This week we have clergy meetings. We are going to be taught how to do "prophetic preaching." I will be posting again next Friday.
Having looked at the Lord's prayer, I invite us all to a deeper meditation on it. While Luke does not include the word, Matthew does: "Our."
This is one of my major rants so you have heard it before. God is "our" Father, not mine. It does not mean that God does not know us personally. It does not mean that individuals do not matter. What it means is all prayer has a communal element. Ponder this, how does your prayer change when you say "our" versus "my"? In the later 1990's my two little ones were negotiating their new life on planet earth. Madison is twenty one months older than Luke. One of his first words was "mine." I never recall her saying that word, ever. The reason was, of course, she did not have an older sibling taking her stuff.
The me and mine approach to life is isolated. It is self centered.
The us and our approach is communal. It is love centered.
The former is reality, the latter is the kingdom dream. We can NOT ignore the reality of sin and fallen humanity. Taking care of me and mine is the reality in which we live. However, we can work toward the Kingdom ideal even now, as we await its arrival.
Being hopelessly naive and calling it optimism is silliness. Pretending that we can and should trust each other all the time is a bad idea. (Just check out the work of scam artists and child molesters if you want to see the fruit of that "optimistic" approach to life). But 'our' reminds us we are all in this together. At least in prayer we can act like it. We can act with care but pray with abandon. We can keep a wary eye out in our daily dealings, but pray without worry or fear with/for everyone.
"Father" is Jesus' word. Contemporary folk seem hell bent on destroying the word. They make it a dirty, bad, oppressive word. (Seems Jesus was actually a pretty evil guy in their minds.) Fatherhood in God is a revelation. It is significant. Once more, the escape from 'my' helps. Lots of people have bad dads, or absent dads. The word is painful to them. We cannot ignore that, but we must move beyond it. Fatherhood is bigger (and better) than our own personal experience of it. To relate to God as Father changes the perspective. It is a personal relationship. It is not, however, an equal realationship (hence the complaints).
In prayer, one can spend a long time pondering the words "our + Father." How does it change our view of the world? ourselves? our task in life? In prayer, slowly, repeatedly, with mind and heart and imagination, roll those two words around. Think what they do not mean. Think what they do mean. Draw pictures in your head of what it looks like. Enter the reality and let the reality enter you.
Our Father!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Meditation: How Jesus Prayed
Review on Prayer:Goal: Communion with God
Stage 2: Enlightenment, having the mind of Jesus Christ
There is an old saying that married couples begin to look alike over time (same is said of dogs and their owners). I am not sure if it is true. However, I am more than clear that one is influenced by one's company. The way we talk, the way we act, the things we think about, the things we care about; all of these are influenced mightily by the people with whom we spend our time.
Prayer is spending time with God. It slowly (slowly!) makes us more like God (eusebius, in Greek, means godly) It appears four times in the OT and twelve in the NT. The Pauline corpus uses it often and in a sobering way (2Ti 3:12 "...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution"). The most godly man ever is Jesus. To take on His mind will take us into danger (and eternal life). A good prayer life will both change me/you and disrupt my pleasant life.
It is probably a good idea to look at the prayer life of Jesus at this point. [Some may ask why I did not start here. Answer, a six year old starts with tee-ball, not facing MLB hurlers tossing 96mph.] While Jesus talks about prayer and actually prays in the Gospels, I can think of no better place to start (or stay) than 'The Lord's Prayer.'
A few words of introduction, this prayer is found in three places Matthew 6:9-15, Luke 11:2-4 and in the Didache 8:2 (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written between 50-100 AD). One note is that Matthew and the Didache are closer in content than Luke. Luke's version is shorter, leaving out some lines. Luke asks "forgive us our sins." Matthew includes a variation on Mk 11:25 that God's forgiveness is dependent upon our own willingness to forgive the trespasses of others. [Note, in communal recitation of this prayer, the word trespasses has replaced debts in many churches.]
In 1961 Raymond Brown wrote an article that showed the Lord's Prayer is an eschatological prayer. In other words, it is about the end of the world. I am not going to quote extensively, that level of research is recommended, read the article. Brtown looks at the Greek verbs they are in the aorist imperative. Brown's point is that the aorist imperative is used for a single future action (as oppossed to an ongoing series of actions). The expression "once and for all" would capture his meaning. So for example, "give me the apple" rather than "keep bringing me apples."
So, how then is Jesus telling us to pray?
Father make your name holy (that is what hallowed means; All Hallowed's Eve is the day before All Saints, hallowed=saint=holy). In the OT, God made His name holy by acts of salvation. Another version is glorify your name. Frequently it is expressed as making Your/God's name known. To pray that God will hallow His name is to ask Him, once and for all, to establish His reign.
Your Kingdom come (Mt, Lk, Didache), Your will be done (Mt and Didache). Both mean the same. When God reigns as King His will is done. Remember, this is the ancient world, no democracy is being thought of. If democracy makes for a better society, it does not do much good for Truth and theology. In meditating on this I have come to see that it implies obedience on my part. I frequently pray that God will come and rule, if not the world, at least my heart today. To pray for the Kingdom&Will of God is to hunger for God to rule. And as Jesus reveals in the Garden, this is not a light and sweet prayer, "Father if this cup can pass me, please... but not my will, Your will be done." This prayer binds us to God in deep ways.
The prayer for bread (probably mistranslated 'daily' in Mt) is also in the aorist. What bread will we receive only once and for all? Bread is an ancient term for bread, but also food in general. "I earn my bread by the sweat of my brow" means that one works for everything one has, not just bread but life. So Jesus is telling us, pray for the Heavenly Feast, i.e., the end of the world. It is the "wedding feast" of the parables, the Final Consumation. Obviously, eucharist is a type of the heavenly feast, so this prayer can also become a longing for Jesus present among us in the breaking of bread. Obviously, this parallels manna, the daily food which we need. So there is probably some temporal and immediate implication. However, the main focus is this, "Lord start the Great Feast of the End Times now! Hurry!"
