Hello my friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome back to day 28 of our 2026 Lenten journey in the wilderness,
Still held,
As we follow through John's Gospel to Easter.
As always,
I invite you to take a moment to really bring yourself into this time.
Take a deep breath in,
And out.
Allow yourself to settle fully into this moment,
As we continue in John chapter 10,
And sit with words from John's Gospel,
Where Jesus says,
My sheep hear my voice,
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life and they shall never perish,
No one will snatch them out of my hand,
The Father and I are one.
And the phrase I want you to hone in on right now is,
No one will snatch them.
The world at the moment is incredibly unstable.
Markets are rising and falling.
Wars are being struck,
Just on the whim of world leaders.
Bodies age,
Communities fracture,
Plans unravel.
And the truth is,
No matter what some preachers have preached,
Abiding in Christ doesn't eliminate the risk of living in this world.
But what it does,
Is it establishes rootedness.
There's a kind of security that depends on circumstances behaving themselves,
Isn't there?
And then there's a deeper security that flows from belonging.
And Jesus speaks of the second.
Jesus speaks of the world where security flows from belonging.
No one will snatch them,
He says.
This is relational language.
You are known,
You are held.
You're not some anonymous person in the vastness of existence.
Take a slow breath in,
And as you breathe out,
Imagine your life resting in a strong and steady hand.
There's no tight grip of control here or a fearful clenching.
It's a steady,
Attentive kind of holding.
And notice what moves in you when you hear this.
You hear that promise.
For some of us,
It might be resistance.
For some of us,
It might be relief.
And for some of us,
It might be a longing for it.
In the wilderness,
There are seasons where the landscape of our lives is stripped back and all the certainties can fall away.
The familiar supports disappear.
But just because we're exposed doesn't mean that we're abandoned.
Even in open terrain,
You are held.
Let yourself feel that just for a moment.
Imagine the shepherd's hand.
Not distant.
Not symbolic.
But present.
An immediate presence.
I wonder,
What currently feels uncertain in your life?
Just name it gently as it rises.
Perhaps it's a decision or a relationship.
Could be health,
Your own or a loved one.
Maybe there's leadership issues or concerns about the future.
Just for a moment in your imagination,
Place that uncertainty into that steady hand,
Knowing that you don't need to solve it right now.
Just let it be held.
And then ask yourself this.
Where do you usually go to search for safety?
I know some of the things I'm about to share might make some of you squirm,
But perhaps you search for safety in achievement or reputation.
Maybe you find safety in control and certainty.
Maybe it's approval.
And as you notice,
Just ask yourself gently and quietly within,
What shifts in you when you imagine being firmly held?
And stay there for a few moments.
Being held.
This is your interior posture being formed in you.
Security.
Security despite any volatility that's out there.
Rooted,
Deep,
Abiding presence.
A tree doesn't remove the wind.
It grows deep enough to remain through it.
And you're being grown in depth.
Remember Jesus' words,
No one will snatch them.
The shepherd's voice isn't frantic,
It's steady.
The Father and I are one.
This is not a fragile holding,
My friend.
This is grounded in divine oneness.
In a love that precedes any effort that you've brought to the table and outlasts any fear that you might be holding as you try and rest in it.
As we come towards the end of our time together though,
I invite you to rest.
To feel the surface beneath you and the weight of your body supported.
And to think about what that might look like as you rest in God.
That you're not suspended in nothingness,
You're held.
Take one more slow deep breath in and as you exhale,
Allow this assurance to settle beneath the surface of your thoughts.
The world might be volatile,
But my friend,
You are rooted in belonging.
And as you go into the rest of your day,
Go knowing that you are anchored,
That you are rooted in God,
Deep,
That you are known and you are held by the presence of the oneness of all that is God themself.
And may grace,
Peace,
And love envelop you,
Warm you,
Enfold you,
And hold you today and every day.
Amen.
Go gently,
My friend.
Until tomorrow.
Bye for now.
