Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 17: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

March 4, 2024 ~ 3^rd Monday in Lent

Prayer is a nonlocative, nongeographic space that one enters at one's own peril,

 for it houses God during those few moments of one's presence there, 

and what is there will most surely change everything that comes into it...

Ever traveling as we travel, moving as we move, prayer grips like home, until

 the heart belongs nowhere else and the body can scarcely function apart from them both. 

Prayer is dangerous and the entrance way to wholeness.

~ Phyllis Tickle* 1934-2015

    How do you pray?  There are many ways ~ some use formally constructed prayers written by others, some pray spontaneously in a group.  Some pray in silence and alone. What are the reasons for your prayers: intercessory (on behalf of others), thanksgiving (for blessings in life), petition (request for yourself), penitence (you're sorry for something as in what I say in traffic), to give praise to God without asking or expecting a return? What really is prayer? It's a conversation with God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit. Step one: Dear God... or the ever-popular Oh God!

Dear God,

       Sometimes I find it difficult to know what to say to You even though I don't seem to have a problem talking to anyone else. What words are best? What should I be saying? Do the words matter? Do I always need words since You know my conscious and unconscious thoughts? 

       For today, I will give up trying to pray the way I think is correct and take on speaking to You from my heart as I do to a very close friend. I will pray to share sacred house-space with You, more often. Is it true that my heart, mind, and soul can be transformed by engaging with You regularly? That does feel a little dangerous, but, since You are God, what better danger can there be?  amen.

*An Episcopal lay woman, Phyllis Tickle was an accomplished author and lecturer whose focus was primarily religion and spirituality. She served as a teacher, professor, an academic dean, and as an editor for St. Luke's Press, Peachtree Publishers, and Publishers Weekly. Her best known works are The Great Emergence - How Christianity is Changing and Why and her series on The Divine Hours. The opening quote is from Phyllis Tickle: Essential Spiritual Writings (Jon Sweeney, ed., Church Publishing, 2018)

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 16: Give Up, Take On, and Pray '24

March 2, 2024 ~ 3rd Saturday in Lent

Psalm 23 speaks to us in the simplest of terms

that belie the intricacy of its depth.

      The symbolism in this well-known Psalm is far more complex and fascinating than just the obvious image of a guy walking down a lane with a big staff and a dog, or the pretty girl of nursery rhymes with a bow on her crook as the sheep dutifully follow.  
      The demands on real living shepherds are constant and endless.  Sheep are peculiarly needy and helpless creatures, quite restive, timid, and even self-destructive at times. They can stand still for hours or bolt into stampede because an apple drops unexpectedly from a tree. If they are heavy with lambs, they will likely lose them in the running and panic. The shepherd must keep continuous vigil against disease, insect infestations, pecking order fights, escape artists, water and food supplies, and especially predators. Two untrained dogs can slaughter nearly 300 sheep overnight if the sheep are untended. Sheep will NOT lie down unless they are completely contented and secure. A special oil mixture that the shepherd prepares and swabs (anoints) around the sheep's head and nose keeps deadly insects from burrowing and causing panic and disease, and the sheep is calmed for a bit. Then there are shearing and lambing seasons...
      Taken line by line in this Psalm we can see, feel, and almost hear Jesus, our Shepherd, here with us, reviving, caring, comforting, and anointing. Watching over us, preparing our table, restoring us.  Nothing we need is withheld.  A Good Shepherd's job is never done.*

Most Gracious and Vigilant Shepherd,
      How much of my life I have known the words of this lovely little Psalm ~ but have I paid attention to them?  Have I understood what they really mean in my life?  They're so familiar that when it comes time I recite them with a matter-of-fact monotone voice seemingly mumbling syllables without even listening to myself.  But for today, I will give up taking for granted that of course You are the Shepherd who restores my soul and anoints my heart when I call on You. Instead, I will take on reading this Psalm carefully and slowly at least twice.  I will pray these words with conscious intention and attention, recognizing the important message that You, Christ Jesus, ARE indeed my Shepherd. I will read it one time as a prayer for myself, emphasizing the parts that do refer to me: The Lord is MY Shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes ME lie down in green pastures and leads ME beside still waters......
    And then, I will read it once more (at least). Only this time I'll add the name and appropriate pronouns of someone I know as an intercessory prayer. And I will carry the image of Jesus leading us, comforting us, anointing us as we walk toward dwelling in the House of the Lord forever. I think I will call this Psalm 23.1, and use it so often that it will spring to mind as soon as I hear of someone in need of prayer.  amen.