Forgive us our debts.... Debt is a bigger word than sin. Sin is bad stuff we do. Debt is what we owe God. If we were sinless we would still have a huge debt. We owe everything to God. We are dependent beings. (meditate on that) Even the act of saying "thank you" is a gift. we can do nothing on our own. Sins just adds to the debt geometrically. This issue was a huge one for Jesus. He taught on it in His parables. It is the tendency of humans to be unforgiving even as they seek mercy. This petition is scary: "forgive us... AS we forgive..." I wish Jesus told us to pray "forgive us much more easily and completely than we forgive others." The heart of this petition is the final judgment. We call for the mercy of God and His Divine forgiveness. In keeping with the communal nature of church, we recognize that God's forgiveness flows in and through Christ (and therefore, in and through the church=people). Reconciliation with God implies reconciliation with one another. Jesus tells us to love each other as He has loved us. In God's creation our acts of mercy and forgiveness extend His kingdom.
The Greek word for trial and temptation are the same. Hence, Jesus probably told us to pray that we would not be tested/tempted during the Great Tribulation. If we pray for the world's end today then we will pass through "those days" of trial. Asking God to save us from that is something Jesus refers to several times in the Gospels. Matthew and Didache include deliver us from evil/the Evil One. Generic evil and Satan could be implied here. Based on the total theme of the prayer, I think it is the latter. In the final establishment of God's Kingdom, Satan will be active. He will be defeated. We pray for God's hand to protect us as the Prince of this world (i.e. Satan) confronts and is defeated by the True King Who is establishing His reign.
What does it mean that Jesus told us to pray for the end of the world and the beginning of the New Era in His Kingdom? It means all of our prayer is funneled through a different value system. It means our main concerns are shifted from our typical "to do" list for God. It means we ask God (in the Didache Christians were told to pray this way three times a day) to come in our midst.
A final word, I think it most helpful to paraphrase the Lord's prayer (apparently the early church, following ancient Jewish liturgical practice did). You understand the concept, every petition is aimed at God Ruling. SO pray:
Precious, holy God. Make all the world know that you and you alone are God. or
Dear Father, come now, today, in my heart, in my home, in my community, in this world. Come dear Father and establish your Kingdom. or
Father God, throw down those in position of authority, or rule through them. Cast out the Prince of Darkness and rescue your children. Come. NOW. Hurry!
or etc....
You get the point: internalize the desire for the Kingdom. Meditate on the deeper meaning of this outline for prayer and seek the implications of praying this way (like the connection of this prayer to Gethsemane) Consume the Jesus perspective. Learn to hunger and thirst for righteous (God's kingdom) and His justice. Pray for it. Beg for it. Seek it constantly. Who knows, maybe your petition is the tipping point. Maybe we are one voice shy of God hearing, seeing, remembering and finally acting, once and for all, to save the world and reign among us in the New Jerusalem!
Stage 2: Enlightenment, having the mind of Jesus Christ
There is an old saying that married couples begin to look alike over time (same is said of dogs and their owners). I am not sure if it is true. However, I am more than clear that one is influenced by one's company. The way we talk, the way we act, the things we think about, the things we care about; all of these are influenced mightily by the people with whom we spend our time.
Prayer is spending time with God. It slowly (slowly!) makes us more like God (eusebius, in Greek, means godly) It appears four times in the OT and twelve in the NT. The Pauline corpus uses it often and in a sobering way (2Ti 3:12 "...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution"). The most godly man ever is Jesus. To take on His mind will take us into danger (and eternal life). A good prayer life will both change me/you and disrupt my pleasant life.
It is probably a good idea to look at the prayer life of Jesus at this point. [Some may ask why I did not start here. Answer, a six year old starts with tee-ball, not facing MLB hurlers tossing 96mph.] While Jesus talks about prayer and actually prays in the Gospels, I can think of no better place to start (or stay) than 'The Lord's Prayer.'
A few words of introduction, this prayer is found in three places Matthew 6:9-15, Luke 11:2-4 and in the Didache 8:2 (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written between 50-100 AD). One note is that Matthew and the Didache are closer in content than Luke. Luke's version is shorter, leaving out some lines. Luke asks "forgive us our sins." Matthew includes a variation on Mk 11:25 that God's forgiveness is dependent upon our own willingness to forgive the trespasses of others. [Note, in communal recitation of this prayer, the word trespasses has replaced debts in many churches.]
In 1961 Raymond Brown wrote an article that showed the Lord's Prayer is an eschatological prayer. In other words, it is about the end of the world. I am not going to quote extensively, that level of research is recommended, read the article. Brtown looks at the Greek verbs they are in the aorist imperative. Brown's point is that the aorist imperative is used for a single future action (as oppossed to an ongoing series of actions). The expression "once and for all" would capture his meaning. So for example, "give me the apple" rather than "keep bringing me apples."
So, how then is Jesus telling us to pray?
Father make your name holy (that is what hallowed means; All Hallowed's Eve is the day before All Saints, hallowed=saint=holy). In the OT, God made His name holy by acts of salvation. Another version is glorify your name. Frequently it is expressed as making Your/God's name known. To pray that God will hallow His name is to ask Him, once and for all, to establish His reign.
Your Kingdom come (Mt, Lk, Didache), Your will be done (Mt and Didache). Both mean the same. When God reigns as King His will is done. Remember, this is the ancient world, no democracy is being thought of. If democracy makes for a better society, it does not do much good for Truth and theology. In meditating on this I have come to see that it implies obedience on my part. I frequently pray that God will come and rule, if not the world, at least my heart today. To pray for the Kingdom&Will of God is to hunger for God to rule. And as Jesus reveals in the Garden, this is not a light and sweet prayer, "Father if this cup can pass me, please... but not my will, Your will be done." This prayer binds us to God in deep ways.
The prayer for bread (probably mistranslated 'daily' in Mt) is also in the aorist. What bread will we receive only once and for all? Bread is an ancient term for bread, but also food in general. "I earn my bread by the sweat of my brow" means that one works for everything one has, not just bread but life. So Jesus is telling us, pray for the Heavenly Feast, i.e., the end of the world. It is the "wedding feast" of the parables, the Final Consumation. Obviously, eucharist is a type of the heavenly feast, so this prayer can also become a longing for Jesus present among us in the breaking of bread. Obviously, this parallels manna, the daily food which we need. So there is probably some temporal and immediate implication. However, the main focus is this, "Lord start the Great Feast of the End Times now! Hurry!"
