About one year ago I found myself getting very frustrated. I was about one year into working at First UMC, living near UT, about a 20 minute walk from the church. On the streets where I walk to work, the homeless are a common sight: young and old, diverse in race, longtime Austinites and longtime wanderers. Sometimes they ask for money or food or cigarettes. Often the people one meets are kind, but occasionally belligerent. And I felt myself getting very frustrated.
I think my frustration sprang from a collision in my spirit of a sense of helplessness with a sense of obligation. On the one hand I felt helpless: the homeless are real, complex people, beloved by God, not “a problem” that I or anyone can simply fix. And yet, as a struggling disciple of Jesus Christ, I feel the weight of a genuine obligation to the homeless poor, which is ultimately an obligation to love. And loving the homeless is exactly what I was not doing, and found myself unable to consistently do; and finding myself unable to love them, my spirit began to starve and I became bitter. I knew that something in me was wrong, that I needed help, that I needed training in love.
David Nicastro regularly attended the Wednesday noon communion service that Young Min Son and I lead, and I knew that David was a leader in the breakfasts that take place every Tuesday and Thursday in the Family Life Center, so I decided to try to attend. And on the rare Thursday morning that I was able to drag myself out of bed and up to church at 5 AM, I found exactly what I needed: a school for learning to love.
In the simple act of serving a cup of coffee, again and again, hundreds of times, and even in the simple act of greeting those in the coffee line, I found myself able to love the homeless of Austin. Many of them I already recognized from seeing them around. But in serving them I found in myself a glimmer of the infinite love with which God loves them.
In the light of such a glimmer, I recognize them, not as impersonal unsolved problems, but as beloved brothers and sisters with whom I have experienced God’s grace through the breakfast ministry.
The breakfast happens every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 AM in First UMC’s Family Life Center. Just show up, go to the kitchen, and ask somebody what you can do. Especially, try to come out on the Fourth Tuesday of each month. The fourth Tuesday is the day First UMC is directly responsible for bringing people.
I’m confident you’ll discover there exactly the kind of school we all most deeply need.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Amy Laura Hall has a good article in UM Reporter
http://www.umportal.org/main/article.asp?id=5132
Certainly worth reading.
ALH teaches theological ethics at Duke Divinity School, and is very prone to quote a certain dead Danish philosopher.
Certainly worth reading.
ALH teaches theological ethics at Duke Divinity School, and is very prone to quote a certain dead Danish philosopher.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Those Chatterboxes!
Constantly I find myself looking forward to Tuesday evenings, which bring happily with them the group meeting, St. Augustine's Confessions: Talking about Augustine, Life, and Truth. It is a gift and a delight to be gathered around others who are enjoying the gift of becoming friends of St. Augustine and each other--if, indeed, Aristotle is right that we can become friends with someone by reading their writing. In any case, we Christians already discover friendship with Augustine through the corpus mysticum, the mystical body of Christ, the great cloud of witnesses spanning heaven and earth, united spiritually in Christ around the one wedding feast of the Lamb, of which we get a foretaste in holy communion. I suppose reading the witness of Augustine's life might be a like tiny foretaste of that heavenly banquet.
Lately a few words from the first chapter of the Confessions have been jangling around my mind in different contexts. Augustine has been delighting in the felicitous inadequacy of our words for God, casting up, in response to the question, "What are you, then, my God?" praise upon praise, description upon description; descriptions that would contradict where they in reference to any finite thing, yet which are all true of God: "supremely merciful and supremely just, most hidden yet intimately present, infinitely beautiful and infinitely strong, steadfast yet elusive, unchanging yourself though you control the change in all things, never new, never old, renewing all things yet wearing down the proud though they know it not..." and on and on in awe. At the end of this discourse of adoration, this adoring discourse, Augustine asks:
"After saying all that, what have we said, my God, my life, my holy sweetness? What does anyone who speaks of you really say? Yet woe betide those who fail to speak, while the chatterboxes go on saying nothing."
Sometimes it seems like we can talk about a million things with someone, and never say the word about God, the word that really matters.
Sometimes I have known a word about God to say to a friend, and have passed it over in silence, or, less than silence, in the goodly chatter that can still be bent to avoid the one who alone is good.
So let us not fail to speak, not fail to confess God in our lives, lest we reach the end and discover that we have said nothing.
