Come with me…
January 30, 2009
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6: 31
The disciples just returned from a tour of announcing and demonstrating the arrival of God’s Kingdom. They were so busy helping and interacting with other people, they did not even have time to eat. Jesus aware of their condition has one thing to say, “Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place and get some rest.”
As the pace of life continues to speed up and the people who make up our “societies of Jesus” get busier and busier, doing more and more, we are headed toward disaster. The disciples had Jesus. One of the things Jesus offered his followers was a healthy rhythm of life. Part of Jesus way of life was to often withdraw to a solitary place to enjoy intimacy with his Father. It must have been very natural for Jesus, when he observed his followers “red-lining” to say, “Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place an get some rest.”
Think about your faith community for a second. Who is the one who can say, “Come with me by yourselves, to a quiet place and get some rest?” Is the Lord inviting you to rhythm that includes times of solitude and rest, for your own health and for the health of others?
The Blessing
January 25, 2009
The blessing at the end of morning prayer in CDP is:
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.
As you notice, this voiced wish or desire for good, is not addressed to God. This “prayer” assumes that you have someone in mind for whom you wish all the wonderful desires mentioned here. It is a prayer in community, for community, by community.
A couple of questions:
Has anyone used this prayer in their missional communities, or societies of Jesus (churches)?
Who do you have in mind when you say this blessing?
Perhaps I’ll be the first to answer my own questions. I haven’t used it in a corporate setting. But I am excited when I think about using it in a couple of settings to see how it goes. I will try it in two life groups I am involved with. And I hope to make it a reguar part of the prayer we end with in those groups. I am not a pastor of a church presently but would love to hear from some to see how it works in larger settings.
As to the second question, I’ll also be the first to answer. Sometimes I think and pray for family members, my sisters, and brothers, my wife and children and grandchildren, friends, and colleagues, and the life groups of which I am a part. Especially, I desire the expressions of this prayer in the presence of the Lord for those who are away from home, from God, from the fold.
Your turn…
They were terrified
January 23, 2009
Part of my daily rhythm, in an effort to live more and more in the way of Jesus, is to start my day by slowly prayerfully reading the Scriptures. For several years now I have been following the daily readings as outlined in the Book of Common Prayer. Today I was struck by a simple phrase from the Gospel reading. My phrase for the day is “They were terrified.”
I got to wondering, when was the last time I was terrified because of an encounter with Jesus? The disciples hearts were filled with fear. All they could manage to utter was a simple question born out of a heart of bewilderment, “Who is this?” I get the feeling that those closest to Jesus, didn’t know what to do with Jesus. After figuring out they could not control, use or manipulate him, they were left to simply follow him. They certainly did not have him figured out. He transcended their mental categories and often left them feeling afraid or doubtful. Sadly, this is often not the case in my life. Too often I find myself talking about or explaining Jesus as if I have him figured out. Instead of drawing back in fear, I put him in a cage. I’m afraid my teaching’s and explanations of Jesus are leaving people bored rather than terrified. Therefore, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that these people will show up to a church gathering or function out of duty, but if they really want to have some excitement or feel alive, they look to other things. The Inauguration, the Super Bowl or the season premier of Lost all seem to carry more excitement and life than my portrayal of my “tamed” Jesus.
My heart longs for the terror felt by the disciples. May God help me return to the Scriptures and discover there a Jesus who truly inspires, terrifies and brings life. May Jesus be uncaged in my life today and may God grant me the grace to live in that terror without trying to put Jesus back into the cage.
Canticle 5
January 18, 2009
The last part I’ll comment on from the canticle in the morning office of CDP is: This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Lowliness and meekness spell out the virtue of humility that every Christian should ask for from the Lord who dwells within.
This prayer is asking the Lord to manifest himself within us in lowliness and in meekness. Frankly, I am not given to ask for this meekness and lowliness by nature. They ran out of humility when my turn came. I am more inclined to assert myself. Perhaps I can blame society’s influence on me: lowly and meek are out, brash and proud are in. Perhaps it’s not society at all; it’s just my human nature taking its time dying. Blame is not a very productive defense mechanism.
All the same, this prayer of receiving the humility of my Lord is a needed corrective for me. Perhaps it is for you too. Notice also the dailiness of this part of the prayer. I get the manna of humility in daily but sufficient portions. Sufficient unto each day its dose of humility. Tomorrow, I start over again and the day after until lowliness and meekness become inherent character traits in me. Or as Dallas WIllard says until humility become second nature in me.
