Rule of Benedict 33
July 6, 2009
Benedict writes in 4:48-49
Keep guard at all times over the actions of your life, knowing for certain that God sees you every where.
I didn’t grow up with this Sunday School song: O be careful little hands, feet, eyes, ears what you do, where you go, what you see, and hear for the Father up above is looking down in love… Yes indeed one must be careful. Enticements to drift away from a Jesus-abiding life are many. Outward enticements to indulge our sensual pleasures of every kind abound. Inward enticements fueled by stored memories of sinful pleasures, boredom, and a sense of entitlement or missing out, lie in wait in every nook and cranny of our heart, mind, and soul. Thus keep guard at all times is apt advice, the one necessary thing in kingdom living.
Two people I read about and read some, who have managed a keeping guard over their hearts (Proverbs 4:23) are Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach (other than the proverb writer and of course our Master). Perhaps there are many more.
Laubach in Letters by a modern Mystic says:
As for me, I never lived, I was half dead, I was a rotting tree, until I reached the place where I wholly, with utter honesty, resolved and then re-resolved that I would find God’s will, and I would do that will though every fiber in me said no, and I would win the battle in my thoughts. It was as though some deep artesian well had been struck in my soul… and strength came forth. I do not claim success even for a day yet–in my mind, no complete success all day–but some days are closer to success, and every day is tingling with the joy of a glorious discovery. That thing is eternal. That thing is undefeatable… This spirit which comes to a mind set upon continuous surrender, this spirit is timeless life.
Does this sound doable? Is there a desire within me for this?
Laubach adds:
It seems to me now that yonder plowman could be like Calixto Sanidad, when he was a lonesome and mistreated plowboy, “with my eyes on the furrow, and my hands on the lines, but my thoughts on God.” The carpenter could be as a full of God as was Christ when he drove nails. The millions at looms and lathes could make the hours glorious. Some hour spent by some night watchman might be the most glorious ever lived on earth.
We occupy our lives with all kinds of activities. But with our thoughts we train our minds to turn upward, keeping guard over our actions because the Father up above is looking down in love to give us the desires of our hearts.
This is challenging to say the least. Keeping guard is only the starting point. The rest is to turn our minds to be stayed on Him. Much easier said than done. But willed by our Lord for us.
Prayer from Celtic Daily Prayer morning canticle:
Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
The Year of Living Rhythmically #2
April 8, 2009
One week from this Saturday, the Eastern Orthodox Churches will begin their Easter Vigil, known to them as Pascha. This ceremony begins late on Saturday night and stretches into the wee hours of Easter morning. The faithful who have fasted throughout the season of Lent, and some who haven’t, gather together to worship Christ and re-live his resurrection.
Each year the Orthodox Church re-reads the same sermon for their Paschal celebration. There is no innovation, no coming up with a better idea for next year, instead they rely upon a sermon penned by the 4th Century church father, John Chrysostom. It not only celebrates the resurrection of Christ but it also highlights the wideness of his mercy, the universality of God’s grace.
Even those who come late to the fast are invited to the feast.
- If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.
- If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord.
- If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense.
- If anyone has labored from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let him keep the feast. If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; for he shall suffer no loss. If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near without hesitation. If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let him not fear on account of his delay. For the Master is gracious and receives the last, even as the first; he gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first. He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious. He both honors the work and praises the intention.
- Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord, and, whether first or last, receive your reward. O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy! O you ascetics and you negligent, celebrate the day! You that have fasted and you that have disregarded the fast, rejoice today! The table is rich-laden; feast royally, all of you! The calf is fatted; let no one go forth hungry!
Rule of Benedict 13
February 27, 2009
In chapter one of the Rule of Benedict we are treated to the Saint’s preference of the kind of monk and monastery he wishes to have. In this chapter he names 4 types of monks: The cenobites, the anchorites, the sarabaites, and in today’s verses (10-13) he names the last, the gyrovagues. I quote the verses:
The fourth kind of monks are those called gyrovagues, who spend their whole lives seeking hospitality in province after province, monastery after monastery, staying three or four days at a time; always wandering and never stable, they are slaves to self-will and the snares of appetite: they are in all things worse than the sarabaites.
