A Lenten Invitation for all Spiritual Pilgrims
By Surprisedbyjoy@yahoo.com and Gods_gnome@yahoo.com
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By God's Gnome
At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place
Luke 4.42
It is in the first moments after our waking that we set the mood for our day. Jesus chose to fortify his spirit during his ministry by spending the earliest hours in God’s presence. After his baptism he spent forty days alone with God seeking direction. If daily we would tap into the streams of living water offered for our refreshment we need to take time off and be alone with God. It is our right and responsibility to affirm that the first possible moments of our day be spent with God, for such a commitment will bring blessings into not only our own lives but also the lives of those we meet each day.
One of Israel’s prophets, Elijah, sought a place where he could listen to God, away from the clamour caused by a people who had turned their backs on their Creator. He climbed a mountain in the wilderness and waited in the stillness for God. As he sat alert a hurricane swirled around him, then an earthquake shook the mountain, and finally a conflagration broke out. Yet Elijah knew that God was not in these noisy outbursts of nature. Into the subsequent stillness came the murmur of a gentle breeze and Elijah, in awe, covered his face. For in that breath of silence God's voice made itself understood.
It is in the stillness, marked only by our breath, that we are able to listen for the voice of God. Far too often in our conversations we demand centre stage, and do not listen carefully to the responses of others. Perhaps we believe what we have to say is more important. Yet without listening we can never know others, their hopes, dreams and prayers. Without really hearing the voices of others we become the centre of our own world, forgetting that in others we will find balance and variety.
In our prayers we seem so concerned in our petitions, for others as well as ourselves, that we often sign off from our contact with God without ever waiting to hear God’s response. We cannot claim that God does not answer prayer if we have not taken the time to hear that response. God who set creation into being with a thought, a word, has no need to demand our attention loudly. For God knows that within us is a spirit which cannot be satisfied until it is reunited, or reconnected, with its Maker. From interaction with God our spirit draws its life-breath. As individual humans with the gift of free choice, we decide whether to shut God from our awareness, or to spend our first hours regularly quietly with God. Will we be part of God’s ongoing creation, or will we be egocentric and self-sufficient? Who will we serve?
Prayers: God, in the time we spend with you, let us pause and listen to your thoughts, lest we crowd our your responses with our own problems. Amen.
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By God's Gnome
Fear not, God calls us by name
Isaiah 43.1
Isaiah 43: 1: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine.
Do you remember waiting in the schoolyard or on a sports field while teams were being chosen? Perhaps your name was the very last to be called, all other contestants having already been chosen.
One night when Samuel was just a stripling God called his name, but of course not knowing God intimately, he assumed he was hearing the voice of the High Priest and so went to his room. After this had happened twice, old Eli was sure as to the source of this voice, and so the third time the voice called, Samuel answered "Speak, your servant is listening." The early tales of the escape from Egypt of the nation of Israel are marked by passages such as Exodus 15:13, "In your mercy you have led forth the people you have redeemed, guided them in your strength to your holy dwelling place."
Throughout both Testaments we hear of people being called into service by God, to be kings, priests, disciples, healers - the list has no ending and is as varied as the individuals God calls. To each who hears and responds, God speaks the words, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you." God has paid our debts, and our slate is clear for eternity. We are bought from slavery, from a life in which we were condemned to serve as one alienated from God’s love and mercy by our own choice, to a life where we are recognised as one of God’s Beloved.
All the fears which held us emotionally chained have been removed by God’s grace. No more do we count ourselves unloved or unworthy, for God has valued us above the price of Jesus’ life. God who has called us has taken our sorrow and given us joy, taken our despair and given us hope, taken our isolation and brought us into the eternal family. No more waiting by the sidelines, with heart sinking and feeling left out as others around are called and value is shown for their skills. God has called us; we have been moved from the ranks of hopeful contenders and been placed in the field of play.
Called by our name - was it just the name given us by our parents, or is it the name God has kept for us since the creation of the world? Beloved of God - this is the name by which the Divine now knows us.
