Contemplative Christmas

The Christmas story is full of contemplatives.  Zechariah gave ear to the archangel.  Mary responded to God’s heavenly messenger.  Joseph discerned God’s will through dreams.  Shepherds echoed angelic voices in their praise of God.  Wise men followed celestial signs.  Simeon and Anna prophesied what they heard from the Holy Spirit.  All of these required one thing: contemplative believers who were willing to take the time to listen to God.

In this busy season, taking time to listen is not always a priority.  There is food to cook.  There are parties to plan, gifts to buy and wrap, worship services and children’s plays to attend, and so many other things that compete for your attention.  Yes, even religious observances can become just another thing to crowd out your spirituality, if you allow it.  Somehow in all of this, we can’t find the time to simply sit in God’s presence and listen to the Divine Voice.  But just as there could be no Christmas story without contemplative people, light can’t come into our souls without a Silent Night. 

Luke 2:19 (NASB) says, “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.”  This holy season, take the time to treasure the Truth that God brings to light within you.  May the presence of Christ will be born in you, so that you become attentive to the Holy Spirit’s voice.  As you ponder these things in your heart, take time to be still.  Take time to keep silence.

Follow the Father

A few days ago, I was at a friend's house, watching him change the brake pads on his jeep. I wasn't the only one watching him. His three-year-old son was also watching. Will didn't just allow Wyatt to watch--he involved him in the process. He let the boy hold his shop light while he crawled safely into the wheel well and inspect the brake pads with the scrutiny of a toddler. He helped him remove and replace the pads, talking him through the process each step of the way. It reminded me of Jesus, who said in John 5:19-20 (ESV):

Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

Just as Will showed Wyatt how to change the brakes on the jeep, Jesus said that the Father was showing him what to do. He paid close attention to every detail so He could perfectly follow the Father's will.

Now, we're not Jesus. We're a bit more like toddlers, trying our hands at something that's really too complicated for us. But the Father is patient with us, demonstrating His love again and again until we get it. When we think we're turning the wrench, we are unaware that His strong hands are holding ours. He lets us help, and He helps us learn. Then He trusts that one day, when we're more mature, we'll be able to do it ourselves. I pray today that you'll be like Jesus, that you'll follow the Father, that and that you'll let Him lead you to even greater things.

Mustard and Yeast

Luke 13:18-21 (ESV)         
18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

Jesus' parable of the mustard seed is about four things: willingness, rooting, spreading, and nurturing.

The faith of a mustard seed is about willingness. It does not seek to control its environment. Neither does it try to be something it's not. It is content with being such a tiny seed. When used poorly, mustard can overpower any recipe that it's in, but when used properly it enhances flavor beautifully. The faith of a mustard seed is willing to be used humbly, without the need to over-assert itself. The faith of a mustard seed is willing to grow.

Growing means reaching both upward to the sun and downward to the earth. The seed doesn't know which way is up and which way is down, but something directs it.  That something is God.  As it grows downward, being rooted and grounded in love, the seed receives all the nutrients it needs. As it grows upward, it gets sunlight and rain which feed it. It grows and spreads, just like the Realm of God does, until what was once a tiny seed has become a great bush.

Jesus said this bush becomes a shelter for all kinds of birds. It's not just one kind of bird but all kinds make their nests in these branches. This nurturing means being a shelter for people, and not destroying them. It means accepting their weight upon my branches and their waste on my roots.  Having the faith of a mustard seed means that this kind of nurture comes naturally, because I am rooted in Christ and receive his energy like the rays of the sun. This love then extends from myself to my family, community, country, world, and universe.

I Shall Not Want

Some of the greatest troubles we have in life is because we attach ourselves to things and people that at first seem desirable, but that gain too much control over us.  In Special Sermons for Special Days, Dr. George Sweeting wrote:  

"Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls.

"I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifed the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss."

The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them.
(http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/a/attachment.htm.  June 30, 2015.)