Psalm 23.1  (format from the Book of Common Prayer) This prayer is version is for my Aunt Margaret, now 104, a retired Nurse Anesthetist, and at this writing has been bedridden in a senior residence health center for 13+ months after a fall:

The Lord is Margaret's shepherd;
She shall not be in want.

He makes Margaret lie down in green pastures
and leads her beside still waters.

He revives Margaret's soul

and guides her along right pathways for his Name's sake.

Though Margaret walks through the valley of the shadow of death,
She shall fear no evil; for you are with her;
your rod and your staff, they comfort her.

You spread a table before Margaret in the presence of 

those who trouble her; You anoint her head with oil,

and her cup is running over.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow her all the days
of her life, and Margaret will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.


*Sheep herding information from "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23," by W. Phillip Keller, a former shepherd, with a closer look at the fascinating connections between the Psalm's descriptions and real life sheep farming.

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Meditation Moment in Lent, Day 15, Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

March 1, 2024 ~ 3rd Friday in Lent

 

What exactly IS The Christian Ideal? 

     If you Google the phrase What is the Christian Ideal you'll get directed to a variety of sites and among the first five in the list is to the Chesterton* quote and untold numbers of sermons about "it." One Biblical reference that showed up was 1 Peter 2:18-25.** If that is the only part of the Bible I ever got to read, I don't think it would draw me in to a Christian life! In its time, the writer was speaking to chosen pilgrims in the diaspora in Asia Minor who were suffering persecution. I’m glad I wasn’t living then and there, although, we must remember that millions are living in similar conditions today. How confident are you of defining The Christian Ideal to others? Something as in, "Well, of course it is..." How would you define it as a way of life? Why does Chesterton say it's difficult? What if (when?) you stray from the Ideal? What does it mean to you to think of yourself as, and say to others that you are a Christian?

Jesus, Beloved of God,
     You are the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of God, the Son of Man. We are the Christians who have signed on to follow You, to live our lives as You have taught us. You did give us all we need to know in Matthew 22:33-40*** which is pretty clear:  Love God with everything we have and love everyone ~ friend, not friend, and stranger ~ as if they are ourselves. Sounds easy but as I have said to You before, more than a few times and probably will again, that if we can really do that, we've pretty well covered the original 1-10 list. Well, I quietly admit, what You already know, that there are days when I'm not loving anyone very much especially myself. And there are many other days when I watch to see how I measure up with the ways other Christians appear to be following You. That can be discouraging on a variety of levels. So, for today, I'll give up looking around to see what everyone else is doing, and take on the "trying" again part a little more diligently. I'll pray to find my path through Your words that define The Christian Ideal. When I hit a bump or two or have a cranky day, I'll leave a message for myself to work on remembering to pray again and more often. Oh, and I'll also remember you’re your message of  Love is believers and non-believers alike can love others as if they were themselves. What a better world that would bring!  amen.

^*G.K. Chesterton [1874-1936] born in London and baptized as an Anglican, studied art and literature harboring a desire to be an artist. He fell into journalism and then began to write in earnest penning more than 80 books, hundreds of short stories, and more hundreds of poems.  He's widely known for his Priest-Detective Father Brown character, which, dramatized for television, still plays on PBS in the US. A lay theologian and philosopher, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922. Poet, playwright, political commentator, literary and art critic, he was known for his wit and humor and use of paradox. His faith was deep and his practice devout enough to warrant a telegram of condolence from the Pope "To the English People" at his death. Just one more of his innumerable quotable quotes that feels quite contemporary: The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected. 

 

^**1 Peter 2:18-25: ¹⁸ Slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only those who are good and gentle but also those who are dishonest. ¹⁹ For it is a commendable thing if, being aware of God, a person endures pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do good and suffer for it, this is a commendable thing before God. ²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. ²² “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” ²³ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

 

^***Matthew 22:34-40: ³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 14: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

February 29, 2024  ~  3^rd Thursday in Lent

I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least.  
                ~ Walt Whitman* 1819-1892

    Where do you discover God in your life ~ in the woods, on a river, in the mountains, in the living room, on the highway, in church? Have you ever experienced a moment when you were certain you understood God? Have you ever worried that you haven’t had a moment where you understood God, or that you don’t know where to find God?   