Prayer: God, open our inner ears so that we may be aware you have called us by a new name. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Human tradition versus God's commands
Mark 7: 1-14
A very dear friend and I went eagle watching this year where hundreds of eagles annually winter. We spent a wonderful day wandering up and down the river, spotting the great birds with delight. I learned a great deal about eagles that day. They have incredibly keen eyesight, which probably led to the expression "eagle eye." My friend gave me an eagle calendar, so I can look at these magnificent birds from my writing study. This month's picture is a close up photo of an eagle's head. That bird has a fierce, unblinking, piercing eye that misses nothing. I feel it looking into my soul today, as I sit with these verses.
So what is today's gospel story? Jesus is teaching some hard lessons to the religious leaders of his day. They are interrogating him about Jewish ceremonial laws on dietary cleanliness and to their surprise, Jesus begins calling them "hypocrites!" And he begins to chastise them for their outer religious practices while their inner hearts are far from God. He cuts to the soul of the matter, and exposes their spiritual deceit and materialistic greed, which they cover up with human traditions cloaked with religious terminology.
Who has not done this? We all have human traditions that we cherish more deeply than God's commands. Many of them are also clothed with religious language. It is easy to confuse human traditions and miss God's commands. Where do we need a holy "eagle eye" inner examination in our prayers today? Where are we in this conversation with Jesus? We do not have to be Jewish to understand this teaching.
Isaac of Nineveh has said, "If you love truth, be a lover of silence. Silence like the sunlight will illuminate you in God and will deliver you from the phantoms of ignorance. Silence will unite you to God." Perhaps a few moments of silence would be appropriate after reading today's verses on human tradition versus God. Let the silence guide your prayer. "Be still and listen to the heartbeat of God."
For our Lenten reflection, while sitting in silence, perhaps there may be something we need to confess or rededicate to God. Perhaps we have been hypocritical in serving religion, rather than obeying God.
Prayer: God, where do we honor you with our lips and not with our hearts? Amen.
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By Surprised by joy
The Human Heart
Mark 7: 14-23
About ten years ago, my beloved Grandmother was in the hospital with progressing heart failure. Her dear, old, worn heart was worsening every day. It was simply a matter of time before she would die. She had lived with me for several years, but now was living with a married cousin who could better care for her needs.
During Grandma's hospitalization, Janet's husband was undergoing emergency heart surgery. My poor cousin simply tried to survive, going from one waiting room to another. Both Grandma and Don were in the same hospital and fortunately both survived their medical crisis. When it was time for Grandma to be discharged, she refused to leave until she visited Don in intensive care. I will never forget their conversation as they spoke heart to heart. Old heart to younger heart. One knew her life was coming to an end. The younger realized he had been given a new chance at life.
Grandma leaned forward in her wheelchair and quietly spoke in her lilting Norwegian accent. 'Don, you listen to me. I'm old and going to die soon. But you have a new heart now. You have your whole life ahead of you. You are still young. You need to live differently and be a better man. You need God in your life.' Don responded to her concern with tears in his eyes. He bowed his head and Grandma prayed for him.
"The longest journey is the journey inwards," writes Dag Hammerskjold. How true this is. Jesus understood the human heart condition. What is in our hearts can actually make us need spiritual heart surgery. From our hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, crime, violence, greed, malice, deceit, and more.
For our Lenten prayer, begin an inward journey today and see what is hidden deep within our hearts. Perhaps we need a new heart. Perhaps we need God in our lives. Perhaps we need to live better lives.
Prayer: "God, our hearts are open to you. Come sit in our hearts." Give us a new heart. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Big picnics with Jesus
Mark 8: 1-8
Today's story is what I call a "big picnic with Jesus." One contemporary North American preacher calls this story "Fish and Chips." Large crowds consistently gathered about him. They were eager to hear his words, experience his healing touch and see miracles performed. Being around Jesus was an event. The blind saw. The lame walked. And sometimes there was free food, for Jesus saw their hunger with compassion. It was also a teaching event for his disciples.
