed how you say something and realize that it exposed how impatient you were feeling?
Or how much kindness you were carrying?
Or how much tension you were feeling?
Or how much peace that you're walking in?
And maybe this is why speech matters so much in this final instruction.
Because if presence has taken root within us,
And if awareness has shaped our attention,
And if watchfulness has deepened our perception,
Then that formation will eventually appear even in how we speak.
Not only what we say,
But how we say it.
Our tone,
Our pace,
Our timing,
All of that matters too.
I mean,
We all know that a word spoken too quickly can wound.
And a word spoken patiently can heal.
That a response given without awareness can escalate attention,
But a response offered with grace can restore connection.
Speech really does become the place where inward formation becomes outward reality.
It's not to say that our speech and communication has to be perfect and flawless.
But maybe the word to use is gracious,
Attentive,
Awareness,
Patience,
They're all the things that shape how we speak.
And again,
Maybe this is where the entire journey,
The last,
You know,
Now 11 and a half sessions have come into focus.
Because after all these days,
It's clear that abiding isn't about withdrawing ourselves.
It's about participating.
It's not something we do to escape from life,
But to engage more deeply with it.
When we abide,
We don't retreat into silence,
Or at least not only that,
But that then turns into coming back and being present and acknowledging presence.
That while there might be separation from others for a time,
That it shapes us for awareness when we are with people.
No friend,
Abiding doesn't remove us from the world,
It actually places us more fully within it,
More attentive,
More aware,
More responsive,
Walking in wisdom,
Redeeming the time,
Speaking with grace.
And yet these are very ordinary actions that we repeat daily,
Moment by moment,
Conversation by conversation.
And isn't it funny how the more you learn about the spiritual life,
The more plain and ordinary it actually becomes.
And I guess that's what makes this ending so fitting,
Because after days of reflection,
And quiet awareness and steady attention,
The journey,
Funny enough,
Doesn't end in solitude,
But in the world,
In conversation,
Interaction,
Movement,
Because the goal of awareness is participation.
Participation with clarity and patience,
But mostly participation with presence,
Capital P.
And through that participation with presence,
We actually find ourselves participating with the movement of the world,
With the people in it,
The people that we interact with,
And spend time with,
And walk past day after day.
And so today,
As you move through your conversations,
You might notice your speech more carefully.
Just notice the tone,
And the pace,
And the intention,
And how awareness shapes your responses.
Do the words that you speak arise from impatience or from stability?
Are they reactive,
Or are they coming from a deep presence?
Again,
This isn't about being perfect,
But it's about,
Once again,
Noticing that there's change happening.
And as this journey comes to a close,
Maybe hold this question as you walk through the day today.
What would it mean to live in the world as one who is awake to presence?
One who is participating.
Participating with awareness and with patience.
Participating with grace.
Because abiding is the beginning of conscious living.
Not to be apart from the world,
But to be within it,
Awakened to it,
Present in every moment,
Walking in wisdom,
Redeeming the time,
Speaking with grace,
And carrying awareness into whatever comes next.
And may grace,
Peace,
And love be with you as you share those words that come from that deep space of abiding today and every day.
Amen.
I hope you've enjoyed this journey on deepening that sense of what it means to abide.
May you continue to grow deeper in your awareness of presence.
And may that awareness of presence continue to form and shape you to be a light to the world.
To,
As Paula said today,
Bring words that are seasoned with salt into the life of everyone that you meet.
Grace and peace be with you,
Friends.
Bye for now.