As he wrote Psalm 23, King David reflected on much simpler days, when he had been a shepherd.  He remembered the perfect care with which shepherds tends the sheep.  Those under a shepherd's care don't need to worry about whether they will have everything they need.  They lack nothing.  Their food and water are provided for them by one who knows the territory better than they do.  In times of storm, shelter is provided.  If a sheep went astray, the shepherd would seek it out and bring it back to the flock.  Sheep lived a contented life, never worrying and never wanting, because they were well-tended.

Yet for some reason we human beings forget that we are also well-tended.  God knows our need even better than we do.  He will feed and clothe and shelter us.  He will put people in our lives who give us just the right kind of love and support that we need.  

If we let Him, our Shepherd will help us determine those things in our lives that we actually don't need.  We attach ourselves to too many things and people that weigh us down.  Like gulls that get stuck in the ice, we fall to our demise because of our over-attachment.  Better to let go, to fly over those things in life that will pull us down, rather than lingering and letting them destroy us.

Today, I invite you to meditate on one sentence - Psalm 23:1.  Spend a few minutes, simply sitting with your eyes closed, breathing deeply, and repeating this verse.  Then, switch translations and do the same thing.  Spend fifteen or twenty minutes just repeating this verse.  Remember that God provides everything you need, and that wanting what you can't have or don't need simply brings over-attachment and discontent to your heart.  Allow the Good Shepherd to give you His contentment and peace.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  (KJV)

 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (NLT) 

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. (NIV)

The LORD is my shepherd. I am never in need.  (GOD'S WORD Translation)

Or, if you'd like to use the Ecumenical Prayer Beads, here's a meditation:

Cross - The Lord's Prayer

Invitatory - Psalm 23:1-6

Cruciform - "The Lord is my Shepherd."

Weeks - "I shall not want."

Benedictory - Psalm 23:1-6

Cross - The Lord's Prayer

My Strength and My Shield

Where is God?

Some people think of God as "out there" - in Heaven, on a throne, far away.  

Others think of God as "right here" - in their hearts, in their heads, in their homes.

The truth is that both are right.  God is everywhere.  God is here and there, within and without.  He is the One "in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)."  We have "one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:6)."  God is "all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28)."  

Just as God is both here and there, God is also inside us and outside us.  Psalm 28:6-9 (ESV) shows both God who is internal to us and external to us.

6 Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

In verse 7, "Strength" represents God's internal quality, His vital energy inside every believer.  "Shield" depicts God's presence around the believer, providing protection and security.

Also in verse 7, trust is an internal action, responding to an internal faith that can only be a gift from God.  Help is an external resource from God.

Again in verse 7, the heart exults internally, but externally gives its expression in song.

In verse 8, again we see that God is both the internal strength and the external refuge of his anointed.  Anointing itself is applied from the outside, facilitating an inward change.

So God is here and there, inside and outside, blessing God's people and heritage forever.

Today's meditation, using the Protestant Prayer Beads, highlights both the internal and external qualities of God's power.  As you do this meditation, focus on your slow breathing.  As you inhale, be aware of God's presence inside you.  As you exhale, feel God's shield around you.


Invitatory - v. 6
Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

Cruciform - v. 7b
My heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

Weeks - v. 7a
Inhale - The Lord is my strength 
Exhale - and my shield;
Inhale - In him my heart trusts, 
Exhale - and I am helped;

Benedictory - vv. 8-9
The Lord is the strength of his people;
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Listening in the Coastlands

Since the beginning, people have sought God the most in the liminal, or in-between, places of the world.  Holy men have gone to the deserts on the borderlands between one country and another, places that are neither here nor there.  Prophets have found God on mountains, where the earth meets the sky.  Beaches are places of spiritual connection for most people--partly because the ocean is so powerful, but partly because beaches are liminal spots, where the sea and sky and land meet.  Somehow it's easiest to find God in those in-between places.  Even the moments when you are in-between sleep and wakefulness can be special times of peace and connection to God.