Augustine trans. Maria Boulding
Lately a few words from the first chapter of the Confessions have been jangling around my mind in different contexts. Augustine has been delighting in the felicitous inadequacy of our words for God, casting up, in response to the question, "What are you, then, my God?" praise upon praise, description upon description; descriptions that would contradict where they in reference to any finite thing, yet which are all true of God: "supremely merciful and supremely just, most hidden yet intimately present, infinitely beautiful and infinitely strong, steadfast yet elusive, unchanging yourself though you control the change in all things, never new, never old, renewing all things yet wearing down the proud though they know it not..." and on and on in awe. At the end of this discourse of adoration, this adoring discourse, Augustine asks:
"After saying all that, what have we said, my God, my life, my holy sweetness? What does anyone who speaks of you really say? Yet woe betide those who fail to speak, while the chatterboxes go on saying nothing."
Sometimes it seems like we can talk about a million things with someone, and never say the word about God, the word that really matters.
Sometimes I have known a word about God to say to a friend, and have passed it over in silence, or, less than silence, in the goodly chatter that can still be bent to avoid the one who alone is good.
So let us not fail to speak, not fail to confess God in our lives, lest we reach the end and discover that we have said nothing.
Augustine trans. Maria Boulding
Monday, February 23, 2009
Transfiguration... and the Prayer Journey into Lent
With Peter and James and John, we count ourselves as those who have seen Christ's light. At his transfiguration, as St. Mark records, Christ's "clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them." As St. Matthew records, "his face shone like the sun." At his transfiguration, we behold Christ's divinity, shining out.
Such a vision is, for us, in a way, accessible through prayer.
As we enter the desert, enter Lent, carry with you a prayer discipline by which you hope to see Christ's light. The two previous posts contain a number of different ways of praying, both contemplative and "wordy." Practice one daily; preferably one with which you're not yet very familiar. May the Spirit use your prayer this Lent to guide you just as the pillar of cloud shone the way for the children of Israel in the desert.
The desert, the wilderness, carries with it the connotation of the aridity that can sometimes overtake the spiritual life. But also, the desert connotes the place of purification before God, where we are purged of unfruitful desires that our love of God may resound and burn more and more in our personality.
Father Kallistos Ware writes (in The Orthodox Way, 1979):
One of the best known of the Desert Fathers of fourth-century Egypt, St. Sarapion the Sindonite, travelled once on pilgrimage to Rome. Here he was told of a celebrated recluse, a woman who lived always in one small room, never going out. Sceptical about her way of life--for he himself was a great wanderer--Sarapion called on her and asked: 'Why are you sitting here?' To this she replied: 'I am not sitting. I am on a journey.'
I am not sitting. I am on a journey. Every Christian may apply these words to himself or herself. To be a Christian is to be a traveller. Our situation, say the Greek Fathers, is like that of the Israelite people in the desert of Sinai: we live in tents, not houses, for spiritually we are always on the move. We are on a journey through the inward space of the heart, a journey not measured by the hours of the watch or the days of the calendar, for it is a journey out of time into eternity.
Such a vision is, for us, in a way, accessible through prayer.
As we enter the desert, enter Lent, carry with you a prayer discipline by which you hope to see Christ's light. The two previous posts contain a number of different ways of praying, both contemplative and "wordy." Practice one daily; preferably one with which you're not yet very familiar. May the Spirit use your prayer this Lent to guide you just as the pillar of cloud shone the way for the children of Israel in the desert.
The desert, the wilderness, carries with it the connotation of the aridity that can sometimes overtake the spiritual life. But also, the desert connotes the place of purification before God, where we are purged of unfruitful desires that our love of God may resound and burn more and more in our personality.
Father Kallistos Ware writes (in The Orthodox Way, 1979):
One of the best known of the Desert Fathers of fourth-century Egypt, St. Sarapion the Sindonite, travelled once on pilgrimage to Rome. Here he was told of a celebrated recluse, a woman who lived always in one small room, never going out. Sceptical about her way of life--for he himself was a great wanderer--Sarapion called on her and asked: 'Why are you sitting here?' To this she replied: 'I am not sitting. I am on a journey.'
