A few books worth reading.....

Books I have read in the last several months:

The Church Of The Holy Spirit, Nicholas Afanasiev
The Spirit Of Early Christian Thought, Robert Wilkens
Divine Light: The Theology of Denis the Areopagite, William Riordan
The Mountain Of Silence: The Search for Orthodox Spirituality, Kyriacos C. Markides
Understanding Faith: An Exploration of Christian Theology, C.W. McPherson
The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, Caroline Alexander
Ruth, Elizabeth C. Gaskell (novel)
Wives And Daughters, Elizabeth C. Gaskell (novel)
The Cranford Chronicles, Elizabeth C. Gaskell (novel)
In This House Of Brede, Rumer Godden (novel)
Black Narcissus, Rumer Godden (novel)
Take Three Tenses, Rumer Godden (novel)
The River, Rumer Godden (novel)

On Becoming Human.....

Freedom lies in discovering that the truth is not a set of fixed certitudes but a mystery we enter into, one step at a time. It is a process of going deeper and deeper into an unfathomable reality. Jean Vanier, in Becoming Human

For me, Scripture and the Creed are the ultimate Christian expression of this principle. Neither provides nor intends to supply certainty in the conventional sense of the term. Both are invitations to enter into the ‘unfathomable’ reality of God in Jesus Christ. “Word made flesh”, “eternally begotten”, “of one Being with the Father”, “became incarnate”, “seated at the right hand” find their power not as attempts at literal descriptions but as literal truths (and there is a difference). Such words are not definitions but biddings, opening to us a Reality that is God’s, and not of our own making. The ultimate challenge with which Scripture and the Creed confronts us is this: will we insist the story be according to my sense of propriety, or will I willingly, eagerly, joyfully become part of God’s story?

The Genesse Diary

About 35 years ago I read The Genesee Diary by Henri Nouwen, a journal of the six months he spent in a Trappist Monastery. It remains my favorite Nouwen book, one which I have re-read several times, and am due to read again.

Nouwen writes: This is the great adventure of the monk: to really believe that God loves you, to really give yourself to God in trust, even while you are aware of your sinfulness, weaknesses, and miseries.

Of course, this is the great adventure for us all (as Nouwen points out in the book).

It is a wondrous thing, and not what we could ever expect. God’s mercy is infinite beyond our imaginings. It is not sin which keeps one from God but the desire to keep sins to oneself. As we surrender our sin, and our strange and hopeless attempts to bluff our way to God, our Lord may finally begin to truly work in us and on us.

Music in my soul....

I am envious of musicians. Always have been. As with technology of almost every description, I am a musical nincompoop: can’t sing (dogs howl), don’t have the wherewithal to play an instrument (fumble fingers), have trouble clapping to the beat (I’m the guy half a clap behind). My brother plays guitar, writes songs and plays/sings in a church band. My sweet wife plays guitar and sings like an angel. I’ve known organists that can make me weep for joy at the sounds coming out of the pipes. I love music, yet cannot participate in anything like a satisfying way. Sometimes I think that I would gladly trade whatever gifts I have, and half of what I possess, to have the gift of music. Wouldn’t that, and being taller, be great?

I am so thankful for musicians – for our own: Pam, the choir, our youth music ministry, the Screaming Hamsters, and everyone who sings at St. Thomas. It is such a joy when arriving in the front at the Procession to hear all the lovely voices singing. I am grateful to Pam for the hours she dedicates to practicing, preparing, playing and conducting our adult and youth choirs. The Screaming Hamsters bring such joy to my worship. Thanks be to God for the immeasurable gift of music.

Low Expectations

When I read the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament I cannot help but contrast the explosion of the earliest Church with the assumptions most of us have regarding the Church in our day. The contrast isn’t so much about buildings to maintain, salaries to provide for, programs to fund and worship to perform. The contrast is one of expectations. Despite an extremely hostile social environment, political discrimination , religious persecution and internal squabbles, the earliest Christians expected God to do great things in them, for them and through them.

The crucial deciding factor in the character of most parishes involves expectations. If we expect little from God, God will most often oblige us.

Chasing daylight.....The Simplicity of Prayer

"The practice of the Jesus Prayer is simple. Stand before the Lord with the attention in the heart, and call to Him: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!' The essential part of this is not in the words, but in faith, contrition, and self-surrender to the Lord. With these feelings one can stand before the Lord even without any words, and it will still be prayer."
(Theophan the Recluse)

Wonder if silence might actually be the deepest prayer there is - no words to limit the Holy Spirit?

Based on one of St. Paul's epistles, it has been stated by other theologians that prayer does not originate in us, but in the Holy Spirit praying through us. Stands to reason that perhaps the quicker we can extinguish all the words and move to silence, the quicker we are able to relinquish or surrender ourselves most fully to the work of the Holy Spirit!

And when we pray that God would make us "instruments of the faith", that ability is most clearly developed in and through us by God's preparation of us in the practice of prayer. Makes me wonder what we might actually be able to accomplish in Christ's Name if we took prayer seriously as the truest "Work of God".

Chasing daylight.....

The Jesus Prayer.....
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.' (Matt. 6: 6)

The closet of the soul is the body, the doors are the five bodily senses. The soul enters its closet when the mind does not wander hither and thither over worldly things, but remains within our heart. Our senses are closed and remain so, when we do not allow them to cling to outward and visible things; and in this way our mind remains free from all worldly attachments...." (attributed to St. Gregory Palamas -
"The Art of Prayer, an Orthodox Anthology")

What a lovely way to think of our bodies during prayer - as a "closet". And thinking of "closing the doors of our closet" by shutting down our five senses as a means of moving into a state of prayer is intriguing. Contemplative prayer appeals to me for many reasons, not the least of which is when I have been able to sit in that peaceful place for 20 or 30 minutes, when re-awakened to my surroundings, I feel as though I have slept for a good 10 hours of deep rest.

The Jesus Prayer goes like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me." There are variations on this particular prayer - but basically it is one way we may choose to usher in a deeper place of prayer. When one feels the mind wandering, it helps to repeat the mantra of the Jesus Prayer enough times so that one is drawn back to the center of prayer.

Twenty minutes or so of this may be difficult at first, but practice makes it more easily accessible on most days. And remember, practice does NOT make perfect. Perfect makes perfect and we are not possessed of such perfection so do not be discouraged if distractions occur - they are to be expected. And God honors our faithfulness in un-expected ways!