Waiting
July 3, 2009
Imagine yourself in this scene.
You have just been anointed the first King of Israel, I would guess that comes with a decent amount of pressure to succeed! You have already attacked the Philistines once and have really irritated them. They have now come out in force. You are way out numbered. Much of your army has gone into hiding. Those who remain are quaking with fear. You are way outnumbered! All eyes are on you as the newly anointed King. You want to attack, you want to prove yourself, you want to serve your God and your people well. And here is the rub. When you were selected by God, through Samuel to be king, you were instructed, “God down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do (1 Samuel 10:8).
You are now caught between waiting as you were instructed and the military needs of your people. You can not fulfill both. What would you do? Would you have the discipline to wait or would you lazily give in to the pressure (and pride) to act now?
If you are like Saul, you “get creative” and refuse to succumb to the tyranny of “either/or”. You do not want to fight without having offered sacrifices, but at the same time you see your “quaking” men are deserting after a full week of inactivity. (Can you imagine waiting a full 7 days under that king of pressure?) Saul, tired of waiting, takes it upon himself to make the sacrifices Samuel had promised to offer (after all, Samuel had given Saul “priestly honor” 9:23, 24;10::4).
Samuel arrives to discover the “foolish thing” Saul has done and says, “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had , he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’S command.”
Ultimately, Saul’s action undoes him as he is rebuked by Samuel, abandoned by his people and rejected by God.
(Reflections on 1 Samuel 13: 5-15, see also Psalm 131)
Confession 3
April 16, 2009
What do you think of this text? Have you experienced anything like this? Do you think the force of the passage is compelling enough for us to do it? Do you believe confession should be done publicly in and by the church? In some churches general confession is made of sin.
Nehemiah: 9:1 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. 9:2 Those truly of Israelite descent separated from all the foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. 9:3 For one-fourth of the day they stood in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, and for another fourth they were confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God.
One fourth of the day (assuming it’s 12 hours) is 3 hours. Has anyone tried a confession retreat? I would like to take a Saturday morning and spend the best of 3 hours confessing mine and others’ sins.
In our Good Friday service we focused on confession, mainly for lack of love. We then wrote our sins on 3×5 cards and literally nailed them to a 10′ wooden cross at the front of the church. As we did we sang It is Well with My Soul. About 70 of us filled the cross with cards of confessions of our sins.
I confess, Lord, that our predecessors in the faith have failed to apprentice us to Jesus. I confess that we are making the same mistake. Lord, help us to change and have mercy on us. Amen.
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?
Canticle
December 21, 2008
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.
I find this prayer deeply meaningful. I cannot simply recite it without going deeply into myself and appreciate its work in me. It reflects a ton of biblical images and concepts that are familiar to the Bible reader. That’s the most endearing thing about it. I am going to write a few posts on this canticle of worship. Reading these words is one thing, reading them and letting them read us spiritually is another. I read them slowly, meditatively, prayerfully, and restfully allow them to settle down deep within (by the way this kind of reading is called lectio divina).
The canticle begins appropriately with Christ: Christ as a light, illumine and guide me. The form is prayerful. It is the asking for direction, for wisdom, for understanding of everything in life and of the things of God. Jesus said “I am the light of the world, he who comes to me will not live in darkness”. And this world of darkness needs the light of Christ, and in my world of darkness I need the light who is Christ. Daily I make numerous decisions, some of them are big, most are small, but cumulatively, they shape my future life. How I need The Light!
Christ as a light means to me that Christ reveals God, no small thing. Christ as a light reveals life and reveals me to me. Equally no small thing. Christ as a light reveals the way of life in the kingdom of God. I rest in the thought that I am his and he is mine and that he wants to show me himself and show me myself and the ways of the kingdom of light. He is ever so gentle in his pointing the light. Sometimes the light floods over me and sometimes it comes with laser precision. He knows which I need. I rest in that knowledge of being known and accepted.
Christ as a light, illumine and guide me. Amen.
God’s Presence
December 19, 2008
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
- Luke 1:35-38
I have been captured by this account of Mary’s interaction with the LORD. One of the aspects of this story I find especially compelling is the allusion to the Trinity that is found here….
The Holy Spirit will come on you….
the power of the Most High will overshadow you…
the one inside you will be called the Son of God.