Of the most wretched life of all these it is better to remain silent than to speak. Leaving these behind us, therefore, let us proceed, with the help of God, to make provision for the cenobites–the strong kind of monks.
Lectio: With nothing good to say about the wretched existence of the gyrovagues, Benedict prefers silence to speech; grace and love, to condemnation. Benedict is a discerning leader.
This is what I heard and am meditating on: You have nothing to say? Say nothing. You don’t think your words edify? It is best to keep them inside and not sound like a clanging cymbal and a noisy gong. Jesus kept silence when his life and ours hung in the balance and I am sure many other times. That takes training of the will. Our tendency is unbridled speech. Too much to say if only some will listen. Say little and many will listen when you have something to say. I don’t have to say everything that comes into the mind. Too much talk is a human luxury no one could afford.
Experience also taught gracious Benedict that stability, staying put in one place for a long time, if not until death, provides a grounding in God, and helps overcome a life governed by self-will rather than by the will of God. Stability is one of the vows Benedictines take, if my memory serves me well. Doing life together with a few other people for life is a feat not many accomplish. Loving the same people, foibles and all is no easy thing. Serving God with others in the same congregation for life for life. Is that ever a consideration when better job opportunities come knocking? Heck, 50% or more of us can’t do it with a wife/husband! Mobility has its drawbacks. By raising all these questions I am becoming aware that stability is no longer a core value to us as a society or perhaps as a society of Jesus.
Is this true in your experience? What do you think we gain by stability? What do you think we lose without it?
Prayer: It is good for brothers to dwell together in harmony in your presence, dear Lord. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Missio Dei 3
February 26, 2009
A favorite and simple definition of spiritual formation comes from the heart of Robert Mulholland. Spiritual Formation is the process of becoming conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others. The words “for the sake of others” are missional words. Spirituality is about change, personal change that spills out into the world. Christianity is the movement of people who gather and scatter in participation with the work God is doing in and out of the church to expand his kingdom.
What I am concerned with here is to build a life around this principle of living that includes a “for the sake of others.” What will it take to become the kind of person who sees himself as sent by God? How do I change to become aware all the time that I am a missio dei tool in the hand of God? Last week I began to tackle the question of time. So I have made a commitment to “unbusy my life.” Now what? What goes, what stays? What do I do? That’s too big to tackle all at once. So what goes this week, what stays this week, what do I do this week? Too big still. Today?
I will walk up and down the street I live on twice, east and west sides. I will pray for each home’s residents. I will ask my life group to join me so we are doing it in community.
My prayer will be simple: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on the people of this home. Open their eyes that they may see and enter the kingdom of God. I am a tool in the hands of God.
The Year of Living Rhythmically: #1
February 25, 2009
Today is Ash Wednesday the beginning of the Lenten season where we carefully begin to review our lives in relationship to God for the sake of growing in repentance.
We frequently discuss the concept of Sacred Rhythm in these pages. Our focus is almost always upon the idea of Sacred Rhythm as it relates to our daily practices of prayer. But this sacred rhythm also applies to the seasons of the year. Through Christ’s resurrection we can now redeem time.
This redemption of time, which we see take place through various sacred rhythms, is bluntly expressed on a day like today. Smudging ash on our foreheads in the shape of the cross and quietly reminding one another: From dust you have come and to dust you shall return.
We are frail and fruitless. Any life we have is what we receive from God. Whatever good we do in this world is a ricochet of God’s grace bouncing off of us only to bless others.
A year of living rhythmically includes observing, as most Christians have done for centuries, the seasons of the Christian year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Each season either anticipates Christ’s coming or dramatically relives a part of Christ’s life. Christmas, Pentecost and Easter are seasons of celebration. Lent is a season of repentance, reflection and fasting. A season of intentional sadness.