Almighty, Mystical, Divinity,
      I kind of remember that when I was a child, You were in every room, every sunrise, every blade of grass, inside, outside, and all over; and, I understood You, or at least the wonder of You and who I was to You. And then I grew up ~ mostly. Where did You go?  Some days it's a struggle to find You anywhere and I'm more uncertain of You than ever. Oh, wait, maybe I'm the one who went away... hmmm... SO ~ for today I'll give up trying to find You anywhere else but here because everywhere I am is here. I'll take on accepting that You are a mystery that doesn't need to be defined, deciphered, or comprehended. Lent is good time for me to remember which one of us wandered away and can return, again. I'll pray little thanksgivings as I move through the day and the world around me because You are always here and I truly don't need to know why.  amen.

It's time to just ~

Stop. Sit. Breathe.

On an inhale: Be Still and Know that I am God**

On an exhale:  Be still and know that I am

Inhale: Be still and know

Exhale: Be still

Inhale: Be

Stop, sit, breathe, and be…         

 

        **phrasing is from Psalm 46:10a

*Walt Whitman is an icon of American poetry, especially for his Leaves of Grass written and revised over nearly 40 years. He also was an essayist, journalist, and humanist. Whitman believed that all religions were equal and although he remained a religious skeptic, he did believe that the human soul is immortal and always in a state of progression. A fascinating person, his biography is too extensive for this space but well worth the exploration. He continues to be one of the most influential American poets.  

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Meditation Moment for Lent ~ Day 13: Give up, Take On, Pray '24

February 28, 2024 ~ 3rd Wednesday in Lent 

~ Reinhold Neibuhr*

I read once that, if Christianity is so wonderful, why do Christians often look as though they're sucking lemons? Especially in this penitential season of Lent, some of us might be taking it all so seriously that we miss the lightness, the joy, and, the humor we are to have in life as a Christian. Had a good laugh lately?  Start by consciously, intentionally smiling more often.

Oh Jesus,
     There's so much about my relationship with you that I've been taught should be quiet, restrained, serious, and even meek. I've memorized "The Don't List" ~ don't do this, don't do that [ok, so I know that You know that I may have done a don't, or maybe two]. But now that I think about it, surely You had fun with friends, enjoyed a good dinner, and even laughed out loud. I'm starting to realize that I might be less likely to do things on the don't list if I lighten up and experience the wonder of the gift that Your life has given me. For today, I'll give up feeling deprived in Lent. I'll take on finding one thing to laugh out loud about that is good-spirited, delight-full, and soul-satisfying.  I'll pray in thanksgiving for the living legacy of Faith that fills me with eagerness to be a happier reflection of life with You that shines through everything I do.  amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr  [1892-1971] was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, and professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City for more than 30 years. Two of his most influential books are Moral Man and Immoral Society and The Nature and Destiny of Man. Along with an extensive biography and body of work, Niebuhr was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, the highest US civilian award.  After working with labor and working classes, in 1944 he wrote The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness in which he said, "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." His theo-philosophical perspective became known as Christian Realism. He received the Presidential of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon Johnson. Niebuhr is best known for his "Serenity Prayer" although most often it is only the first few lines that people know.  The following is the complete text as he is said to have written it:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

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Meditation Moment for Lent ~ Day 12: Give Up, Take on, Pray '24

February 27, 2024 ~ 2nd Tuesday in Lent

~ Evelyn Underhill

        In a lifestyle so governed by cell phones, "smart" watches, electronic “assistants,” following an average of 7+ different social media platforms, job intensity, crazy traffic, bad weather, home maintenance, laundry,  grocery shopping, meal providing, school events, exercise, sometimes church, sports tv, Xbox, online shopping, all while wearing headphones for music or news or talk radio, streaming video bingeing, all too rarely a full night's sleep and now: AI! ~ it's no wonder we have difficulty turning off all of the external stimulants of and in life and finding a truly quiet moment. What are we teaching our children? How are we living?