I am not sitting. I am on a journey. Every Christian may apply these words to himself or herself. To be a Christian is to be a traveller. Our situation, say the Greek Fathers, is like that of the Israelite people in the desert of Sinai: we live in tents, not houses, for spiritually we are always on the move. We are on a journey through the inward space of the heart, a journey not measured by the hours of the watch or the days of the calendar, for it is a journey out of time into eternity.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Some Contemplative Kinds of Prayer
Here are the kinds of contemplative prayer from Christian tradition that we have discussed or mentioned.
1. The Jesus Prayer (or, “the prayer of the heart”). Simply repeat, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners” while seeking God’s presence. Don’t hurry. You can also practice this prayer to the rhythm of your breathing: as you inhale slowly, whisper “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and as you exhale slowly, whisper “have mercy on us sinners.” (See also The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, anonymous, usually published as one volume.)
2. Silence. Take some time to listen for God in silence and solitude. If this is a regular daily practice, you could use a timer or phone alarm. Start with 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Just clear your thoughts and listen. Jesus himself spent time in solitude (Mark 1:35); and God spoke to Elijah through a small voice in silence (1 Kings 19:11-12).
3. Examen of Consciousness. This is a simple prayer of awareness that comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius taught the men he trained to practice it every day. The point of the examen is finding God’s presence in all things, in the everyday things of life. It may take 15 minutes or so, and would be a natural exercise in the evening. It has five steps. (1) Ask God to be with you. Get centered. (2) Recall the events from your day for which you’re grateful. These can be simple things, not just big things. The point is to recognize God’s presence in such moments, and be thankful. (3) Review your day mentally, and seek awareness of where you accepted or didn’t accept God’s grace. You might recollect someone’s kindness to you, or your kindness to another, and recognize, “Yes, there was God.” Or, you might recall treating someone disrespectfully and recognize, “Yes, there I turned away from God.” (4) Ask forgiveness for any sins. (5) Ask for the grace to follow God more closely during the next day. Close with the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father….” (source, James Martin, S.J.)
4. Imaginative Prayer. This also comes from St. Ignatius. The basis of this kind of prayer is that the Holy Spirit can work through our imagination to bring us to encounter Jesus Christ, to behold him in a fresh and life-giving way. Seven steps. (1) Select a short action passage from one of the gospels (not a sermon or parable). (2) Relax and settle into God’s presence. (3) Read the passage three to five times aloud, slowly, pausing for 30 seconds or so between each reading to let it sink into you and utterly saturate your imagination. (4) Set the Bible aside and let the scene happen:
“Do nothing to promote it except to stay alert to its developments. As you let yourself sink into the scene, you will tend to lose the sense of yourself and to identify with the situation. Suppose, for example, that you have read about Jesus quieting the storm on the lake. You may imagine the wind howling, the boat pitching, the apostles struggling with the oars. If this identification deepens, you will find yourself in the boat, say as an oarsman, or you may find yourself to be in Peter or Philip. Sometimes you will discover yourself drifting in and out of the scene, in and out of various people in the scene.”
(5) Let yourself participate in the scene as it is happening.
“Be as passive as possible while being as alert as possible. In fact, let everyone else control the event: Jesus, the Spirit, the Father, Peter, Mary, Martha, John. You merely observe the persons; listen to their words; take part in the activity—converse with them, accompanying them, serving them in their needs—by whatever activity you find yourself doing as part of the event that is present to you.”
(6) Don’t moralize or try to make theological applications. The Spirit will use this kind of prayer to draw you gradually and subtly to put on the mind and heart of Christ. (7) After the prayer time is over, review for a few minutes what happened. What did you notice and experience? Is there something you should return to in prayer later? Give thanks to the Lord for being present with you in your contemplation. (source, John Veltri, S.J., Orientations, Volume 1)
1. The Jesus Prayer (or, “the prayer of the heart”). Simply repeat, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners” while seeking God’s presence. Don’t hurry. You can also practice this prayer to the rhythm of your breathing: as you inhale slowly, whisper “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and as you exhale slowly, whisper “have mercy on us sinners.” (See also The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, anonymous, usually published as one volume.)
2. Silence. Take some time to listen for God in silence and solitude. If this is a regular daily practice, you could use a timer or phone alarm. Start with 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Just clear your thoughts and listen. Jesus himself spent time in solitude (Mark 1:35); and God spoke to Elijah through a small voice in silence (1 Kings 19:11-12).