Christians are naturally buoyant. This maybe why Lent has been prescribed as a corporate discipline throughout the ages. We love the resurrection too much. Though a season of sadness it is not a sadness without hope. It is a sadness of preparation. After our season of sadness comes our greatest season of joy…
The imitation of Christ
February 20, 2009
To be truly redeemed by Christ is, therefore, to impose on oneself the task of imitating him; As man Jesus is my model because as God he is my Redeemer; Christianity can be defined as a faith together with a corresponding way of life. - Kierkegaard
I for one, find it extremely difficult to live the way Jesus lived. I continually fall short. I am a sinner. I am completely dependent upon God’s grace in my quest to love others the way Jesus does. But that is my hope, that I would become more and more like Jesus and because of that hope I continue to work and strive (1 Timothy 4:10)….
I am part of faith community committed to three basic rhythm’s (”rules” for you Benedictines out there). Our desire is to be an intensive fellowship of friends ignited by the missio Dei. Together we are seeking to live our lives in the way of Jesus by…
- Listening to the Father
- Loving one another and
- Living as agents of redemption in the world.
These three basic practices are our attempt at working and striving because of the hope we have in God.
What are some of the common rhythm’s or rules of your faith community?
What practices do you find most helpful in your “training” to become more like Jesus?
It Is Making Me
February 18, 2009
In his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton sets out to establish the basic coherence and beauty of orthodox Christianity (that’s orthodox with a small “o”). In this process he acknowledges his is not a system that he created but one that he discovered, or rediscovered as it turns out. He says:
I have attempted in a vague and personal way, in a set of mental pictures rather than a series of deductions, to state the philosophy in which I have come to believe. I will not call it my philosophy; for I did not make it. God and humanity made it; and it made me. (Orthodoxy, pg. 13)
What Chesterton here ascribes to the work of theology, philosophy and apologetics I want to ascribe to prayer. I created neither prayer nor praying the daily office. The concept of sacred rhythm has been around much longer than I have. In fact, it predates Christianity itself. Yet, when praying the hours of CDP, I feel a thrill of rediscovery. The words are now so familiar that they have become a part of my mental soundtrack. The words of prayers which didn’t start with me, nonetheless, follow me throughout the day. Rather than reducing my experience with Christ to a routine, the familiarity of these words, enlarge it so that I find myself enjoying God’s friendship during the moments of prayer (the “hour” itself) and all throughout my day.
This kind of prayer is formative. Rather than merely comprehending the points in my praying I discover that the various phrases and ideas in the prayer are working on me at all times and in all kinds of occasions. Words such as, “…be within and without me lowly and meek yet all powerful” from the morning office, or from the midday, “…all things are passing, God never changeth”, and from the evening prayer, “Lord, You have always spoken when time was ripe; and though you be silent now, today I believe.”
These words weren’t crafted by me but I find that they are crafting me. From the Psalms and the prayers of ancient others these words are, much like Chesterton’s discovery, making me. (Perhaps re-making me?)
In his musical rendition of the Apostles Creed Rich Mullins ends the song with a phrase that is not from the creed by his brief and powerful reflection upon it. He says, “I did not make it. No, it is making me. It is the very truth of God not the invention of any man.”
No, I did not make it. But it is remaking me.
Rule of Benedict 3
February 11, 2009
Prologue cont… Verses 8-13
“Let us then at last arise, since the Scripture stirs us up saying: It is time now for us to rise from sleep (Romans 13:11). And our eyes being open to the deifying light, let us hear with wondering ears what the Divine Voice admonishes us, daily crying out: Today if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Psalm 95:-8). And again, You have ears to hear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7).
And what does he say? Come children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Psalm 34:12). Run while you have the light of life, lest the darkness of death seize hold of you (John 12:35).”
Wow! What a stringing of Bible thoughts together into a whole! St Benedict’s Rule is chock full of Scripture Do you sense the urgency in the voice of this ancient wise man? He is writing in the middle of the 6th century A.D. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_of_Nursia). He is quoting Scripture left and right combining ideas to create a reality he wanted to convey. Her’s the reality: Rise, Today, Run. I wonder what he was experiencing that gave rise to his message of urgency to hear God’s voice. Whatever it was for him, I hear the same voice today: “Rise today and run to me.”