"Wonga Beach, Qld Australia" by Jan Smith
**Creative Commons info in footnote

Yet the borderlands can be frightening places as well.  While mountaintop experienced can be exciting, the thought of a fall is terrifying.  Beaches might be beautiful, but the undertow can kill.  Desert vistas are stunning, but beware the scorching sun, the frigid nights, and the danger that might lie beneath any rock.  Even that place between sleep and wakefulness can bring haunting imaginations and fearful thoughts.

Sometimes we find ourselves living in the coastlands.  Lingering sickness can put regular life on hold.  Joblessness causes uncertainty as you dangle between the past and the future.  Yet not all of our coastland experiences are negative.  Pregnancy is an in-between time that promises that nothing will be the same as it used to be, but still the little one is not here yet.  Marriage engagement is past the point of dating, but the wedding day hasn't arrived.  These metaphorical coastlands are dramatic places to be, wonderful places to visit, but you don't really want to live there.  Unfortunately, sometimes we feel stuck on the borders, at the coasts, on the summits--and it's hard to tell what comes next.

This is where listening to God becomes very important.  In Isaiah 41:1, God says, "Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength."  In those liminal, in-between places of your life, listening is more important than ever.   It's only through silence that strength can be renewed.  Rather than trying desperately to tread water, it's better just to quietly float, and let God carry you.  You can trust Him to hold you up.

The Lord continues: "Let them approach, [and] then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment."  Too quickly in our conversations and in our prayers we jump hastily into talking.  We listen little, filling the air instead with our own words.  God's counsel is to first approach in silence.  Quietly attend to the people in your life.  See what they have to say.  Silently sit before God without saying a word.  Centering Prayer is a great way to quietly approach God and listen.  Only after a time of silent listening should you speak your thoughts to the Lord.  Then you and God together can draw near to one another in the kind of partnership where you can judge or discern God's will.

Do you find yourself living in the coastlands of life right now?  Do these in-between places fill you with fear or with awe?  God advises you to listen in silence.  Quietly approach God and attend to His presence before you say anything at all.  It is in listening that you can determine your next step, your next breath.  As Habakkuk 2:20 says, "The Lord in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him."

The following is a meditation using the Protestant Prayer Beads.  I hope that by contemplating God's Word, you will find His will in those in-between places of your life.




Invitatory - Isaiah 40:28-29*
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Cruciform - Isaiah 41:1a
Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
    let the peoples renew their strength;

Weeks - Isaiah 41:1b
Let them approach, then let them speak;
    let us together draw near for judgment.

Benedictory - Isaiah 40:30-31
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.





*All scriptures are taken from the ESV.
** http://www.flickr.com/photos/26085795@N02/5151233404/in/photolist-nnvDgY-nkyV1x-nxY9Ud-pdzTmR-aDD87u-dwBkrf-bJVEZz-cd6Wzj-btm1E4-6qc6qN-dELWGP-5QXd9M-dhwHo5-8Rcqe3-4zyHt6-54564D-dpG9eg-bGudU4-6ct8Zf-4A3tnr-cAWhKS-mEWFPP-5syggv-4zCXXo-Mi216-nYESVN-o7PVkv-4AErME-7wfjiL-a4bVoP-pCak9W-2GBBD5-nQJ4xr-dXxUZm-7sJ2nU-oEWp1N-pGujda-h6KXhq-acj54L-5ppxTV-rAoSeA-4xGSH5-3SYBW-upYRW-dFRTDK-oXoWEy-n6wDiJ-9LSrWv-pJXp8r-jXTRL.  No changes made.

Contemplation: The Temple Within

Today is the fourth day in our 45th week, reading the Bible through in a year.  Our scriptures today are:  Ezekiel 40-42; John 14.

