"I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, *for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him."- from the psalm
"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ." From Colossians
"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." from Luke
I am probably repeating my self from yesterday with these elements of the reading. They have captured me. The one that leaps off the page is the one from Colossians...the warning to not be taken in by philosophy or human traditions. This grabs me because in my experience it was so easy to be lifted high by ideology or intellect but to be left starving as a Christian. I think we must be wary of our own intellect...not because it is bad but, combine it with ego and all of a sudden we are looking down the well for God and seeing ourselves. It is easy to do. Because it is easy to do I must check even my own (by my mind -brilliant) observations through others. Those others, as Chesterton notes, should include the "democracy of the dead." I must check my convictions through the thoughts and observations that emerge in scripture and the writings of my brethren.
Of course none of this has anything to do with prayer, except for the fact that if I am not a developed 'prayer' then I must at least acknowledge the dependency upon prayer that both Jesus demonstrates and the people of prayer who passed on this "Christian" thing to me. I must acknowledge that my whole being, my whole existence as a man "of the cloth" so to speak, has been enriched by prayer. From the prayers of my Grandmother praying that I would not turn out to be to big an idiot during my teen years to the prayers of Thomas Merton whose prayers turned him to Christ which then led him to write. Churches have prayed for me. My family has prayed for me. Individuals have prayed for me. I can not assume that just because I have intellectual ideas that may or may not lead me into a life of prayer that my ideas are correct. I am more the recipient of this life as a result of prayer than my convictions about it. I must as Jesus so evidences, find time not to contemplate whether or not I should pray but PRAY. As last weeks Gospel so put it "Do this and live."
I pray that my humble thoughts on prayer or the collection of readings from this weeks leads not to an acceptable sermon about prayer but a life a prayer. Lord, you are the cause of deep currents. Give me courage to swim where you lead.
Friday, July 20, 2007
the giver of all good gifts
to Him be thanks and praise. I am struck this morning as I read the Gospel for the 29th by what Jesus says about God as he talks about prayer.
"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
It is so often the case that I forget how great God is. I rarely realize the extent to which God has poured out his blessings upon me. When it rains, I grumble. When it is hot, I complain. When things go well, I congratulate myself. When things don't go so well, I blame, well usually I blame someone else. I forget to thank God for all these things. I forget that nothing is to wondrous for the Lord, and I assume I've got it all under control. I'm convicted today to thank God. I'm reminded today of Charlie Price's masterpiece in the 79 BCP.
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
I'm glad to have this prayer today. I'm glad Scott moved me on to the readings for next week. I'm thankful for all the gifts given to me by Him through whom all things were made. Thanks be to God!
"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
It is so often the case that I forget how great God is. I rarely realize the extent to which God has poured out his blessings upon me. When it rains, I grumble. When it is hot, I complain. When things go well, I congratulate myself. When things don't go so well, I blame, well usually I blame someone else. I forget to thank God for all these things. I forget that nothing is to wondrous for the Lord, and I assume I've got it all under control. I'm convicted today to thank God. I'm reminded today of Charlie Price's masterpiece in the 79 BCP.
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
I'm glad to have this prayer today. I'm glad Scott moved me on to the readings for next week. I'm thankful for all the gifts given to me by Him through whom all things were made. Thanks be to God!
A New Kind of Canticle
“Alleluia!”
I heard it, stopped, and turned around.
Damned if it wasn’t the amaryllis,
Lined up in the window box,
Their red-striped throats open,
Praising the Lord.
(by Margaret Minis; I found this while perusing an EFM brochure, and it reminded me of something Will Campbell would write)
I heard it, stopped, and turned around.
Damned if it wasn’t the amaryllis,
Lined up in the window box,
Their red-striped throats open,
Praising the Lord.
(by Margaret Minis; I found this while perusing an EFM brochure, and it reminded me of something Will Campbell would write)
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Distractions Redeemed
In thinking yet again about the Mary and Martha story as it relates to my own constant state of distraction and worry I was reminded of a prayer. This prayer comes from the book , Women's Uncommon Prayers: our lives revealed, nurtured, celebrated, an odd place for a 27 year-old post-conservative to pull from, but a good book none-the-less. The prayer I recalled was written by the Rev. Mary Anne Akin and is entitled "Sunday Night Tub Cleaning". It reminds me a lot of the option Martha chose not to choose, finding God in the distractions, seeking God in the mundane.
This post is sort of worthless, I am realizing, due to a very stern copyright notice on the first page of Women's Uncommon Prayers. I can't copy it here for you to read, but point you to Google Book Search where you can search for "Sunday Night Tub Cleaning" and find it quite easily.
