Come for tea
In her book, The Meaning is in the waiting: the spirit of Advent, Paula Gooder writes, "When I was a child there was a song sung quite regularly in church that began, 'Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,' drawn from Isaiah 40. In the way that children do, because those words didn't make immediate sense to me, I translated them into words that did, and I was convinced they meant, 'Come for tea, come for tea my people.' I had a mental image of God, sitting in a comfortable chair with a huge teapot, inviting everyone in for a cup of tea."
So, what would it be like sitting at tea with God? Who would be there? (Everyone. Both sinners and saints whom I miss.) What would we wear to tea? (God doesn't care.) What would I say? (Nothing. Just listen. Or maybe, remembering the multitude of blessings easily overlooked in a fit of melancholy, I could say thank you, just thank you.)
So, what would it be like sitting at tea with God? Who would be there? (Everyone. Both sinners and saints whom I miss.) What would we wear to tea? (God doesn't care.) What would I say? (Nothing. Just listen. Or maybe, remembering the multitude of blessings easily overlooked in a fit of melancholy, I could say thank you, just thank you.)
posted by Raisin at
2:17 PM
2 Comments:
What a wonderful image. Come for tea, my people. Think I'll make a cup of tea and sit down with my journal. Thanks for this, Raisin.
"You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea...."
I owe Tolkien for several of the ideas I have about various aspects of heaven. One of them is the Hall of Fire at Rivendell:
"'This is the Hall of Fire," said Gandalf. 'Here you will hear many songs and tales--if you can keep awake. But except on high days it usually stands empty and quiet, and people come here who wish for peace, and thought....'" (FOTR Bk. II, Ch. 1, "Many Meetings")
In the spirit of your post, I would add that there is always a pot of water for tea by the hearth.
It will be well to be like Old Bilbo and spend much time in such a place: "no more a stranger nor a guest, but like a child at home," as Dr. Watts says.
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