And that is where our story takes us today. The crowds had been with Jesus for three days and had nothing to eat. Jesus turns to the disciples and quietly tells them, the crowd must be fed or people will collapse. There are thousands of hungry people and the disciples have only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish among them. Jesus tells the people to sit down, takes the bread and publicly gives thanks. His helpers (disciples) then distribute the food. We are told "the people ate and were satisfied." After the meal, more than seven basketfuls of broken pieces were gathered. The satisfied crowd is then dismissed. Jesus and his disciples get in the sailboat and once again sail "to the other side" of the lake. Awaiting him were more religious leaders to challenge his teachings and demand a miraculous sign from heaven. And Jesus sighed deeply, left them, returned to the boat and sailed across the lake to the other side.
So what's the point of this story? What did it mean then? What does it mean now? What does it mean in our lives today? What does this have to offer us for a Lenten reflection? What does this "big picnic" have to do with our spiritual life? So many questions!
Perhaps as one commentator suggested, this story is to demonstrate our inadequacies. Another suggested this was to teach us that Jesus was concerned with fragmented people, and those who were discarded by society. In John's gospel, Jesus referred to himself as the bread of life. He promised that anyone who came to him would find food for their souls and never go hungry again. His words are nourishing words of life. Savor those words daily. Chew them in contemplative prayer. May those words by Jesus sustain you, encourage you, and give you comfort throughout today.
Prayer: God, whether we are in the crowd or among the disciples, give us a special blessing in today's reading. Let it be a morsel of soul food for our journey. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Beware the yeast of spiritual hypocrisy
Mark 8: 14-21
Today's story makes me very nervous. And I wonder just where I am in this Jesus story. Once again his disciples are getting a valuable lesson in spirituality. After all the excitement of feeding the crowds, they forgot to bring bread for their own journey. And Jesus begins warning them to be careful of spiritual hypocrisy. Watch out, he counseled, of the "yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." The disciples begin discussing this among themselves and totally misunderstand what Jesus is teaching. So the Teacher begins again by reviewing past miracles of other "big picnics." And the disciples still didn't understand. They had eyes that were dull, ears that failed to hear and hardened hearts incapable of understanding Jesus.
Jesus was not referring to physical bread for their journey, but of the spiritual hypocrisy of many religious people. There are many yearning for God and who sincerely want to believe. But it is very easy to get caught up in religious symbolism and outward shows of piety. It is so very easy to be outwardly religious, while being inwardly spiritually impoverished. Jesus is simply warning us against spiritual hypocrisy that can permeate our lives, like yeast permeates bread dough.
Be careful. Watch out. Do you still not understand?
Prayer: God, where are we in this story? What kind of spiritual yeast is in our lives? Cleanse us from religious hypocrisy. Amen.
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By Surprised by Joy
Who is Jesus?
Mark 8: 27-29
I love this story. By now the inner circle of disciples have been carefully trained by Jesus for almost three years. They have seen miracles and spent all their waking hours with this Amazing One. Jesus has been their Friend, Teacher, Healer, wonderful Counselor, Spiritual Director, Pastoral Care provider/trainer and more. They have seen him calm ferocious storms on the water, feed thousands of people, heard his conversations with the religious leaders (who began plotting his death), and even seen Jesus raise a little girl from the dead!
For the very first time, Jesus turns to his disciples and asks them a profound question. It was profound then and is profound now. It is a timeless question and probably the most important one we can ever be asked.
"Who do people say I am?" The disciples began to talk excitedly. Oh, some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are another Elijah! Still others say you are one of the great religious prophets!
"But what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Impulsive Peter blurts out his answer. Jesus, you are the Christ! You are God's Sent One! You are the answer to all our spiritual yearnings! In you, we understand God better. Then Jesus does an amazing thing. He warned his followers not to tell anyone about who he was. Christ then begins to teach his inner circle of disciples for the first time that he must suffer and die (Mark 8: 31-38).
From this point on, Christ begins to prepare for the cross set before him. The disciples are confused, afraid, and increasingly aware that their beloved Jesus is in growing danger by the authorities in the days ahead.
Prayer: Christ. Who are you in my life today? Why the cross? Amen.