Forgive us our debts.... Debt is a bigger word than sin. Sin is bad stuff we do. Debt is what we owe God. If we were sinless we would still have a huge debt. We owe everything to God. We are dependent beings. (meditate on that) Even the act of saying "thank you" is a gift. we can do nothing on our own. Sins just adds to the debt geometrically. This issue was a huge one for Jesus. He taught on it in His parables. It is the tendency of humans to be unforgiving even as they seek mercy. This petition is scary: "forgive us... AS we forgive..." I wish Jesus told us to pray "forgive us much more easily and completely than we forgive others." The heart of this petition is the final judgment. We call for the mercy of God and His Divine forgiveness. In keeping with the communal nature of church, we recognize that God's forgiveness flows in and through Christ (and therefore, in and through the church=people). Reconciliation with God implies reconciliation with one another. Jesus tells us to love each other as He has loved us. In God's creation our acts of mercy and forgiveness extend His kingdom.
The Greek word for trial and temptation are the same. Hence, Jesus probably told us to pray that we would not be tested/tempted during the Great Tribulation. If we pray for the world's end today then we will pass through "those days" of trial. Asking God to save us from that is something Jesus refers to several times in the Gospels. Matthew and Didache include deliver us from evil/the Evil One. Generic evil and Satan could be implied here. Based on the total theme of the prayer, I think it is the latter. In the final establishment of God's Kingdom, Satan will be active. He will be defeated. We pray for God's hand to protect us as the Prince of this world (i.e. Satan) confronts and is defeated by the True King Who is establishing His reign.
What does it mean that Jesus told us to pray for the end of the world and the beginning of the New Era in His Kingdom? It means all of our prayer is funneled through a different value system. It means our main concerns are shifted from our typical "to do" list for God. It means we ask God (in the Didache Christians were told to pray this way three times a day) to come in our midst.
A final word, I think it most helpful to paraphrase the Lord's prayer (apparently the early church, following ancient Jewish liturgical practice did). You understand the concept, every petition is aimed at God Ruling. SO pray:
Precious, holy God. Make all the world know that you and you alone are God. or
Dear Father, come now, today, in my heart, in my home, in my community, in this world. Come dear Father and establish your Kingdom. or
Father God, throw down those in position of authority, or rule through them. Cast out the Prince of Darkness and rescue your children. Come. NOW. Hurry!
or etc....
You get the point: internalize the desire for the Kingdom. Meditate on the deeper meaning of this outline for prayer and seek the implications of praying this way (like the connection of this prayer to Gethsemane) Consume the Jesus perspective. Learn to hunger and thirst for righteous (God's kingdom) and His justice. Pray for it. Beg for it. Seek it constantly. Who knows, maybe your petition is the tipping point. Maybe we are one voice shy of God hearing, seeing, remembering and finally acting, once and for all, to save the world and reign among us in the New Jerusalem!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Meditation
The purpose of prayer is communion with God.
Meditation takes us to a deeper place of reflective knowledge, it has an experiential component.
First step is literally to slow down and focus. Remind yourself that you are trying to pray, that you want to know, love, obey and serve God. Remind yourself that distractions will come so just return focus to God when a distraction does show up. Do not get upset or frustrated. Do not focus on the distraction. Just move on to the primary goal.
I recommend a few deep breaths. I recommend some sort of repetitive prayer like "Lord Jesus mercy" or "We bless you, thank you, praise you Father God." This is the "quieting" process and should last a minute or two. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your meditation. God is the gift-giver and source.
Now look at the text. Today I took a verse from the most recent passage which I read in my own meditation. Genesis 48:10 (And Israel's eyes were heavy from old age. He was not able to see)
The first connection I make is with Israel/Jacob's deceit as a young man. His father, Isaac, was an old man who could not see. Jacob stole his brother Esau's blessing. There is a tie-in here as Israel is blessing the sons of Joseph and gives the younger a better blessing than the older. Bible stories interpenetrate each other. Words and themes tie the disparate pieces together like molecules. The OT is especially covert in its story telling. People, like Jacob, do terrible things without a negative word of judgment. The narrator refuses to spell it out for us with adjectives. It is tempting to think the Lord is neutral on such things. However, later the seed produces a harvest. Jacob the deceiver is deceived, again and again. No word of judgment is explicitly found in the story, but those with eyes to see are well aware. What goes around comes around.
The word see appears earlier in the text. In chpater 42 we read "Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt" and he "said to his sons,'why do you look at each other?'" Eyes, seeing, looking have multiple meanings. Jacob sees grain literally means he knows that there is grain in Egypt. This is the connector to Joseph. Jacob's "sight" sets the ball in further motion culminating in the reunion. [Discern the hand of the unseen God here] It is a reminder that things are happening around us with Divine influence. It is not always discerned nor can it be deciphered through wisdom or logic. It appears to simply be good fortune or luck to the unbeliever. Another note, he upbraids the sons for standing around and looking at one another (and donig nothing). To 'see' is not always to 'see.' The boys can physically see but without insight.
Israel/Jacob, now nearly blind, has insight into the destiny of his grandsons (Ephraim and Mannaseh). He has come to this insight having traveled a path of sin, suffering and divine blessing. He has become a great nation, or at least a good start toward one.
What of the meditator? Consider how well you see. What is your blind spot? What is it about your spouse, co-worker, friend you do not understand? What issues plague or threaten you? Do you stand around "looking" or are you seeing the solution (Egypt)? What blessings do you distribute to the young ones in your life? Do you trust God is also at work?
On a different path, how do you accept the deterioration of aging? Can you be comfortable with diminishing powers and capabilities. Can you find new strengths (perhaps increased trust, or patience, or a calmer spirit) as a result from the slow motion dying of your body? What is your legacy? What "nation" are you creating?