A couple of days ago, at our Virginia Baptist state convention, I went to a breakout session that was led by members of the Epiphany Institute of Spirituality, a group of Baptists who are seeking to go deeper with God by reclaiming some ancient contemplative traditions.  They led us in a time of contemplative prayer and worship, followed by a Q&A session about contemplative Christianity.  

One lady had a hard time grasping how you could have an entire worship service without a sermon.  Her died-in-the-wool Baptist roots had a difficult time thinking outside the box that she'd been raised in.  She just couldn't get it.  "What do you mean by contemplative?" she asked, more than once.  Then, I think I saw a light bulb went off over her head when Michael Sciretti, one of our presenters, told her that the root word for "contemplate" and "contemplative" is "temple."  So to contemplate is to go into the temple of your heart and meet one-on-one with God.  1 Corinthians 3:16 says that we are God's temple, so to meet with Him in contemplation is to go on an inner journey through the temple, into the Holy of Holies.

In today's scriptures, we read about Ezekiel measuring out a visionary temple, with all its many chambers.  Jesus says in John 14:2-3 (ESV), "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

We have heard these words from John 14 in many funerals, when the preacher talks about Heaven.  The beauty of contemplation is that we don't need to wait until we die to enter the Father's house.  Just as God designed the temple in Jerusalem with apartments for priests to live in, so God desires for us to dwell in His inner temple, here and now.  Living a contemplative lifestyle means making God's house, your home.  

The Epiphany Institute of Spirituality's website states:  "The Epiphany Institute of Spirituality (EIS) exists to reclaim and revive these early Baptist emphases within our own historical tradition through adapting teachings and practices of contemplative streams of Christianity from the Latin West, Greek East, and Syriac Orient."  Workshop presenter Randy Ashcraft put it this way:  "We are open to all traditions that point to Christ."  Jesus said it like this:  "In my Father's house are many rooms."  

Authentic Christianity is open Christianity--a faith that is open to all traditions that point to Christ.  I'm proud to call myself a Baptist--but I'm a Christian first.  This means I've got to be open to all Christian traditions that lead to a deeper walk with Jesus.  Limiting myself to Baptist expressions prevents my exposure to forms of Christian prayer, meditation, contemplation, and understanding of the Bible that might otherwise enrich my spiritual life.  

Even within the Baptist tradition, most of us are unaware of the depth of contemplative thought that has been expressed through our rich history.  Michael Sciretti has written a book entitled Entempling: Baptist Wisdom for Contemplative Prayer.  In this book, Sciretti quotes many famous and less-than-famous Baptist preachers and authors, pointing to a stream of contemplation that has run through the centuries of Baptist thought and practice.  Sciretti's work can be used both as aid to personal devotion, and as a tool for corporate contemplative worship.  Of this book, musician Drexel Rayford (also an EIS presenter) says, "Dr. Sciretti has pulled together wisdom from a long ignored 'spring.' Anyone who drinks of this water will experience a unique sort of soul-thirst quenching. I highly recommend it!"  C.S. Smith says, "The editors of this book are trusted spiritual directors of the highest order, both of whom have had positive impact on my life... So pleased that this book has come into being."  Why not follow the link to Amazon and pick up a copy for yourself?

In John 14:1 (ESV), Jesus says, "Let not your hearts be troubled."  The word "trouble," according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, comes from the Latinturbulare, from the Late Latin turbidare, "to make turbid."  To let your heart be troubled is to allow it to become like water churned by a storm.  Don't let your heart be turbid.  Let it be the opposite of turbid.  Instead, let it be like the stormy sea that was calmed when Jesus said, "Peace, be still."  Let it be peaceful and still, like the sea of glass before God's throne (Revelation 4:6).

I pray that you'll find Jesus' peace in His temple--in contemplation.  I pray that His temple, His Father's house with many rooms, will be a shelter for you.  I pray that in that temple, you'll be at peace, that you'll be still, and that you'll know that God is God (Psalm 46:10).