Guardian of my Soul and Spirit,

        The outside noise is filling me on the inside and shutting You out. I'm so easily distracted by all of the demands and opportunities of "outside" life. Please call me back from the brink of spiritual implosion. For today, I will give up 15 minutes of external stimulation and set a timer to take on sitting alone, quietly, with no agenda but breathing in and breathing out. Yes, I know there's lots of other stuff to do but I will let the thoughts come in and go out. I will let go of the thoughts that want to stick around for questions and analysis. When the timer goes off to signal the end of the time, I will spend an extra moment to pray for the willingness and follow through to look for guidance on meditation and the development of an interior/spiritual life.  I know that I need the “inside” space, quiet, freedom, and connection with You to help assuage the craziness of the "outside." I know it will feel awkward at first but maybe if I just try on the 15 minute thing for awhile, even if I have to lock myself into the bathroom and let the shower run to keep everyone and everything at bay, it will help me cope better with the other 1,425 minutes in my day.  amen.  

       

Evelyn Underhill [1875-1941] was one of the most widely read authors on Christian mysticism, religion, and spiritual practice in the early years of the 20th Century and continues to be read today. She began her writing with satirical poems moved to novels of heroic mystical journeys, and onto readable treatises on mysticism. Her many books include Mysticism, The Spiritual Life, and several well-received novels that interweave spiritual themes such as The Grey World.  She considered herself as an Anglo-Catholic and was the first woman to give lectures to Anglican clergy as well as the first woman to lead spiritual retreats. Recognized as a theologian and spiritual director Underhill sought to reconcile the spiritual realm with everyday realities that are in opposition to the Divine but redeemed when revisited with a lens of divine radiance.  Not at all proclaiming reclusiveness as a path to spiritual wholeness she said: "It seems so much easier in these days to live morally than to live beautifully. Lots of us manage to exist for years without ever sinning against society, but we sin against loveliness every hour of the day."

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Prayers of the People: The Tables are Turned ~ 3rd Sunday in Lent '24 Yr B

For Sunday, March 3, 2024, Readings: Exodus 20:1-7, Psalm 19, 

1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22

  I am the Lord your God...you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth...Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy...But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God... [Exodus 20:2a, 4, 8, 10a]

     The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul...The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes... Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight... [Psalm 19:7a, 8, 14]

     For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. [1 Corinthians 1:25]

          In the temple [Jesus] found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables…Making a whip of cords he drove all of them out of the temple...poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables..."Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!"...Jesus answered [the Jews], "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"...But he was speaking of the temple of his body. [John 2:14-15, 16b, 19, 21]

    Here we are at about the halfway point in this Lent, and the first of the appointed readings for this week presents us with the Ten Commandments. While we all think we know them, and perhaps even memorized them as children, it's a good opportunity to look at the list again and re-think our personal relationship with them. By digging through some archaic vocabulary and translating it into current expressions, we may very well discover a fresh perspective. Try this paraphrase: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A1-17&version=MSG. We may not like it any better but it’s a way of seeing, hearing, and listening differently. Look at a few of the many other translations and paraphrases offered any time you are reading a piece of Scripture; you may be surprised at some of the similarities and significant differences here and there and discover a freshness in something old and familiar.

    Jesus later gave us what seems to be a simplified version when answering a question, by saying that we are to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and, to love our neighbors as ourselves [Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-29, Luke 10:25-28]. Yet to me, there is nothing simple in those words of Jesus when we consider the entire list of Commandments ~ that is, if I truly Love God and Love

my neighbor as myself, then I won't create idols or misuse God's name, or covet anything of others, as well as all the other dictates including sabbath. But it's always useful to revisit the original and consider how ~ and if ~ they are truly informing our thoughts and actions.

    We may not use the term idol generally in today’s conversations other than tv talent shows, but here are some questions I need to explore for myself: What are the idols that get in my way of an active and conscious commitment to God? Are they the newest electronic devices, excess number of streaming services, constant social networking on multiple platforms? Is it hyper-adoration of sports teams, actors, musical stars or other celebrities? Are they food, drink, or online shopping? When does wanting something become coveting that becomes acquisition addiction? When is my sabbath time ever spent resting with God? 

    Not unusually, I'm quite taken with the Psalmist's language. For this one I could put every word down in this space and allow my soul to float in the imagery. The law of the Lord revives the soul and gives light to the eyes; cleanse me from my secret faults. Just sliding into a sabbath reverie with these words is resting with God and keeping a holy time, no matter the specific day or the hour.