Anyway, I just felt that a series of posts on distractions and worry wouldn't be finished without noting that God is in the small stuff. God shows up slumped over the bathtub in the same way, and often with more power and might, than on a Sunday morning in a stuffy church service. To live as Monday through Saturday followers of Christ rather than just as Sunday church-goers is to seek God in the grime of the bathtub, the frustration of the traffic light, or the silence of an empty house.
This post is sort of worthless, I am realizing, due to a very stern copyright notice on the first page of Women's Uncommon Prayers. I can't copy it here for you to read, but point you to Google Book Search where you can search for "Sunday Night Tub Cleaning" and find it quite easily.
Anyway, I just felt that a series of posts on distractions and worry wouldn't be finished without noting that God is in the small stuff. God shows up slumped over the bathtub in the same way, and often with more power and might, than on a Sunday morning in a stuffy church service. To live as Monday through Saturday followers of Christ rather than just as Sunday church-goers is to seek God in the grime of the bathtub, the frustration of the traffic light, or the silence of an empty house.
Persistence
"When I called, you answered me; *you increased my strength within me." from the psalm
"Mercy and truth have met together; *righteousness and peace have kissed each other. " from the psalm
"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. " from Colossians
"I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs." from the Gospel of Luke
These are just a couple of things which grabbed my attention. What is central to me is this idea of persistence in prayer (a topic I am not all that well versed). My first sermon at Church of the Good Shepherd and I draw one of the big ones of the faith: Jesus on prayer. I once read a smattering from an over the top evangelist and he noted that Jesus does not teach us much about anything but prayer. Jesus calls us to prayer. Jesus receives us in prayer. What rings true at the moment is that line from the psalm. "When I called, you answered me, you increased my strength within me" Prayer is our call God calls. We discover that our strength is increased. We become able to bear what we have in front of us.
Yet I am also struck how prayer often is not our first response whether it is individually or corporately. What does a praying church look like? We are often very good at hospitality. We are often very good at thinking about the dispossessed. But are we praying for the strength to meet the needs of those who come amongst us or are we simply utilizing our own strength? Maybe we don't trust that prayer is where we should begin? Maybe we have not been taught? Maybe we think we think we are only speaking to ourselves? Yet today's gospel suggests something different. Jesus uses a story of the day to suggest that God likes to be asked. He is not maybe the cosmic Santa clause issuing out gifts left and right on a whim. He is more like the friend tucked in at night a little annoyed at being woken by the friends plea.
and Jesus does not simply say pray. Jesus says that we are to be persistent in our prayers. We are to bang at the door and nock! We need those three loaves of bread for our guest. We can not simply walk away at the first sign of resistance. God's quietude may not be the answer no but God's way of drawing us into dependence on him. He does seek to bless us yet do we seek the blessing. Jacob wrestles all night to get his. Do we? Dare I say, do I?
"Mercy and truth have met together; *righteousness and peace have kissed each other. " from the psalm
"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. " from Colossians
"I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs." from the Gospel of Luke
These are just a couple of things which grabbed my attention. What is central to me is this idea of persistence in prayer (a topic I am not all that well versed). My first sermon at Church of the Good Shepherd and I draw one of the big ones of the faith: Jesus on prayer. I once read a smattering from an over the top evangelist and he noted that Jesus does not teach us much about anything but prayer. Jesus calls us to prayer. Jesus receives us in prayer. What rings true at the moment is that line from the psalm. "When I called, you answered me, you increased my strength within me" Prayer is our call God calls. We discover that our strength is increased. We become able to bear what we have in front of us.
Yet I am also struck how prayer often is not our first response whether it is individually or corporately. What does a praying church look like? We are often very good at hospitality. We are often very good at thinking about the dispossessed. But are we praying for the strength to meet the needs of those who come amongst us or are we simply utilizing our own strength? Maybe we don't trust that prayer is where we should begin? Maybe we have not been taught? Maybe we think we think we are only speaking to ourselves? Yet today's gospel suggests something different. Jesus uses a story of the day to suggest that God likes to be asked. He is not maybe the cosmic Santa clause issuing out gifts left and right on a whim. He is more like the friend tucked in at night a little annoyed at being woken by the friends plea.
and Jesus does not simply say pray. Jesus says that we are to be persistent in our prayers. We are to bang at the door and nock! We need those three loaves of bread for our guest. We can not simply walk away at the first sign of resistance. God's quietude may not be the answer no but God's way of drawing us into dependence on him. He does seek to bless us yet do we seek the blessing. Jacob wrestles all night to get his. Do we? Dare I say, do I?
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