pray without ceasing – Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on by a quiet walk
Sunrise, Dec. 25, 2013
Sunrise, Dec. 25, 2013

 

1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 (NRSV)  12But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; 13esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 . . ., encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. 15See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.  16Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

There is an ancient story in the Orthodox Christian Tradition concerning a Pilgrim who searches for a deep communion with God, for an understanding of prayer and the spiritual practice of “prayer without ceasing.”  In his travels and conversations with people of the church he discovers the writings of the Christian writers where he learns how to let his life be a witness to the teachings of Christ through unceasing prayer.   Using the words of the blind beggar Bartimaeus who calls out to Jesus “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” and timing his breath and steps to the rhythm of the prayer the Pilgrim repeated the prayer without stop as he journeyed from place to place.  He found that even when he wasn’t literally speaking the prayer it was playing in the back of his mind and guided him in his actions towards all he me.

The prayer the Pilgrim used is called the “Jesus Prayer” and often used in a form of contemplative prayer called the Breath Prayer.  By repeating the Jesus Prayer in a daily prayer practice the mind learns to become still and your being centered in order for the still small word of G-d to be heard and the presence of G-d to be felt.  But the pilgrim wasn’t just praying a breath prayer; he was using an ancient form of prayer called chanting.

A chant is defined as a “short, simple series of syllables or words that are sung on/or intoned to the same note or a limited range of notes; A canticle or prayer is sung or intoned in this manner, or to sing or intone to a chant such as chant a prayer.  It is the repetitive speaking or singing a single tone, word, or phrase that the one praying uses to open the door into G-ds presence.  And, chanting has an eclectic past.  It is used by almost every religion in some form or other.  The far Eastern Tradition often uses a single tone, pronounced “ohm,” to draw their minds into stillness and into oneness with the universe.  Those in the Judaic faith repeat the Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” traditionally as they rise in the morning and as they go to bed at night.  But it is also used as a prayer chant.  Those in the Roman Catholic Faith have many chants which they use to draw their minds into stillness and their hearts into G-ds presence.  One type, Gregorian chants, were psalms set to music in which medieval Monks used for the same purpose, creating stillness.   I became interested in chanting many years ago when I heard my first Gregorian chant and found the cadence and sound of the notes lifted my heart into a new place that it had never been before.  I have been chanting ever since.

In the scripture quoted above from 1 Thessalonians Paul calls us to pray without ceasing.  When I was a teenager and heard those words my first thought was that is impossible.  After all, I have class work to do, problems to figure out, chores to do, people to talk to, games to play, work to do, you name it and  I could find a reason why such a task would be difficult. I’m betting you could add to this list, after all our lives are busy with living.  So how on earth can we pray constantly?  Well it has taken me a little while, Ok, OK, a long while, to figure that conundrum out.  I realized that Paul wasn’t asking us to give up our lives.  Rather he was calling us to center our lives in prayer.  For me chanting has been the way to accomplish that task.

Now you might be asking how chanting helps me pray unceasingly?  A while back I was laid off from my job and I was truly afraid of what could happen if I didn’t find another one.  Every evening, following a day of unsuccessful job searching, I took long walks with my dog and tried to come to grips with what was happening to me.  The problem was I was the only one talking.  In fact I realized I was talking so much that if G-d was there she was never going to get a word in edgewise.  One evening a friend invited me to a Taizé service and I rediscovered the peacefulness of singing chants in order to quiet my mind and offer the simple prayer of myself.

My Spiritual Practice of Chanting

So how does chanting help G-d enter, well the steps are pretty easy really. First of all there are really no hard and fast rules. You begin by identifying a word or phrase that draws your attention and has significance for you.  This is a trial and error processes so don’t worry if it doesn’t quite fit and you have to change it.  You will discover your chants will change over time as your needs change.

To begin a spiritual practice of prayer chanting set aside 15 to 20 minutes in your day and repeat your chant, rhythmically, timing it to your breath or your step as you walk.  You may chant out loud or you may do it silently it all depends on where you are and what is happening around you at any given moment.  The major thing is to practice it every day.  Learning a Spiritual practice means you must do it every day just as if you were learning to play an instrument or play a game, it takes commitment.

