email: whitpresby@charterinternet.com
Spiritual readings "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"
November 2006
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Nicholas of Cusa, “The Mystery of God” |
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Fénelon on Regular Prayer |
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Walter Wink on Biblical Violence |
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Wolpert & The Jesus Prayer |
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Hasidic tale of breaking hearts |
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Aztec Prayer |
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Linns’ options for The Examen |
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Vennard on walking a labyrinth |
How comfortable am I with mystery? I ran across this paragraph the other day that got me thinking about that question. This comes from the book “Short Term Spiritual Guidance” by Duane R. Bidwell, Fortress Press, 2004. He is speaking about Nicholas of Cusa. Go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_of_Cusa for info on Nicholas.
“In short, Nicholas urges us to discover how much we don’t know about God rather than seeking to fill our ignorance with facts or experience. He want us to savor our unknowing, as part of the mystery of God—the divine darkness we can never completely know. For Nicholas, beginning to understand how much spiritual territory remains hidden to us, a dark forest never penetrated by the beam of our intellect or experience, tells us more about God than all of the theologies we could ever read or master. As Dominican scholar Richard Woods summarizes: “When we think we know what God is, we are furthest away from understanding…It is only when we open both our minds and hearts to the Incomprehensible that we grow closer to God.””
Bidwell goes on to extend this thinking to our understanding of another person. When we think we know another person, we are further away than we might have been before we started down this thought path. But that’s a topic for another time.
How comfortable are you with the mystery we call ‘God’? Can you live with what discomfort you experience with God? That discomfort is a ripe place to begin prayer.
May your prayer this day dig deeper into the mystery that is all of creation.
Grace & peace
Geoff
P.S. the quote from Richard Woods comes from his book “Mysticism and Prophecy: The Dominican Tradition,” Maryknoll/Orbis books, 1998.
Here’s another quote from that great book compiled & edited by Bernard Bangley, “Nearer to the Heart of God; Daily Readings with the Christian Mystics,” Paraclete Press, 2005. He is quoting from “Meditations and Devotions” of Francois Fénelon (1651-1715).
“It may be more difficult for those who are engaged in business to pray and meditate than for those who live in monasteries, but it is also far more necessary. Take some time out to be with God. Notice how Jesus invited his disciples to a mountain retreat after they had returned from witnessing for him in the cities. If we live and work in a busy place where people talk and behave as though there were no God, it is all the more important that we return to him and restore our faith and love. If he who was without sin prayed without ceasing, how much more should poor sinners like us work at it?”
Prayer may seem like a luxury for us who have regular jobs, as Fénelon seems to indicate. But even an extra 10 minutes per day can begin to make a difference in our lives. You may find that those 10 minutes begin to feel so good and so short, that you will extend the time. May God give you the grace to begin, or to extend, your own time of daily personal prayer.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Here’s a prayer for the election. It comes from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, Church Hymnal Corporation, New York, 1979. Today’s the day. Get out there and vote!
Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States (and/or your local state/community) in the election of officials and representatives that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Is the violence in the Old Testament of the Bible a problem for you? It has been for me and though I’ve worked it out in my own mind, I always welcome more help with it. Here is some help from a book by Walter Wink, “The Powers That Be; Theology for a New Millennium” Galilee/Doubleday, 1998.
“The violence of the Bible is the necessary precondition for the gradual perception of the meaning of violence. It should come as no surprise that it was in a violent society that the real nature of violence was revealed. The problem of violence emerged at the very heart of violence, in the most war-ravaged corridor on the globe, among a repeatedly subjugated people unable to seize and wield power for any length of time. The violence of Scripture, so embarrassing to us today, became the means by which sacred violence was revealed for what it is: a lie perpetrated against victims in the name of God. God was working through violence to expose violence for what it is and to reveal the divine nature as nonviolent.”
Wink’s discussion goes quite deeply but comes out at a nonviolent position. Jesus is the archetypal nonviolent inspiration in our world. We continually learn how better to serve Jesus and humanity as we grow in faith. Being able to respond to the world’s violence in a nonviolent way is a part of our journey in faith. May you be given the extraordinary strength that is needed, in order to be a nonviolent presence in the world.
Grace & peace
Geoff
The story of Blind Bartimaeus was the lectionary reading just two Sundays ago. I ran across this reference to that story, which is found in Mark 10:46-52. Daniel Wolpert, in his book, “Creating a Life with God,” Upper Room Books, 2003 notes that The Jesus Prayer comes from the story of Bartimaeus. You may be familiar with that ancient prayer, which goes “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Wolpert notes
“In order to understand the Jesus Prayer, we begin with the scripture that contains these phrases. Blind Bartimaeus stands by the side of the road and cries, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47). The blind man cries out to Jesus from the darkness of his existence, hoping, with a fervent power that overcomes any hesitancy, that Jesus will hear and respond.”