On a different path, what are you reaping in life? How is it a function of the seeds sown in previous decisions? How are the curses being broken by new choices? Have you repented and ammended your life? Have you paid the price and moved on?
What then do I do and/or pray for in response to this reading? Perhaps I feel a push to go to volunteer with a retirement home? Maybe I am moved to sit with some youngsters and confer blessing. Maybe God is telling me to donate my eyes for transplant, or collect glasses for the Lion's Club. Maybe I know someone who cannot see well and I call them and say I will come by to read to them. Or I read at the local radio station which provides that service around the clock.
Perhaps I pray for insight. I recognize my limits and ask God's help. Or I see how God has gotten me to a new and happy place (with "my Joseph and grandkids" -- whoever or whatever that is) without my ever seeing it coming. So I spend some time in thanks and more thanks. I realize how wonderfully blessed I am in my circumstance. I look to discern the blessings and focus on them. Instead of complaining about life in a foreign land. So I can pray with thanks. I can pray a declaration of faith: "I know, O Lord, that your hand guides me in ways I do not know. I trust you, Lord, God, Crator and Savior."
Meditation takes us to a deeper place of reflective knowledge, it has an experiential component.
First step is literally to slow down and focus. Remind yourself that you are trying to pray, that you want to know, love, obey and serve God. Remind yourself that distractions will come so just return focus to God when a distraction does show up. Do not get upset or frustrated. Do not focus on the distraction. Just move on to the primary goal.
I recommend a few deep breaths. I recommend some sort of repetitive prayer like "Lord Jesus mercy" or "We bless you, thank you, praise you Father God." This is the "quieting" process and should last a minute or two. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your meditation. God is the gift-giver and source.
Now look at the text. Today I took a verse from the most recent passage which I read in my own meditation. Genesis 48:10 (And Israel's eyes were heavy from old age. He was not able to see)
The first connection I make is with Israel/Jacob's deceit as a young man. His father, Isaac, was an old man who could not see. Jacob stole his brother Esau's blessing. There is a tie-in here as Israel is blessing the sons of Joseph and gives the younger a better blessing than the older. Bible stories interpenetrate each other. Words and themes tie the disparate pieces together like molecules. The OT is especially covert in its story telling. People, like Jacob, do terrible things without a negative word of judgment. The narrator refuses to spell it out for us with adjectives. It is tempting to think the Lord is neutral on such things. However, later the seed produces a harvest. Jacob the deceiver is deceived, again and again. No word of judgment is explicitly found in the story, but those with eyes to see are well aware. What goes around comes around.
The word see appears earlier in the text. In chpater 42 we read "Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt" and he "said to his sons,'why do you look at each other?'" Eyes, seeing, looking have multiple meanings. Jacob sees grain literally means he knows that there is grain in Egypt. This is the connector to Joseph. Jacob's "sight" sets the ball in further motion culminating in the reunion. [Discern the hand of the unseen God here] It is a reminder that things are happening around us with Divine influence. It is not always discerned nor can it be deciphered through wisdom or logic. It appears to simply be good fortune or luck to the unbeliever. Another note, he upbraids the sons for standing around and looking at one another (and donig nothing). To 'see' is not always to 'see.' The boys can physically see but without insight.
Israel/Jacob, now nearly blind, has insight into the destiny of his grandsons (Ephraim and Mannaseh). He has come to this insight having traveled a path of sin, suffering and divine blessing. He has become a great nation, or at least a good start toward one.
What of the meditator? Consider how well you see. What is your blind spot? What is it about your spouse, co-worker, friend you do not understand? What issues plague or threaten you? Do you stand around "looking" or are you seeing the solution (Egypt)? What blessings do you distribute to the young ones in your life? Do you trust God is also at work?
On a different path, how do you accept the deterioration of aging? Can you be comfortable with diminishing powers and capabilities. Can you find new strengths (perhaps increased trust, or patience, or a calmer spirit) as a result from the slow motion dying of your body? What is your legacy? What "nation" are you creating?
On a different path, what are you reaping in life? How is it a function of the seeds sown in previous decisions? How are the curses being broken by new choices? Have you repented and ammended your life? Have you paid the price and moved on?
What then do I do and/or pray for in response to this reading? Perhaps I feel a push to go to volunteer with a retirement home? Maybe I am moved to sit with some youngsters and confer blessing. Maybe God is telling me to donate my eyes for transplant, or collect glasses for the Lion's Club. Maybe I know someone who cannot see well and I call them and say I will come by to read to them. Or I read at the local radio station which provides that service around the clock.
Perhaps I pray for insight. I recognize my limits and ask God's help. Or I see how God has gotten me to a new and happy place (with "my Joseph and grandkids" -- whoever or whatever that is) without my ever seeing it coming. So I spend some time in thanks and more thanks. I realize how wonderfully blessed I am in my circumstance. I look to discern the blessings and focus on them. Instead of complaining about life in a foreign land. So I can pray with thanks. I can pray a declaration of faith: "I know, O Lord, that your hand guides me in ways I do not know. I trust you, Lord, God, Crator and Savior."
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
teach me to pray Progress
I have written about the initial Beginners phase. As I said, this is the place most of us spend all our life. I got a wonderful e-mail from an 80 year old sharing that same sentiment.
The struggle with becoming faithful, rooting out sin, mastering desires, establishing a discipline of prayer is ongoing. However, many faithful pray-ers eventually reach a point where they are actually doing the prayer thing regularly and with focus. [Remember, God is also at work. And the goal of prayer is communion with God so it is not about good sounding prayers but sincere prayer seeking God.] At some point a person begins not to simply do but also to understand. This is a special moment.
Enlightenment always feels like a gift. You are working hard and struggling, trying to come to grips with a problem or issue and suddenly all the pieces fall in place and you "get it," or get it enough to no longer feel like you are in the dark.
This is not simply the work of reading about or studying spirituality. It is something deeper which comes from being a practioner. It is knowledge in the biblical sense of the word: experience. There are no doubt a hundred different ways of talking about enlightenment. One I really like is 'having the mind of Christ.' One sees and interprets reality from His perspective.
So how do you do it?