Prayer Response: As the prodigal I run to you, my Father, with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. Only in my running I find myself still compared to your sprinting toward me. Let no part of me slack off or be left behind. In you alone I participate in the divine nature you grace me with (2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 5:1-2). “I will arise and go to Jesus” exchanging my darkness with your light. I arise with Benedict and with my brothers and sisters in Christ so that together we may hear your admonishment. Amen. Lord, have mercy (kyrie eleison, Christe eleison).
What do you find inspiring in the verses above that St Benedict strings together?
Rule of Benedict 1
February 8, 2009
Many evangelicals are discovering the Rule of St Benedict (RB). I have only read bits and pieces of it. For the next while I would like to take portions of it and discover for myself what’s helpful in seeking sacred, transformed, and missional lives.
My pattern will be to take a small passage, say a couple of things about it, and offer a prayer or a response. I am using as a guide the wonderful book by Norvene Vest entitled Preferring Christ by Morehouse Publishers. I am not in any way an expert on the Rule. Au contraire, I am a novice looking at what the Father of Monasticism can teach us today with our three common commitments.
Prologue: verses 1-2. Listen, O my son to the precepts of the master, and incline the ear of your heart: willingly receive and faithfully fulfill the admonition of your loving father; that you may return by the labor of obedience to him from whom you had departed through the sloth of disobedience.
It is obvious that RB (Rule of Benedict) is using a biblical formula we find in the book of Proverbs, and the Psalms (see Psalms 95, 34:12; 15:1. It is said that RB is in harmony with Scripture. My experience is that it is very biblical in its content.
I notice that listening and obedience go hand in hand in RB for those who are willing to receive the call to follow God. Listening without obedience is a waste of time, and energy for all.
Prayer: Jesus, you battled hard the hard of hearing people throughout your minsitry. You had harsh words for those who could hear but refused to hear. Much of what I hear from your word is slow to make it to my inner ear and out into obedient actions. Help me to labor hard after obedience to what I hear and to bless you by it. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Tuning In, Tuning Out
February 4, 2009
Anne Lamott, in her book Bird by Bird, speaks about many challenges of writing. The discipline required to sit down everyday, clear one’s head and get something down on paper was overwhelming to her and through her experiences she humorously advises her fellow aspiring writers.
One of the biggest challenges she recounts was the continual process of quieting the “voices” in her head. Everyday, she would sit in front of her keyboard, pray a little prayer and try to proceed with the work of writing both creatively and authentically. In this process she discovered that her mind seemed tuned to a psychic radio station blasting overblown, outlandish praise of herself in one ear and absolute derision in the other.
As much as I love Lamott’s writing, politeness requires that I not quote her directly.
Much like Anne Lamott being kept from writing by her internal radio station I have found something similar which keeps me from prayer. These are not auditory hallucinations but “voices”, which I suspect we all hear, often in our own voice or the imitated voice of someone we love. Voices that drown out God’s voice.
In one ear I hear a voice telling me how wonderful I am, what a gift to humanity I am, how lucky the people around me are to have me in their life, and how my universal competence is only outstripped by my humility. On the other hand, or, more appropriately, in the other ear, I hear words that sound something like this: you are an idiot, everything you touch turns to poo, people are too polite to tell you how lousy you really are, and not even God would enjoy your company.
Now I know those words are all wrong. But knowing they are wrong does not keep me from tuning into that diabolical station.
Eugene Peterson asserts that every chapter in the Psalter is a prayer save one. Psalm 1, while not exactly prayer itself, it is preparation for it. Prayer does need preparation and this preparation is never more obviously needed than when I have difficulty quieting the voices in my head. Often, when praying the hours, I realize that I would be more “present” in my praying by taking a moment to set the scene, clear my mind, and, through conscious awareness of God’s presence and love, allow myself to pray more completely, more “prayerfully”. Reading the Psalms within CDP leads me to pray the Psalms. Prayer becomes the most rich when I hear just one voice, God’s.