I am hungry for this secret intimacy with God. I want to know God in ever increasing depth and wonder. I want to be baptized in the strong name of the Trinity.
Advent is about watching and waiting. Surrendering to the Presence of God that is upon us, overshadowing us, and even in us. It takes discipline to slow down, to stop, to wait and allow God himself to wash over me, loving me, cleansing me, filling me.
Lord, I make the choice to slow down right now. I am sitting here in stillness well aware that your Presence fills this room, that your Presence fills my heart. I receive you just as I am today. I am not trying to figure out your grace, I am content to just experience it wash over me. Thank you for loving me. I love you.
Fruitful Ministry
November 21, 2008
All Jesus’ words and actions emerge from his intimate relationships with his Father. “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:10-11).
Both Jesus “words” and “works” flow from his abiding relationship with his Father, so our ministry must flow from our communion with Jesus. “In all truth I tell you,” he says, “whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, and will perform even greater works. … Whatever you ask for in my name I will do” (John 14:12-13). He continues in John 15, ” I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”
Ministry is the fruit of an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, not human strength or wisdom. The ability to “remain” is essential. Don’t cut yourself off from the vine today. Linger in His presence. Sense His Spirit surging through you.
Are you aware of how you best experience God’s presence? Listen to your life, it will tell you.
From Solitude to Community
November 7, 2008
“Why is it so important that solitude come before community? If we do not know we are the beloved sons and daughters of God, we’re going to expect someone in the community to make us feel that way. They cannot. ” — Henri Nouwen
As followers of Christ we are called to love one another. We all know this. The problem is if we don’t “know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16), we end up using people instead of loving them. Gaining our identity in God gives us the freedom to lose ourselves in love and service to others. Notice the order, “Beloved, let us love one another” (1 John 4: 7). First, be loved. Second, love one another. Solitude precedes community.
“But you have to pray. You have to listen to the voice who calls you the beloved, because otherwise you will run around begging for affirmation, for praise, for success. And then you’re not free.” — Nouwen
Have you taken time to simply be loved today? Are you free to love others?
On Your Mark…
October 20, 2008
To relish the presence of God, a way of slowing down is necessary. I use these steps in preparation to pray.
Space/Place: I have created a space that helps me be present. While many people can focus on what is going on internally while in high traffic areas, I prefer a quiet, comfortable, and free of distractions spot, at least for one of the 4 sacred times of prayer in my day. Nothing elaborate here. Could be as simple as a well-placed chair at home or office. Naming a place is a way of sanctifying it (a common biblical tradition). I take no chances of being disturbed. I have removed all the hooks that lure me in the direction of the tyranny of the urgent.
Posture: I position my body and my self in a way that maximizes paying attention. I keep my back as straight as possible so that breathing is not labored. Crossing legs or arms restricts the flow of blood. Body posture carries symbolic overtures to know the presence of God and to be present to God. By adopting the right posture I declare my readiness to have an audience with the King. Recliners are death to prayer. I know. You know.
Pace: Slow down the rate of your breathing. This is the most helpful step I take in preparation for prayer. It has a way of slowing me down like no other. By slowing down I send a signal that I am ready to listen. It’s my way of saying: Speak, Lord, for you servant is in hearing mode. I want to let God know I am not in a hurry. I want to tame my “hurriedness”. I try to take no more than 4-7 breaths per minute. I breathe deeply and rhythmically by holding my breath to the count of 4. I concentrate on inhaling and exhaling which to me are symbols of taking in the presence of God and offering my presence to God.
Perceptions: The fourth thing I do is to become aware of my surroundings and my inner self. What is my body touching, what am I smelling, seeing, hearing? I pay attention to my breathing, what my body is touching, what I am wearing. I listen to what my soul is saying. Am I anxious? Tired? Joyful? Expecting? This is good because it helps me be and stay in the present moment. Seek depth of awareness not analysis.
Purpose: I remind myself that the purpose of prayer is to enter into a deep conversation with God, and to keep his company. Personal transformation that leads to world transformation may happen as a result of prayer but the focus is on the One who transforms.
I need not take long in preparation but I need to take the time I need to prepare.
Do you have some ways you prepare yourself to enter into the presence of God?
Clinging to God in Solitude
October 7, 2008
“When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are. Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense. When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies. Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant.
Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are ’somebodies.’ But that is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people’s responses to us but God’s eternal love for us.”
- Henri Nouwen
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