Ask God for the gift. In most cases He will give the gift in the midst of your hard efforts.
What are the hard efforts? Here there are numerous techniques. I would like to focus on meditation. In meditation, we mentally enter into serious mind work. For example, analysis. In analysis we pound an idea with endless questions. We draw conclusions. We look for related consequences. We are critical in our thinking, pushing hard to find what assumptions are at work. This is especially helpful in meditating on a virtue (love) or an imperative (have faith in God).
Another is imaginative. We enter into another place and time. We pay attention to detail. We 'look around' and make the event real in our own head. We ask probing questions about others, their thoughts and feelings. This is an excellent way to meditate on Scripture narratives (Jesus heals a blind man).
A third is analogical. It takes a text and tries to dig past the obvious to the underlying, deeper, spiritual meaning. This is a favorite approach of the Ancients, so it is found in our Church Fathers, beginning with St. Paul. I think the Jewish midrash is also another form of this approach. In any case, one grapples with a text by finding types (Mary is Israel or the church) (wood is the cross). One also looks for connections between various texts, some of which are not so obvious.
In the days ahead I plan to do some actual work to illustrate all three. Hopefully (I pray) I will really be of some concrete use to you as I do this. God Bless!
The struggle with becoming faithful, rooting out sin, mastering desires, establishing a discipline of prayer is ongoing. However, many faithful pray-ers eventually reach a point where they are actually doing the prayer thing regularly and with focus. [Remember, God is also at work. And the goal of prayer is communion with God so it is not about good sounding prayers but sincere prayer seeking God.] At some point a person begins not to simply do but also to understand. This is a special moment.
Enlightenment always feels like a gift. You are working hard and struggling, trying to come to grips with a problem or issue and suddenly all the pieces fall in place and you "get it," or get it enough to no longer feel like you are in the dark.
This is not simply the work of reading about or studying spirituality. It is something deeper which comes from being a practioner. It is knowledge in the biblical sense of the word: experience. There are no doubt a hundred different ways of talking about enlightenment. One I really like is 'having the mind of Christ.' One sees and interprets reality from His perspective.
So how do you do it?
Ask God for the gift. In most cases He will give the gift in the midst of your hard efforts.
What are the hard efforts? Here there are numerous techniques. I would like to focus on meditation. In meditation, we mentally enter into serious mind work. For example, analysis. In analysis we pound an idea with endless questions. We draw conclusions. We look for related consequences. We are critical in our thinking, pushing hard to find what assumptions are at work. This is especially helpful in meditating on a virtue (love) or an imperative (have faith in God).
Another is imaginative. We enter into another place and time. We pay attention to detail. We 'look around' and make the event real in our own head. We ask probing questions about others, their thoughts and feelings. This is an excellent way to meditate on Scripture narratives (Jesus heals a blind man).
A third is analogical. It takes a text and tries to dig past the obvious to the underlying, deeper, spiritual meaning. This is a favorite approach of the Ancients, so it is found in our Church Fathers, beginning with St. Paul. I think the Jewish midrash is also another form of this approach. In any case, one grapples with a text by finding types (Mary is Israel or the church) (wood is the cross). One also looks for connections between various texts, some of which are not so obvious.
In the days ahead I plan to do some actual work to illustrate all three. Hopefully (I pray) I will really be of some concrete use to you as I do this. God Bless!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Teach Me to Pray 4 Beginners
All pray-ers are beginners. No one ever "makes it" as a professional. So say the people who have been best at it and who have spent their lives doing it for long periods of time each day. That said, there are some who are more beginners than others...
Yesterday we touched on the disipline aspect. I want to emphasize again and again that God is doing something even as we are. The active and passive element cannot be forgotten or overlooked.
Weeding out the sin in our life is a step. Taking up the practice of praying is a step. The use of words is the beginning of prayer. Then one moves to meditation. In the end, silence. As I shared earlier, I tried to short circuit the process. I wanted to go right to the end. Not available....
So what is the process for beginners. Speaking words. I think saying prayers is a good idea. In my early stage I used to read the book Prayers by Michel Quiost. I think he was a French priest. They were modern psalms, filled with humanity and angst and raw honesty. That is the first quest, to me, of a person learning to pray. Cut out the BS. Stop pretending you are something that you aren't. Do not try to manipulate God or impress Him. This is one reason why I hate to be told I said a beautiful prayer. A beautiful prayer is an honest prayer. The words, "Help me Lord" uttered in hope and trust are more beautful than the poetic, multi-syllabic rendering of a disengaged heart. So be honest. Be true.
Prayer is standing naked with God (back in the Garden). It is a return to Adam/Eve in open relation with our God (made available to us by the Blood of the Lamb). I do not think technique enters here. Just honesty. Do not worry about what to say or how to say. Speak into the empty space/darkness/quiet/unknown (i.e. The INVISIBLE GOD). Speak your true thoughts an feelings. Outloud is better than silent in your head.
In addition, pick up the psalms. If Jesus prayed psalms on the cross as He died I have to think there is a place for that practice among us as well. Find psalms that really speak your heart. Learn to say thanks and praise. Find psalms that praise God well and read them outloud, to Him, and focus your attention on the words. And make them your own. Another practice. List things you are thankful for. Articulate it and tell God. Would you miss your fingers? Then thank God for them, each and every one. Do you like ice cream? Then thank God it exists! Do you like breathing? Thank God your lungs work and your heart and your veins and etc.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to abide in Him as He abides in us. Communion. That is where we are headed. Prayer, in the beginning, is striking up the conversation. But be real. Be true. Do not play games with the Lord. And be patient, learning to pray takes time and effort. But it is also a gift of God. Confused, that is fine. Trust Him, He will do it, and get to work!
Yesterday we touched on the disipline aspect. I want to emphasize again and again that God is doing something even as we are. The active and passive element cannot be forgotten or overlooked.
Weeding out the sin in our life is a step. Taking up the practice of praying is a step. The use of words is the beginning of prayer. Then one moves to meditation. In the end, silence. As I shared earlier, I tried to short circuit the process. I wanted to go right to the end. Not available....