    In Paul’s writing to the Corinthians this week, the ending note of this small piece that God's foolishness is wiser that human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength reached me differently. It's unusual to think of God with foolishness and weakness but Paul makes it clear that we are definitely not in God's league! And, Christ incarnate is the power and the wisdom and the Word of God, the Word was God, as John’s Gospel says in its opening [John 1:1].

   But the real surprise is Jesus with a whip ~ wow ~ turning the tables in more ways than one! Bad day at the Temple for those livestock sellers and moneychangers*.

   This and similar accounts appear in the other three Gospels, especially in Mt 21:12-17, but at a significantly later time in the ministry of Jesus. All the accounts agree, however, that this action precipitated the plotting against him by the High Priest and his men.

   Here in John’s version, the cleansing of the Temple becomes the first public act of Jesus in Judea. The wedding at Cana was a private event. The issue of the Gentile marketplace in the Temple, for Jesus, was that it profaned a sacred area that was meant to be open to all people, of all nations [Mk 11:17]. It had become a convenience and a source of revenue for the Temple, and also, an opportunity for corruption. Jesus wasn’t opposed to the sacrificial acts themselves ~ as long as they conformed to the Laws, e.g. animals without blemish, and changing the Roman coins with an image of Caesar (no graven images, remember?) for the local coins with no such image. See below for the purpose for moneychangers in the Temple. For Jesus, this was a clear desecration of the space itself. A purpose for this reported incident is to set the stage for the transformation of “Temple” worship in a stone building, to the living structure of The Mystical Body of Christ, people united with their Lord and raised with him to the newness of true life, each as a “temple” of the Holy Spirit.

   When Jesus said if the temple was destroyed he would raise it in three days, he was speaking of the temple of his body. I remember my grandmother telling me that my body is a temple of God and I should treat it with holiness. When was the last time I thought of that, and, adjusted my attitude and behavior because of it? A conscious relationship with my mind and my body might just be a way to mindfully live into those pesky Commandments. A regular attempt at a holy Sabbath could well do more than I expect, especially in days of violence, hate-mongering, here and in our world in distress. It may just reduce my dependence on the idols of my own human excess. I might find God more present in my consciousness beyond that mere and too-often exclamation, Oh My God!, or a dashed off prayer when the thought occurs. Yes, it's time for a few of my personal tables to be turned.

*Click here for one explanation about: Why Moneychangers?

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ O Lord of Power and Wisdom, from the covenant given to us through Moses, Your Divine Commands give us each clear direction for our daily lives. Embolden us to change our unfaithful ways, to choose the desire to love You above all else in this life, and to actively seek to fulfill our spiritual destiny in the next.

                                               O God of Glory                                              

RESPONSE:                    Revive our Souls and Rejoice our Hearts

~ O Lord of Power and Wisdom, quicken our determination to be heard by every political leader on this Earth, in this Nation, and in this Community. Grant us the words and vitality to inspire and require positive, life-giving action on behalf of all Your people, especially those beset and beleaguered by war, poverty, violence, and discrimination. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Glory

                                                Revive our Souls and Rejoice our Hearts

~ O Lord of Power and Wisdom, restore hope in all who are lost in the illness of body or despair of mind, and give comfort to all who provide them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                O God of Glory

                                                Revive our Souls and Rejoice our Hearts

~ O Lord of Power and Wisdom, help our hearts rejoice as the doors of Heaven open wide to receive those we love, now alive again in Christ forever.  We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                O God of Glory

                                                Revive our Souls and Rejoice our Hearts

~ O Lord of Power and Wisdom, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                O God of Glory

                                                Revive our Souls and Rejoice our Hearts

   ~ O Lord of Power and Wisdom, excite and enlighten the words and meditations of the hearts of those who lead us in Your Church, and, in our own. Draw us to willingly and joyfully follow the path You have set for us. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                O God of Glory

                                                Revive our Souls and Rejoice our Hearts

The Celebrant adds: Lord God Almighty, You created each of us as a living temple to embody the love of You, our neighbors, and, our selves. Cleanse us from our secret faults and shield us from the lure of everyday idols in this earthly life. Lift our hearts and give light to our eyes, as we rejoice in Your steadfast Presence and eternal love for us all. We ask through Your power and wisdom in Jesus our Christ; and the faith-giving fire of the Holy Spirit; who together with You, reign as One God, forever and ever. Amen.

All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com