Biblical lowliness and meekness are not self-deprecating nor are they cowing down to others. In fact the very opposite is true as the words yet all-powerful affirm. Our king Jesus had unlimited power from God while on earth, but willingly laid those aside exercised in order to teach us to negotiate the virtues of lowliness and meekness. How much self-control did he have to learn (he learned obedience through the things he suffered)? Did he pray daily for humility? While I can’t answer those questions for my Lord, I can use all the means of grace available to me to help me on the path of humility. It takes the powerful energy of the Holy Spirit within me to be self-controlled when my tendency is to exert unnecessary power when humility works better. Not everyone will see self-control as power. No matter, we know that “pupils are not above their teacher, but when we are fully formed we will be like our teacher.”
Prayer as Place
January 14, 2009
Often, when speaking or writing about fixed hour prayer, the hours are referred to as place. Phyllis Tickle refers to them as a “small chapels or wayside stations within the day’s courses”. We frequently use language such as “entering in” or even “going to” for these special times of prayer. This language is not a recent human innovation but a tradition that is millenia old. It’s rooted in the Psalms themselves.
One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.
The opening sentences of our morning office remind us of this fact and these sentences from evening prayer follow it up.
In the shadow of Your wings
I will sing Your praises, O Lord.
The Lord is the refuge of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
to dwell in the presence of my God,
to gaze on Your holy place.
I believe I shall see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living.
Each of these images are here to remind us of both the tangibility of God’s presence in prayer and in the incarnation of Christ experienced through the other. Through an emphasis on place, the Psalms, from which all of these words are drawn, root us in the reality that prayer is connected to real everyday life. These words further remind us that where we live and who we love matters and that this life in the Spirit exists beyond the space between our ears.
While these words may remind us that we have a citizenship in heaven (Phil 3:20), they keep us from borrowing against that hope of heaven without being rooted in and connected to the place we are now. The place where we live, serve and love God through loving our neighbors is that place where we experience God.
Wendell Berry, that champion of the sacredness of place and an enemy of the abstract, reminds us:
Love is never abstract. It does not adhere to the universe or the planet or the nation or the institution or the profession, but to the singular sparrows of the street, the lilies of the field, “the least of these my brethren.”
Canticle 4
January 11, 2009
I have commented in previous weeks about the canticle found at the end of morning prayers in CDP. Today I want to add a few more comments on my favorite part of the canticle: Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. The form of this prayer is a request. It is a good thing because I believe it is a necessary prayer.
The one who gave us this prayer understands that humans relate best by speaking one to another. Frankly there is no other way we get to know people intimately. Also understood and assumed in this request is the fact that humans can bless or injure one another by what they say. The author of this prayer knows the power of words. God also does and we do too. I speak many words daily (thousands). We all do. Many hear our words daily(7% of our communication is verbal). Many see how we express ourselves daily (50% of our communication is non verbal). Many hear our tone of voice (43% of our communication is tone). Let’s assume we are speaking good words, with right motivations, in a tone of voice that is loving. Does that guarantee a receptive hearing? I wish it were so. This prayer is necessary because of the endless possibilities of misunderstandings or willful rejection. After Jesus finished healing Lazarus, some of the Jews believed in him, and some plotted to kill him (John 11:45ff).
So Lord, we pray, please be in the heart of each to whom we speak that they might understand, see, and hear our love and your love for them.
In the mouth of those who speak to me. Hearing God is an art cultivated with the disciplines of silence, solitude, study, and contemplation. A main way God speaks to us is through others. Do you believe it? Is that a habit you intentionally cultivate. Yesterday I listened to my pastor preach and because of listening I was able to formulate his main theme, which he never said in these words: The church exists to be compassionate to those in need. God answered the prayer of my heart to hear his voice.
This prayer in the canticle teaches us a good habit: Before every conversation, every meeting, pause and let this prayer silently awaken our ears, hearts, and lips: Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. Amen.
Successful or Fruitful
January 9, 2009
There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another’s wounds. Let’s remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness. -Henri Nouwen Bread for the Journey
One of the great mistakes many of us is making today is to confuse being successful with being fruitful. We can be successful on our own, but only God’s grace produces fruitfulness. Being successful brings glory to ourselves, validating our efforts and practices while fruitfulness brings glory to God, validating us as disciples of Jesus Christ. Being successful is valued and applauded by men, while being fruitful is enjoyed and applauded by God. Success goes public and takes center stage, fruitfulness often takes place in private and remains a secret. Success can happen overnight, fruitfulness takes time. Success is born from our own strength, fruitfulness is born out of vulnerability. Success kills the soul, while fruitfulness carries with it great joy.
Is your current rhythm of life designed to produce fruit or to make you successful? What does your soul truly crave?