Anthony Bloom also speaks of this prayer, in his book “Beginning to Pray” Paulist Press, 1970. He notes that this prayer is specifically used by the Orthodox branch of the Christian family, and they see it as “a walking stick, (to use) throughout the day and throughout life.” I love that image of a walking stick! Bloom goes on to say “It is the prayer of stability, because it is the prayer that is not discursive—we do not move from one thought to the other—it is a prayer that places us face to face with God through a profession of faith concerning Him, and it defines a situation concerning us. It is the profession of faith which, according to the mind of most Orthodox ascetics and mystics, is a summing up of the whole Gospels.
May this prayer, or one like it, be your walking stick today.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Here’s a great very short story, an old Hasidic tale, that I wanted to pass on to you all. It was told by Jacob Needleman personally to Parker Palmer, who included it in his book “A Hidden Wholeness; The Journey Toward an Undivided Life” Jossey-Bass, A John Wiley Imprint, 2004.
The pupil comes to the rebbe and asks, “Why does Torah tell us to ‘place these words upon your hearts’? Why does it not tell to place these holy words in our hearts?” The rebbe answers, “It is because as we are, our hearts are closed, and we cannot place the holy words in our hearts. So we place them on top of our hearts. And there they stay until, one day, the heart breaks, and the words fall in.”
It’s a good story about God’s grace seeking to get through our hardened hearts. I’d rather my heart were softened to let God’s work in, but I know just how hard my heart can get, and that sometimes it needs to be broken open to let God’s spirit in.
May you find God’s work getting into you heart by whatever means is needed.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Last Sunday, at our Whittier Community Thanksgiving Service, this following prayer was incorporated into the service. I then found it at the following web site, and pass both on to you. http://www.firstpeople.us/html/An-Aztec-Prayer.html
Aztec Prayer
Lord most giving and resourceful, I implore you;
make it your will that this people enjoy
the goods and riches you naturally give,
that naturally issue from you,
that are pleasing and savory,
that delight and comfort,
though lasting but briefly,
passing away as if in a dream
There is a Thanksgiving prayer, a prayer rooted more deeply in our land than the Pilgrims, perhaps. I’m reminded of the prayer I used at Thanksgiving time in 2004.
http://www.whitpresby.org/nov_2004_emails.htm#Nov.%2023,%202004
May your Thanksgiving holiday be filled with gratitude.
Grace & peace
Geoff
Lately I’ve been using a couple of questions to evaluate things I’m involved in. I also give these questions to study and dream groups, to get a quick evaluation of the experience. Those questions are “What am I most thankful for?” and “What am I least thankful for?” These questions come from a process called “The Examen,” from St. Ignatius of Loyola. I talk about it in my email of Jan. 21, 2005. See http://www.whitpresby.org/jan_2005_emails.htm
It comes from a wonderful little book called “Sleeping with Bread” by Matthew & Dennis Linn and Shiela Fabricant Linn, Paulist Press, 1995. I was reviewing this book recently and found this.
“We do the examen questions as a way of reflecting upon any significant experience or period of time. We do it over apart of a day, following
a conversation
a meeting
a class
a movie
a meal”
As you can see, the Linns have found a variety of ways or times to use the Examen questions. These are a simple and most basic way to look for God’s presence, or absence, in your life. It’s also a very simple way to pray with children. Try it!
Grace and peace
Geoff
As you can read below, I will be involved in some labyrinth programs in the next couple of weeks. I found this bit of information on labyrinths in the book “Praying with Body and Soul” by Jane E. Vennard, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1998.
“Walking a labyrinth is a prayer form symbolizing our walk with God and our walk toward God. Some people walk with a verbal prayer on their lips or in their hearts. Others hold a question or a petition and open themselves to hearing an answer or receiving an insight. Others walk simply for fun and relaxation, and still others walk to be energized. The experience of walking the labyrinth is different for everyone, and often very different for the same person every time it is walked.”
I would add to the list the option of talking a dream into a labyrinth. My experience is that you can get as much out of a labyrinth walk with a dream as you can with a dream group. Whatever you keep in prayer in your life and your faith, can benefit from a walking prayer in a labyrinth. Try it. You’ll like it!
Grace & peace
Geoff