So what is the process for beginners. Speaking words. I think saying prayers is a good idea. In my early stage I used to read the book Prayers by Michel Quiost. I think he was a French priest. They were modern psalms, filled with humanity and angst and raw honesty. That is the first quest, to me, of a person learning to pray. Cut out the BS. Stop pretending you are something that you aren't. Do not try to manipulate God or impress Him. This is one reason why I hate to be told I said a beautiful prayer. A beautiful prayer is an honest prayer. The words, "Help me Lord" uttered in hope and trust are more beautful than the poetic, multi-syllabic rendering of a disengaged heart. So be honest. Be true.
Prayer is standing naked with God (back in the Garden). It is a return to Adam/Eve in open relation with our God (made available to us by the Blood of the Lamb). I do not think technique enters here. Just honesty. Do not worry about what to say or how to say. Speak into the empty space/darkness/quiet/unknown (i.e. The INVISIBLE GOD). Speak your true thoughts an feelings. Outloud is better than silent in your head.
In addition, pick up the psalms. If Jesus prayed psalms on the cross as He died I have to think there is a place for that practice among us as well. Find psalms that really speak your heart. Learn to say thanks and praise. Find psalms that praise God well and read them outloud, to Him, and focus your attention on the words. And make them your own. Another practice. List things you are thankful for. Articulate it and tell God. Would you miss your fingers? Then thank God for them, each and every one. Do you like ice cream? Then thank God it exists! Do you like breathing? Thank God your lungs work and your heart and your veins and etc.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to abide in Him as He abides in us. Communion. That is where we are headed. Prayer, in the beginning, is striking up the conversation. But be real. Be true. Do not play games with the Lord. And be patient, learning to pray takes time and effort. But it is also a gift of God. Confused, that is fine. Trust Him, He will do it, and get to work!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Teach me to pray 3
Have received some e-mails. One of them challenged me to go deeper and be more helpful. So I have prayed that I could do just that. Thanks, always, for the feedback whether on the blog (hard to negotiate) or to my e-mail.
The core of the complaint was a need for a "methodology" and so, here is my next attempt. It will probably stretch out over several days (or weeks?). I am afraid this is better suited for a book and my blog is not so well planned out as that...
My personal definition of prayer has been (for over thirty years) "communication seeking communion." I would still hold that to be my own understanding, with this caveat, communion is fleeting and will only truly happen on the other side.
So, methodology. There are two aspects to the spiritual life. The passive (what God does) and the active (what we do). The former is in the realm of grace and supernature. We have no control over it. God can do as God sees fit. So God can make things happen fast (e.g. Paul's conversion to Jesus) or slow (e.g. uncle Agnostic coming to faith at age 87). The active aspect is what we call discipleship. That has to do with our disciplines: prayer, work, study, community. It is all about human effort and it is all about our choices and behaviors.
This is quite Biblical. When the Lord delivers Israel in battle, the men still fight (kill and die). When the Lord builds the walls of Jerusalem, the men still carry bricks and build the walls. When God leads the people out of slavery, the people still have to walk (and walk and walk). You get the point.
So in prayer there is what God is doing and what we are doing. The life of prayer is one long process, but like human development there are stages. A stage is not isolated and complete. You do not wake up one day and say, "I am no longer an infant, I am a toddler!" Or, "Wow, I am glad childhood is over and I am a young adult." And just like the rest of life, things happen to us and our choices impact how quickly we progress. Some of it is under our control and lots of it isn't.
The spiritual life is seen to progress in three stages: the purgative, the illuminative and the unitive. The purgative is the initial process of purification. It has to do with God taking away our satisfaction with the life of the flesh (worldliness). We are no longer happy partying, or acquiring stuff, or playing. We find life less enjoyable and we want "more." God is about the work of releasing us from the purely material and temporary. But there is also another aspect, our work. [Just to introduce: the illuminative is a stage of wisdom, divine insight. This is the holy person who not only does good, but also understands deeply. The unitive is that oneness which transcends our understanding. It is sometimes called Dark Light. It is hard to understand, but don't worry, most of us will not deal with that advanced stage in this life!]
In reality, it is all one single process and there are certainly moments or aspects of all three going on. But, in general, the initial stage, purgative, is probably where the vast majority of us spend our entire life. (pause...) [My own ego led me to think (in my 20's) that I would be better than that. I was convinced that I could attain excellence because, well, I am me and I am not satisfied with second best. I have since come to see the error of that!]
[remember that God is at work, too] The purgative way is "purgatory" on earth. It is literally being purified from sin. It is the process of learning to turn from idols (false gods and the demonic/satanic are equated by Paul) to the living God. It includes turning from sin and immorality. It means no more doing evil, doing bad. For example, the basic moral issues found in the ten commandments or various lists of Jesus and Paul. But it continues up the ladder. It is learning to worship God and not myself, or my family, or my country, or my church, or my reputation, or my appetites, or my desires, etc., etc. Go back to the Garden. God lays it out for us, but there are limits. Eat this. Don't eat that. Once we eat that, we are in exile. The world of exile is where we all abide. So we are free to choose what we want. Which means we are enslaved to what we want and choose. In order to pray we have to break the bonds which keep us from God.
So prayer in this initial stage is going to be different than in later stages. There is discipline involved. We have to sit down and be quiet. It takes effort to say the words, to read the books, to try to think about God and not be distracted by our life pursuits. We have to be brutally honest in self assessment. You can't be sleeping around, or ripping people off, or drinking/drugging yourself half conscious and have a good prayer life. You can't be a liar, cheat or thief. You can't be violent, angry, destructive. You can't. You can't. You can't.... Which, of course, leads many to give up the enterprise. Too many rules. Too much negativity! But that is the nature of ground work. You can't fix up the house if it is cluttered and dirty. Gotta clean before you paint, right? Gotta pick up the debris before you put down a new floor.