3. Examen of Consciousness. This is a simple prayer of awareness that comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius taught the men he trained to practice it every day. The point of the examen is finding God’s presence in all things, in the everyday things of life. It may take 15 minutes or so, and would be a natural exercise in the evening. It has five steps. (1) Ask God to be with you. Get centered. (2) Recall the events from your day for which you’re grateful. These can be simple things, not just big things. The point is to recognize God’s presence in such moments, and be thankful. (3) Review your day mentally, and seek awareness of where you accepted or didn’t accept God’s grace. You might recollect someone’s kindness to you, or your kindness to another, and recognize, “Yes, there was God.” Or, you might recall treating someone disrespectfully and recognize, “Yes, there I turned away from God.” (4) Ask forgiveness for any sins. (5) Ask for the grace to follow God more closely during the next day. Close with the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father….” (source, James Martin, S.J.)
4. Imaginative Prayer. This also comes from St. Ignatius. The basis of this kind of prayer is that the Holy Spirit can work through our imagination to bring us to encounter Jesus Christ, to behold him in a fresh and life-giving way. Seven steps. (1) Select a short action passage from one of the gospels (not a sermon or parable). (2) Relax and settle into God’s presence. (3) Read the passage three to five times aloud, slowly, pausing for 30 seconds or so between each reading to let it sink into you and utterly saturate your imagination. (4) Set the Bible aside and let the scene happen:
“Do nothing to promote it except to stay alert to its developments. As you let yourself sink into the scene, you will tend to lose the sense of yourself and to identify with the situation. Suppose, for example, that you have read about Jesus quieting the storm on the lake. You may imagine the wind howling, the boat pitching, the apostles struggling with the oars. If this identification deepens, you will find yourself in the boat, say as an oarsman, or you may find yourself to be in Peter or Philip. Sometimes you will discover yourself drifting in and out of the scene, in and out of various people in the scene.”
(5) Let yourself participate in the scene as it is happening.
“Be as passive as possible while being as alert as possible. In fact, let everyone else control the event: Jesus, the Spirit, the Father, Peter, Mary, Martha, John. You merely observe the persons; listen to their words; take part in the activity—converse with them, accompanying them, serving them in their needs—by whatever activity you find yourself doing as part of the event that is present to you.”
(6) Don’t moralize or try to make theological applications. The Spirit will use this kind of prayer to draw you gradually and subtly to put on the mind and heart of Christ. (7) After the prayer time is over, review for a few minutes what happened. What did you notice and experience? Is there something you should return to in prayer later? Give thanks to the Lord for being present with you in your contemplation. (source, John Veltri, S.J., Orientations, Volume 1)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Some Wordy Kinds of Prayer
We touched on two categories of "wordy" kinds of prayer: improvisational ways of prayer (prayers "in your own words"), and the Liturgy of the Hours.
First, Improvisational Ways of Prayer.
1. General improvisational prayer.
Theology: God loves you; the work of Jesus Christ has brought you near to God (Ephesians 2), and God’s Spirit will help you pray (Romans 8).
Practice: Just say anything to God. Pour out your heart to God. Be honest, and take any amount of time. Pray this way alone or with others, taking turns praying aloud. A good way to close this kind of prayer is to recite the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
2. praying with Scripture.
Theology: God’s Spirit speaks to us through the Scripture, and helps us pray and grow. “All Scripture is God-breathed..." (2 Timothy 3:16).
Practice: Read a section of Scripture, and start a conversation with God based on what you just read. Use the words of Scripture as a "jumping off place" to start praying. For example, if you can use the words of the Scripture to praise God, do so. Especially the Psalms are good for this kind of prayer, as are many parts of the prophets, gospels, and New Testament letters. Remember that God is near as you read the Scripture, and try to respond to God in light of God’s goodness and presence.
3. prayer list.
Theology: As Christians, we are “a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). God wants to use Christ’s followers to pray and intercede for all people, as Christ himself prays for us (Romans 8:34).
Practice: In your bible or journal, keep a sheet of paper with people and situations you are praying for. Each day, pray for that list of things, taking time to lift each one up before God. Be sure to praise and thank God for the signs of hope you see in the people/situations, and for prayer requests that God fulfills.