You have a wide choice of times to choose when to practice your chants.  You may set aside a quiet time as you would for any meditation or you may chant while preparing for you day in the morning or rest at night; waiting and riding public transit; doing dishes, laundry, or other housework.  The key is to do it every day. Gradually, just like the ancient Pilgrim, the prayer will begin to “play” in the background of you mind all the time, providing comfort and guidance in all your daily activities.

You may chant using whatever method you are most comfortable with such as a single tone, as those in the Far Eastern traditions do; a single spoken word or phrases, such as the Jesus Prayer; or, and this is my preferred way, a musical chant. Whatever you choose the process is pretty much the same. Musical chants are often short scriptures or spiritual phrases set to a simple tune that is easily remembered and sung.  Because I love music, even though I no longer am able to sing well, and I find musical chants the easiest for me to remember and repeat when I am praying.  I find that music triggers a sense of stillness the spoken word alone cannot do.

I mentioned my chants change from to time to time and it is because my relationship with G-d changes over time.  As my relationship deepens I become more comfortable with certain chants because they draw me deeper into the mystery that is G-d.  You will know when that happens and you will also simply know what chants deepen your experience with G-d and other don’t.  I have a number of different chants that I am particularly fond of that I use depending on where I am emotionally and spiritually that day.  Most often I use scripture passages that have been set to music but occasionally I will use a phrase that means something to me at that time in my chants.  Currently one of my favorites is based on Matthew 28:10, 20 “Do not be afraid, I am with you always.”   The music is written by Harpist Linda Larkin and the arraignment is by John P. Newell.  This chant reminds me I am not alone and I find comfort in it when I am confused and frustrated.  I also often use the Taizé chant Ubi Caritas (Live in Charity) written by Jacques Berthier of the founder of the Taizé community. Currently these are very meaningful for me but you may use whatever chant fits your current spiritual journey.

My prayer for you journey is you will find comfort in G-ds presence as you sing words of peace, prayer, love.

Resources

Since rediscovering chanting I have discovered the many modern sources for chants, which I find useful in my own search for unceasing prayer.  Some of my favorite resources are the “Iona Community” web site, http://iona.org.uk; the “Taizé Community” web site  http://www.taize.fr/en ; “John Bell & Wild Resource groups,” http://www.ionabooks.com/books/john-bell-wild-goose-resource-group.html ; and John Phillip Newell’s website “Heartbeat a Journey towards Earths Wellbeing,” http://heartbeatjourney.org .

I have included a YouTube© video of Do Not Be Afraid from the CD Chanting for Peace, Meditative Chants by Linda Larkin, (available on her website http://blog.santafeharps.com ).


Ruth Jewell ©December 31, 2013

 

God’s Surprise — Prayerful Tuesday

Posted on by a quiet walk

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God’s Surprise
Paraphrase of Luke 2:26-33

God sent a Messenger to a virgin engaged
to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgins name was Mary.
As he entered the Messenger greeted Mary:

Greetings!
You are beautiful with God’s beauty,
beautiful inside and out,
God be with you.

Mary was confused by these words
and wondered what this could mean,
but the Messenger said:

Mary, you have nothing to fear.
God has a surprise for you;
You will become pregnant
and give birth to a son
and you will name him Jesus

Ruth Jewell, ©December 24, 2013
(I used the NRSV, The Voice and The Message)

Prayerful Tuesday – Why Have You Forgotten Me?

Posted on by a quiet walk
Winter's Path
Winter’s Path

 

Psalm 42:9-11

9I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?”
10As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?”
11Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

I have to admit I haven’t always lead an exemplary life and the life I have led has been on roads and paths G-d might have preferred me to avoid.  Those bumpy roads led me to places where I felt abandoned and alone.  But, I have to remember that I choose those roads, I choose to ignore the sacred voice within and live outside of G-d’s love.  I choose to be there, even when the event that got me there was none of my doing I still choose NOT to recognize I wasn’t alone.  I couldn’t or wouldn’t see G‑d walking beside me every step of the way.  I choose to see only darkness; I simply refused to see the luminous darkness that was G-d.