So 'to begin' in prayer is to turn from blatant sins. Over time you will be free from most of them. Then you look to less obvious sins, the subtle things which you never thought of as being bad. And while you do this, you look "up" (figuratively) to the Father God Whom you seek. You acknowledge a need for Him. You admit your brokeness. You even admit you don't love Him all that much and sometimes you would prefer to do the bad things you are trying not to do. But always, the first and central goal, is to meet with HIM! The practices of morality will stir up a hunger for the Good, the Beautiful, the Holy.
For the early beginner, much of prayer is a foreign land. It is a place where one sometimes goes through the motions without a firm grasp of the reality. And it can be frustrating. I would also add that when we slide back into more grievous sins, we can also return to this state of spirit, mind and heart. So one part of the methodology is morality. Another is the knowledge that this is a discipline. It is something we must do every day. And it is a long process. Just like blogging on this is going to be a long process. Please be patient. Feedback is welcome. God bless
The core of the complaint was a need for a "methodology" and so, here is my next attempt. It will probably stretch out over several days (or weeks?). I am afraid this is better suited for a book and my blog is not so well planned out as that...
My personal definition of prayer has been (for over thirty years) "communication seeking communion." I would still hold that to be my own understanding, with this caveat, communion is fleeting and will only truly happen on the other side.
So, methodology. There are two aspects to the spiritual life. The passive (what God does) and the active (what we do). The former is in the realm of grace and supernature. We have no control over it. God can do as God sees fit. So God can make things happen fast (e.g. Paul's conversion to Jesus) or slow (e.g. uncle Agnostic coming to faith at age 87). The active aspect is what we call discipleship. That has to do with our disciplines: prayer, work, study, community. It is all about human effort and it is all about our choices and behaviors.
This is quite Biblical. When the Lord delivers Israel in battle, the men still fight (kill and die). When the Lord builds the walls of Jerusalem, the men still carry bricks and build the walls. When God leads the people out of slavery, the people still have to walk (and walk and walk). You get the point.
So in prayer there is what God is doing and what we are doing. The life of prayer is one long process, but like human development there are stages. A stage is not isolated and complete. You do not wake up one day and say, "I am no longer an infant, I am a toddler!" Or, "Wow, I am glad childhood is over and I am a young adult." And just like the rest of life, things happen to us and our choices impact how quickly we progress. Some of it is under our control and lots of it isn't.
The spiritual life is seen to progress in three stages: the purgative, the illuminative and the unitive. The purgative is the initial process of purification. It has to do with God taking away our satisfaction with the life of the flesh (worldliness). We are no longer happy partying, or acquiring stuff, or playing. We find life less enjoyable and we want "more." God is about the work of releasing us from the purely material and temporary. But there is also another aspect, our work. [Just to introduce: the illuminative is a stage of wisdom, divine insight. This is the holy person who not only does good, but also understands deeply. The unitive is that oneness which transcends our understanding. It is sometimes called Dark Light. It is hard to understand, but don't worry, most of us will not deal with that advanced stage in this life!]
In reality, it is all one single process and there are certainly moments or aspects of all three going on. But, in general, the initial stage, purgative, is probably where the vast majority of us spend our entire life. (pause...) [My own ego led me to think (in my 20's) that I would be better than that. I was convinced that I could attain excellence because, well, I am me and I am not satisfied with second best. I have since come to see the error of that!]
[remember that God is at work, too] The purgative way is "purgatory" on earth. It is literally being purified from sin. It is the process of learning to turn from idols (false gods and the demonic/satanic are equated by Paul) to the living God. It includes turning from sin and immorality. It means no more doing evil, doing bad. For example, the basic moral issues found in the ten commandments or various lists of Jesus and Paul. But it continues up the ladder. It is learning to worship God and not myself, or my family, or my country, or my church, or my reputation, or my appetites, or my desires, etc., etc. Go back to the Garden. God lays it out for us, but there are limits. Eat this. Don't eat that. Once we eat that, we are in exile. The world of exile is where we all abide. So we are free to choose what we want. Which means we are enslaved to what we want and choose. In order to pray we have to break the bonds which keep us from God.
So prayer in this initial stage is going to be different than in later stages. There is discipline involved. We have to sit down and be quiet. It takes effort to say the words, to read the books, to try to think about God and not be distracted by our life pursuits. We have to be brutally honest in self assessment. You can't be sleeping around, or ripping people off, or drinking/drugging yourself half conscious and have a good prayer life. You can't be a liar, cheat or thief. You can't be violent, angry, destructive. You can't. You can't. You can't.... Which, of course, leads many to give up the enterprise. Too many rules. Too much negativity! But that is the nature of ground work. You can't fix up the house if it is cluttered and dirty. Gotta clean before you paint, right? Gotta pick up the debris before you put down a new floor.
So 'to begin' in prayer is to turn from blatant sins. Over time you will be free from most of them. Then you look to less obvious sins, the subtle things which you never thought of as being bad. And while you do this, you look "up" (figuratively) to the Father God Whom you seek. You acknowledge a need for Him. You admit your brokeness. You even admit you don't love Him all that much and sometimes you would prefer to do the bad things you are trying not to do. But always, the first and central goal, is to meet with HIM! The practices of morality will stir up a hunger for the Good, the Beautiful, the Holy.
For the early beginner, much of prayer is a foreign land. It is a place where one sometimes goes through the motions without a firm grasp of the reality. And it can be frustrating. I would also add that when we slide back into more grievous sins, we can also return to this state of spirit, mind and heart. So one part of the methodology is morality. Another is the knowledge that this is a discipline. It is something we must do every day. And it is a long process. Just like blogging on this is going to be a long process. Please be patient. Feedback is welcome. God bless
Thursday, April 19, 2012
teach me to pray 2
Yesterday I shared my belief that prayer begins with communal and liturgical prayer. This provides a language system for listening to God and a model for talking. I think that the former is the most vital aspect of prayer. We are to LISTEN to God in prayer. Most of us are not great listeners so that means prayer will be hard. (God also tends to whisper much of the time) In seminary I heard once that prayer is "wasting time with God" and I think that is a helpful thing to keep in mind. When we pray the most important thing we can do is be present for God and open to Him. It is time spent "with" in much the same way that we sit with a friend or family member. Sometimes the silence speaks more eloquently than any words.