4. "ACTS" prayer. ACTS stands for “Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.” It helps us remember four different things to do in a prayer time. First, adore God, using Psalms or your own words. Second, confess any sin, or acknowledge anything that you feel is getting between you and God. Third, give God thanks for the many good blessings in your life, and even blessings in others’ lives. Fourth, bring your supplications before God. Supplications are where you ask God to do things or help in specific ways or for specific people or situations. As with all kinds of improvisational prayer, ACTS prayer can take any length of time. The focus is to seek the presence of the Living God. The Lord’s prayer is a good way to end your prayer time.
Second, we talked a bit about the Liturgy of the Hours.
The Liturgy of the Hours allows us to pray with the Church through the ages and all over the world. Our lives become saturated with Scripture as we glorify God in this way. It is fine to observe only a certain portion of the Hours (for example, only Morning Prayer). A couple of resources that contain a version of the Liturgy of the Hours are:
Christian Prayer, Catholic book publishing company. (I recommend also the little leaflet "St. Joseph guide to Christian Prayer 2009"--it makes it easier.)
The Divine Hours, by Phyllis Tickle (3 volumes).
First, Improvisational Ways of Prayer.
1. General improvisational prayer.
Theology: God loves you; the work of Jesus Christ has brought you near to God (Ephesians 2), and God’s Spirit will help you pray (Romans 8).
Practice: Just say anything to God. Pour out your heart to God. Be honest, and take any amount of time. Pray this way alone or with others, taking turns praying aloud. A good way to close this kind of prayer is to recite the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
2. praying with Scripture.
Theology: God’s Spirit speaks to us through the Scripture, and helps us pray and grow. “All Scripture is God-breathed..." (2 Timothy 3:16).
Practice: Read a section of Scripture, and start a conversation with God based on what you just read. Use the words of Scripture as a "jumping off place" to start praying. For example, if you can use the words of the Scripture to praise God, do so. Especially the Psalms are good for this kind of prayer, as are many parts of the prophets, gospels, and New Testament letters. Remember that God is near as you read the Scripture, and try to respond to God in light of God’s goodness and presence.
3. prayer list.
Theology: As Christians, we are “a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). God wants to use Christ’s followers to pray and intercede for all people, as Christ himself prays for us (Romans 8:34).
Practice: In your bible or journal, keep a sheet of paper with people and situations you are praying for. Each day, pray for that list of things, taking time to lift each one up before God. Be sure to praise and thank God for the signs of hope you see in the people/situations, and for prayer requests that God fulfills.
4. "ACTS" prayer. ACTS stands for “Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.” It helps us remember four different things to do in a prayer time. First, adore God, using Psalms or your own words. Second, confess any sin, or acknowledge anything that you feel is getting between you and God. Third, give God thanks for the many good blessings in your life, and even blessings in others’ lives. Fourth, bring your supplications before God. Supplications are where you ask God to do things or help in specific ways or for specific people or situations. As with all kinds of improvisational prayer, ACTS prayer can take any length of time. The focus is to seek the presence of the Living God. The Lord’s prayer is a good way to end your prayer time.
Second, we talked a bit about the Liturgy of the Hours.
The Liturgy of the Hours allows us to pray with the Church through the ages and all over the world. Our lives become saturated with Scripture as we glorify God in this way. It is fine to observe only a certain portion of the Hours (for example, only Morning Prayer). A couple of resources that contain a version of the Liturgy of the Hours are:
Christian Prayer, Catholic book publishing company. (I recommend also the little leaflet "St. Joseph guide to Christian Prayer 2009"--it makes it easier.)
The Divine Hours, by Phyllis Tickle (3 volumes).
Into Lent, and into Prayer
In the Murchison Chapel Sunday services (9 AM and Selah) this week we will finish up our month long, practical, sermon series on prayer. And with Ash Wednesday coming up, Lent is upon us. This Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, I plan to challenge members of both services to practice a regular prayer discipline during Lent, preferably one with which they don't have much experience.
As an aid to this, during the next couple of Sundays I will have available a simple handout going over many of the kinds of prayer we've discussed or even touched on during the sermon series. It will also be posted here, in two entries: "Some Wordy Kinds of Prayer," and "Some Contemplative Ways of Prayer."
Peace, and may you seek the Light of Christ in the desert this Lent!
As an aid to this, during the next couple of Sundays I will have available a simple handout going over many of the kinds of prayer we've discussed or even touched on during the sermon series. It will also be posted here, in two entries: "Some Wordy Kinds of Prayer," and "Some Contemplative Ways of Prayer."
Peace, and may you seek the Light of Christ in the desert this Lent!
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