Abiding: Holy Inactivity

In John 15 (ESV), Jesus makes the analogy of a vine and branches.  As the vine draws its nourishment from the branch, so Christians need to draw our sustenance from Christ.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you,that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

One way to think of abiding in Christ is the practice of the Logos Prayer.  How better to let Jesus' words abide in you (v.7) , than to meditate on them?  By sitting quietly, repeating God's Word in your heart, you abide in the word, and you allow it to abide in you.

To abide is to rest, to live, to dwell.  This holy inactivity isn't laziness.  On the contrary, it's from our times of resting that we receive the wisdom and energy we need in order to perform the many tasks to which God has appointed us. Abiding in the Word cleanses you from the world's dirt and grime (v.3).  It helps you to share God's cleanness with others, because it's only when the Word abides in you that you have it to give to those around you.

Contemplative Prayer is also abiding.  When you simply sit in God's presence, silently soaking in your nourishment from the Branch, you grow to be a healthy vine.  The vine doesn't struggle to suck its life from the branch--it simply abides, and lets the branch fill it.  In contemplative prayer, we simply abide in Christ, allowing Him to fill us, feed us, complete us.

I hope that you'll practice Contemplative Prayer and meditation on God's Word every day.  By doing so, you abide in Christ, and you allow Him to abide in you.  And the fruit of that kind of holy inactivity is sweet!

"Fire and Glory" - A Meditation from Zechariah 2

"Fire" by martinak15

In the book of Zechariah, God tells His people that He will cause them to return to Zion, out of their captivity.  He reminds them that they are the apple of His eye.  Even as they return, He promises to come and dwell among them.

The person who seeks God through contemplative prayer undergoes a similar journey.  Leaving behind the world and all the thoughts that hold us captive, we travel inward to reestablish God's temple within our hearts.  Just as the people of Israel could claim God's promise to surround them and dwell with them, so every praying person can know God's fire and glory.

As you enter into your prayer time, using these words of Scripture along with your Ecumenical Prayer Beads, imagine God's protective fire surrounding you like a wall.  In the center of God's swirling flame, like the calm eye of a hurricane, you can rest in God's cloud of shining glory that envelops you.  Feel God's love and care, and know that just as you dwell in God, the Lord also makes His home within you.

When God comes to dwell in the midst of His people, there are two responses we may give.  Singing and rejoicing (v. 10) correspond to meditation--repeating and reveling in God's goodness as revealed in His word.  Silence (v. 13) corresponds to contemplative listening for God's still, small voice.  

As you leave life's captivity and enter into the temple of your heart, I pray that you'll know God's fire and glory, and that you'll meet the Lord who dwells in your midst.

A MEDITATION WITH ECUMENICAL PRAYER BEADS:

(Click here to get your own)

Invitatory - 2:10
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.

Cruciform - From v. 5
I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord.

Weeks - From v. 5
I will be the glory in her midst.

Benedictory - 2:13
Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Image: "Fire" by martinak15.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinaphotography/6546142215/in/photolist-7ebqCe-zW9UJ-9nhBRr-sRqX2-f9ydAa-6nC8fP-dax5Ai-ndrba4-txvMx-6nUQa-7Pvt8g-9aPR5N-aYsG1X-8FKgee-9nhBRv-4fDWXN-8Yqy8L-8N9LaR-HHny6-mVekFz-dax6Us-azQqrk-b4KVkB-aiBite-2F4PN-6wWffb-9kDh74-3BurVd-mfGib3-7Bu3bk-4y2gKq-9GwFjW-qddyRU-2jjwyB-5E4TKh-pEyTT-5QDYBT-8qk6n-kKgYaj-dLsTJf-5KSobd-2V8q3J-2V8pQw-NKDGp-bnSwqy-a1JFeD-3DRvTU-8zkWQS-4PqVbj-bgwVD8.