The rhythm of daily praying the Psalms not only tunes out the voices but enables me to tune in, more frequently and reliably, to God’s voice. A voice speaking clear words of love and sanity.
The Wounded Healer
February 2, 2009
Henri Nouwen passed away a while back but his words never seem to do. In the Wounded Healer, he talks about the need to be healed since the onset of the nuclear age. Nucelar man must learn the inner way of healing the wounds of our age. He must also learn the revolutionary way of not accepting the evil of this present age. The Christian way, says Nouwen, is the third way. It is based on the “growing conviction that in Jesus the mystical [inner way] and the revolutionary [activist ways] are not opposites, but two sides of the same human mode of experiential transcendence [of experiencing the presence of God]. I am increasingly convinced that conversion is the individual equivalent of revolution.
Therefore every real revolutionary is challenged to be a mystic at heart, and he who walks the mystical way is called to unmask the illusory quality of human society. Mysticism and revolution are two aspects of the same attempt to bring about radical change. No mystic at heart, and he who walks the mystical way is called to unmask the illusory quality of human society. Mysticism and revolution are two aspect of the same attempt to bring about radical change. No mystic can prevent himself from becoming a social critic, since in self-reflection he will discover the roots of a sick society. Similarly, no revolutionary can avoid facing his own human conditions, since in the midst of his struggle for a new world he will find that he is also fighting his own revolutionary fears and false ambition.”
I am struck that what Nouwen is talking about is so similar to how we are thinking at missional order. His conversion as individual revolution is our life of continuous conversion (our second common commitment) based on a continuous life of seeking to understand the msytery of God (our first commitment to pray our life in a sacred rhythm in order to know God), and resulting in activism for the transformation of society (our third commitment to missio dei).
I am tempted to propose a name for our missional order: The Third Way. I don’t know if it’s taken. Do you have an opinion about a name for our order?
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.
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?
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.
Canticle 2
December 29, 2008
Missional Order is engaged in three interrelated commitments or vows. First we are committed to live in a sacred way in chronological time and the special moments of worship. The second vow is continuous spiritual formation. We believe our initial conversion into Christ is just that initial. We want to spend the rest of our lives learning and training to be conformed to the image of Christ. The third commitment that unifies our vision for the Christian life is missio dei. It is not enough to worship and train. We must also do the work of God in this world as we participate in the establishment of the Kingdom of God. By making these three commitments we declare our Christian lifestyle not just our beliefs.
We take seriously time set aside for worship, and special moments of encounter with God. As an aid to worship we are using as our guide Celtic Daily Prayer, which is accessible from this site’s menu. Celtic simply means Irish in this case. This prayer book we use was composed by a community of Christ followers in a place in Ireland called Northumbria. Each morning time of worship we sing with them this song or canticle toward the end of the worship time. Last week I wrote a few comments on the first two lines. This week a few comments on the following two lines are in order: Christ, as a shield overshadow me.
Notice again that the form of this line is petitionary, in other words, we are asking Christ to be our shield and as a shield to overshadow us or protect us. I don’t know about you but as for me I need Christ’s protection for he knows how to protect his own as promised “I will never leave or forsake you, and no one will pluck you out of my hand.”
What do you need to be protected from in your life?
For me it is mostly my heart, soul, mind, and body. These are the components of my self and what they are like is the sum total of what my character is like. Proverbs 4:23 says that we must protect our hearts because out of them flows life. Our heart, soul, mind, or inner existence needs protection. It is susceptible to all kinds of attacks from the evil side. These are the areas of susceptibility many of us deal with and need the overshasowing by Christ’s shield: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. If you guessed or recognized that these are the 7 deadly sins the early church gave us, you would be right.
And so the petition: Christ as a shield overshadow me gains in significance for me as I reflect on the presence of these categories of sin in my life. We are predisposed to all of them; perhaps not always, but periodically. Confession and repentance follow and forgiveness is received. Then we can ask Christ the shield to overshadow us with the 7 virtues, which are also the gift of the early church to us: courage, faith, hope, justice, love, prudence, and restraint.
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