My understanding of Jesus' spirituality is that He was an active Jew, quite at home with prayer formulas and 'liturgy.' This is foreign to many Christians. Some even frown on it. That is fine. I have actively sought to integrate the catholic spirituality (found in Roman and Anglican churches in the west) and over the years I have come to see the wisdom of such prayer. However, I do not want to rehash yesterday, so today I want to move onto other prayer forms.
First a word about "personal" prayer. Personal does not mean individual. I can read a prayer, "the Lord is my shepherd" and just say the words, or make the words my own. In reality, I would NEVER come up with those words on my own. However, there are few words more powerful to me when talking about God. So to read the word and integrate it into my own spirituality is an act of personalizing. Nothing can be more beautiful or powerful.
While ALL prayer is done as a member of the church (the body of believers) not all prayer is communal. Sometimes we pray alone. Thomas Merton wrote about this fifty years ago. He was a hermit who in his isolation found himself more actively and consciously aware that his prayer was in the church (and with & for the church). It was hard for me to understand as a young man. Today it is clearer.
Because I pray as a member of the church I use the words "our" and "us" frequently. In my private prayer I try to be quiet. I do not hear voices or receive messages. I often times struggle with wandering thoughts. I sometimes fall asleep (recently more often, babies have a way of disrupting a night's sleep). Whatever challenges I face or failures I experience, I remind myself that prayer is NOT a task for which I get a grade. Prayer is not ranked according to beauty or creativity. Prayer is availing myself for the Lord. If The Father decides to make that contact amazing, so be it. It is not in my control. Good prayer is not always emotional. A 'high' is no proof that God was around. I can manipulate my feelings so they are not a safe measure of self investment. God is the judge of my prayer. So it is in His hands.
Take a few breaths. Ask the Holy Spirit to make your prayer time real prayer. Ask Jesus to offer you in Himself to the Father. Thank God that the CREATOR of the WHOLE UNIVERSE will take time to be with a tiny, insignificant person like me/you. (ponder that one) Thank the Lord endlessly, a dozen, two dozen, fifty times. List things for which you are greatful. Your finger nails. Your liver. Your eyes. The laughter of a child. The lined face of your grandma. The sun. The rain. Cottage cheese and yogurt. Ballet and music. (you get the point). Focus on thanks leads easily to praise. Praise and worship are the primary task of the church. When I am alone I am entitled to continue that work. Having thanked and praised for an extended time, I calm and quiet. I breath. I ask God to talk to me ("Speak Lord your servant is listening). Then I read the bible. Usually a chapter. I ask questions: who, what, when, where, how....why? I ask what I should know from the reading. I ask what I should pray for from the reading. I ask what I should do from the reading. This exchange or conversation between me and the Bible, God's word, is my prefered way to listen.
Bible & quiet time are a perfect match with thanks and praise. It can take five minutes or five hours. It can be awesome or mundane. It does not matter. What matters is it is time with God, time for God. If the Bible is hard to understand, find parts that are easy. Or just read and sit there and see what God does. And be PATIENT. It is a work of a lifetime and preparation for eternity.
My understanding of Jesus' spirituality is that He was an active Jew, quite at home with prayer formulas and 'liturgy.' This is foreign to many Christians. Some even frown on it. That is fine. I have actively sought to integrate the catholic spirituality (found in Roman and Anglican churches in the west) and over the years I have come to see the wisdom of such prayer. However, I do not want to rehash yesterday, so today I want to move onto other prayer forms.
First a word about "personal" prayer. Personal does not mean individual. I can read a prayer, "the Lord is my shepherd" and just say the words, or make the words my own. In reality, I would NEVER come up with those words on my own. However, there are few words more powerful to me when talking about God. So to read the word and integrate it into my own spirituality is an act of personalizing. Nothing can be more beautiful or powerful.
While ALL prayer is done as a member of the church (the body of believers) not all prayer is communal. Sometimes we pray alone. Thomas Merton wrote about this fifty years ago. He was a hermit who in his isolation found himself more actively and consciously aware that his prayer was in the church (and with & for the church). It was hard for me to understand as a young man. Today it is clearer.
Because I pray as a member of the church I use the words "our" and "us" frequently. In my private prayer I try to be quiet. I do not hear voices or receive messages. I often times struggle with wandering thoughts. I sometimes fall asleep (recently more often, babies have a way of disrupting a night's sleep). Whatever challenges I face or failures I experience, I remind myself that prayer is NOT a task for which I get a grade. Prayer is not ranked according to beauty or creativity. Prayer is availing myself for the Lord. If The Father decides to make that contact amazing, so be it. It is not in my control. Good prayer is not always emotional. A 'high' is no proof that God was around. I can manipulate my feelings so they are not a safe measure of self investment. God is the judge of my prayer. So it is in His hands.
Take a few breaths. Ask the Holy Spirit to make your prayer time real prayer. Ask Jesus to offer you in Himself to the Father. Thank God that the CREATOR of the WHOLE UNIVERSE will take time to be with a tiny, insignificant person like me/you. (ponder that one) Thank the Lord endlessly, a dozen, two dozen, fifty times. List things for which you are greatful. Your finger nails. Your liver. Your eyes. The laughter of a child. The lined face of your grandma. The sun. The rain. Cottage cheese and yogurt. Ballet and music. (you get the point). Focus on thanks leads easily to praise. Praise and worship are the primary task of the church. When I am alone I am entitled to continue that work. Having thanked and praised for an extended time, I calm and quiet. I breath. I ask God to talk to me ("Speak Lord your servant is listening). Then I read the bible. Usually a chapter. I ask questions: who, what, when, where, how....why? I ask what I should know from the reading. I ask what I should pray for from the reading. I ask what I should do from the reading. This exchange or conversation between me and the Bible, God's word, is my prefered way to listen.
Bible & quiet time are a perfect match with thanks and praise. It can take five minutes or five hours. It can be awesome or mundane. It does not matter. What matters is it is time with God, time for God. If the Bible is hard to understand, find parts that are easy. Or just read and sit there and see what God does. And be PATIENT. It is a work of a lifetime and preparation for eternity.
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