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Wisdom Quote
The fruit of silence is prayer
The fruit of prayer is faith
The fruit of faith is love
The fruit of love is service
The fruit of service is peace
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There are many in the world dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love.
*Mother Teresa. A Simple Path. Compiled Lucinda Vardey.
Today's Scripture
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
*John 1.10, NKJV
Devotional Thoughts
Often a few words of Scripture hold great value for us practically, even when they might not seem so weighty for our daily lives on first sight. Such are the words: “He was in the world.” In these few words, we find the example of Christ Jesus for us living here-and-now. “He was in the world” is more than a profound theological statement; the words set forth a key to following Christ in all ages.
Recently, I picked up a book by Julia Cameron and titled Answered Prayers. The Prayers are, ironically, from God to us. I had not finished the book, and it had been on my shelf many months untouched. I randomly turned to a Prayer. God spoke of how I get distracted by little problems and the idea of my littleness amidst what seem overwhelming life challenges. God tells me, lovingly but truthfully, “You brood over your problems.” They, he assures me, are not overwhelming to Him at all. I am to trust God can intervene and help, that God wants to do that, and that all I need do is open to His help in childlike faith. God says, “It is my intention that you find this world rich and enjoyable.”
The last words of the Prayer struck me most. God says, “Bring your pain to me. Allow me to lift its burden so your heart can rejoin the world.” The Holy Spirit reminded me that self-absorption removes me from the world, the very world I am to live in, serve, love, and, yes, enjoy. Indeed, this is the same world Christ lived in, even among persons who “did not know Him.” And the Gospels show us a Jesus who could suffer deeply, but they, also ,show us a Jesus who could much enjoy a good party or a nice meal with rich food and spirited drink.
Pain, in its many forms, can open our hearts to life or turn us inward into a self-gaze that accumulates within us the debris of resentment and regret. We, focused on pain, identify with pain and call it “my pain.” We look, then, onto others as though they have it easier, while we imprison ourselves in our dreary, dark jail of self-pity and envy. Psalm 73 is a superb poem describing this state of envious self-absorption and release from it.
This year we are to live in the world, this present time and age, not isolated from it in a self-protective armor of angry envy or showy but airy strength. To do this, we will need a daily retreat for prayerful renewal. This solitude is, however, one with our life among others and Nature.
Through daily renewal we are readied and steadied to live in Christ in the world. Indeed, the more we grow into our life in Christ, the more we grow into our life in the world. Likewise, our growing into the world will lead us to discover or to meet by divinely-ordained providence the resources that will teach us more deeply the meaning of community.
Last, this age is a vastly changing one. Our vision must remain present but open. Rooted in the principles of the past, we are to see how they apply in fresh ways to the present. We cannot follow Christ by regressing to a past age, any age persons assume was more faithful or better suited to living spiritually. The present challenges of our world hold within opportunities of creative engagement. We must look on chaos, as God does in Genesis 1, and see the lives we can potentially create together. Faith must define the potential, not our estimation of the challenges we face or of our personal or communal limitations.
Prayerful Reflection
Meditate on the opening quotes from Mother Teresa.
How do they apply to your life in the world? Your following Jesus Christ?
How does our presence in the world in Christ rightly flow from our prayerful Silence in intimacy with God?
Are you spending enough time in prayerful aloneness to embody well the Spirit of Christ in the world?
How does the contemplative attitude on the relationship between prayerful Solitude as the wellspring of Christian service in the world challenge the hyper-pragmatism of much modern~including church~life?
Spiritual Exercise
I recommend you do one of the following, or both.
1. Sit alone in a comfortable posture, with hands folded in your lap, or lie down with hands folded on your chest, stomach, or resting beside you. Close eyes. Say a prayer like, "Jesus, I am here to offer you all the pain in my life.” Breathe naturally. Feel whatever sensations arise bodily. Listen intently to sounds. Resist nothing that arises, cling to nothing that arises. Let thoughts come and go, like waves rising and settling. When you are fully relaxed, offer Christ a prayer in which you call upon Him to help you with whatever life challenges you face. You may want to picture yourself speaking with Christ. You may wish to see yourself handing to Christ an image of the problem, as you place it in His hands. Go into as much detail as you wish in sharing the challenges you are handing over. In humble, child-like trust, let Him know that you are depending on Him and thank Him for helping you.
2. Write a Prayer from God to you about your life challenges.
Brian will respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Mentor. He offers retreats, workshops, and classes in such subjects as Contemplative Prayer (he trains in Visualized Praying, Centering Prayer, Christian Meditation, The Jesus Prayer, ...), Contemplative Living, A Spiritual Understanding of the Lord's Prayer, and Spiritual Use of the Scripture. See any major on-line bookseller for his book An Ache for Union.
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