Active Passivity
January 7, 2009
Is it possible that we have allowed ourselves to slide so far, to be so distant from the spirit of prayer, that we suppose five minutes would not do, because first we would need fifteen minutes to unwind, to prepare? Suddenly we know that the barrier is not time at all, not the pressure of events, not the many demands on our talents and our charity, but an obstacle within ourselves, a stubbornness that will not yield to Him. - Emilie Griffin, Clinging: The Experience of Prayer
I like to think of praying the office as a form of active passivity. This may sound like nonsense at first but when I consider the cajoling and pressure tactics that I formerly exerted upon myself, all in the name of developing a quality quiet time, I realized that trying harder wasn’t working. There was no lack of energy, neither physical nor emotional, to accomplish the task of prayer. I may have exerted a lot of energy into having a quiet time but I wasn’t often praying.
Plenty of exertion, plenty of control but only episodic yielding. In my attempts to create a good devotional experience each day I would frequently maintain my white knuckle grip on the process. The obstacle within me, to borrow Emilie Griffin’s phrase, was a desire for control.
One valuable contribution that the CDP (and other forms of the daily office) provide is a sense of place in prayer. We return not only to the words of the prayers but to an environment. This environment, found within the words of the Psalms and the saints, creates space for us to encounter God through prayer. Entering into prayer is an active endeavor but there remains within it a call to yield, to still oneself, to become, if only for a moment, passive before God.
My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me. - Psalm 130
There is no shortage of anxiety in both life and ministry. Our anxieties, fed by a desire for control or at least the fear of having no control, will not guide us accurately in our relationship with God. The structure and content of the office grants us, through the words of others, to settle our hearts and minds, refocus our spontaneous prayers and enjoy the simple presence of God. All of this takes place through an active yielding to God’s Spirit.
Canticle 3
January 5, 2009
Today, I reflect briefly on the part of the canticle in morning prayers in CDP that says: Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right. My one word comment is I am Surrounded.
The form of this part of the canticle is not petitionary in that no verb expresses a request. Still we get the feeling that both a statement is being made of the reality we experience at times as well as a request for being surrounded by Christ.
Yes all dimensions of life come under our surrounding relationship with Christ. All dimensions: the things we experience with our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies. Not just the good things, or the right things, but all things. The things we think, say and do are subject to Christ. No dimension we know is outside the surrounding of Christ. When I feel rich with the presence or poor with the absence; content with my life, or discontent and striving for more, hungry for presence, empty and alone? No matter! I am surrounded and can do all things by the strength of his surrounding.
This interpretation is helpful to me in reflecting about this surrounding prayers.
Christ under me: My foundation. The ground of my life. The one sure thing that is not going to crumble when the crushing meteors of life hit us.
Christ over me: My authority. I have the freedom and will to act but never on my own authority. In any role in my life. As a parent or grandparent I am not the final authority. As a minister ditto. As a husband ditto. As a friend, spiritual guide, counselor, sibling, ditto, ditto, ditto, and ditto. King Jesus has come and his kingdom is here. Authority belongs to you my king.
Christ beside me on my left and my right. He walks with me as he did with the two on the Emmaus journey. He talks with me as he did with them. He listens to me as a friend would. He shares with me my humanity, my temptations, my victories, my defeats. Where is he in my suffering? Where is he in my joys? Where is he when I am despairing? Where is he when I feel I can conquer the world? Beside me, on my left and my right.
And now I ask O Christ and state that I be surrounded by You.
The Stampede
January 2, 2009
“They all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” John 7:53-8:1
Jesus doesn’t have a problem breaking with the crowd when that is what is needed to keep in step with the Father. Eugene Peterson uses the metaphor of stampede to describe modern culture. Quoting Bishop Barron Von Hugel he says, “Nothing can be accomplished in the stampede.” I tend to agree. I feel like too many of us get caught up in the stampede. Adrenaline is surging through our veins as we run feverishly from meeting to meeting, from one Sunday to the next, fixing problems, making decisions, trying harder, accomplishing more.
Today Jesus offers another way. The crowd is going home to where it is safe, familiar and comfortable. Yes, I am suggesting that busy-ness, chaos, and living life at breakneck speed has become “safe, familiar and comfortable” in modern culture; the stampede. However, Jesus is not going home, instead we find him climbing up the Mount of Olives to be alone in the quiet with His Father.
What happens next in the story is what I find especially compelling. Early the next morning Jesus is presented with a tough question. A trap has been set. The religious elite want to know how Jesus will interpret the Scriptures. Jesus response is inspired and brilliant. I want us to notice the connection between the way he relates to this difficult situation and his diverging from the stampede in order to be with the Father the night before. I feel like the grace and wisdom to handle this tough situation flows out of Jesus time with YHWH on the mountain.
Many of us are facing tough questions today. We are being asked to rethink what we have been taught as we reread Scripture through different lenses. To do this in the stampede is folly and will result in damage being done to ourselves and others.
We must summon the courage to slow down, to be still, to turn aside, to listen, to watch and to wait.
Where is your Mount of Olives? When will you next intentionally break away from the stampede to spend 6-8 hours alone with God?
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