Yes I blamed G-d for all the bad events in my life, isn’t that what every human does?  As a human being I saw the worst and assumed the worst.  I rolled around in my self-pity, yelling at G-d that life was unfair and therefore G-d either didn’t exist or didn’t care what happened to me. I yelled at G-d telling her “why are you doing this to me, why aren’t you there for me, why am I so alone.”  I was so busy trying to run from those comforting arms that I never recognized that it was G-d holding me up, that Jesus was the one helping my broken spirit and that the Holy Spirit was trying to dry my tears.  Because I did not recognize  G-d I was afraid, so afraid.  My bones shook with fear until I thought they would break. I could not see that what happened to me were the consequences I had to experience and live through in order to find my way back to a better place.

It wasn’t until I ran out of tears, ran out of words, until I ran out of myself that I was able to open the door and let you in, G-d.  Only then, O Divine One, did I feel your presence and finally rest in your outstretched arms.  I was still afraid, but I wasn’t alone any longer.  My fear was not as frightening because I knew you were there, and I know it now, in this moment of time I now live.

Why do I put myself through all of that? Why do any of us? Is the struggle to return to you G-d after I have rejected you so important to my understanding of you as unconditional love?  Well I think I know the answer to that question and it is yes.  Yes it is important to walk through the darkness in order to see the light.  Sometimes I have to test my own limits before I learn that you have no limits.

You, Oh G-d, will always welcome me back when I have strayed from your side.  I know you are always there in the dark with me but my eyes are blinded by your startling bright light and I cannot see.  Because I can’t see I fear you’ve left me to stumble in the darkness.   It is only when I regain some hope that you are there, that my eyesight begins to clear.  When I choose to hope, I choose you, oh G-d.  It is when I choose not to recognize you, there beside me, that I become hopeless and unable to see your glory all around me.

So I will choose hope, I chose you oh G-d, I am choosing you G-d.  I have made my choice and I choose to live in your light, your love, your hope.  Will I sometimes forget that choice, probably? In some future time I will again fail to see your presence in the dark and you will be there walking right beside me.  You will not leave me alone even if I believe you have.  But the big difference now is I know you forgive, I know you offer me grace and I will fall into your arms when the tears and words run out and you will comfort me.

O patient G-d I am grateful for your presence, even when I push you away.  Grant me my moments of struggle and suffering even though you suffer with me because, in my suffering I discover again your amazing love.   Amen

Ruth Jewell ©December 16, 2013

 

 

 

Prayerful Tuesday – “I the God of Israel will not forsake them”

Posted on by a quiet walk

 

God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform; by Wm Cowper Picture by NASA
God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform        words by Wm Cowper
Picture by NASA

Isaiah 41:17-20
17When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.

19I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,

20so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it. 

Advent, a time of waiting, a gestation time of new beginnings, I have heard those words many times over many Advents.  And, while all this waiting is important I have a confession to make, I hate waiting!  Yes, my impatience frequently gets me into trouble, with G-d and with those around me.  I begin before the preparation has been completed and my task, while not a total failure, does not live up to its potential.  Patience is not one of the gifts G-d has seen fit to give me. It is something I have been trying to learn for 66 years and I am still not very good at it.

I admit to being one of those thirsty people in the desert who wants to have water and I want now!  If I had been with the Israelites in the Sinai I would have marched right up to Moses and said “I’m thirsty, I need water and I need it now!”  And I am sure Moses would have looked at me with a jaundiced eye and said “get a grip; learn some patience for crying out loud.  You are out of Egypt so be grateful for what you have and quite complaining!”  Yep that would have been me hearing those words.   Yet in Isaiah we hear that G-d will provide water and more to those who are poor and in need and it is not lost on me that G-d came through with food and water during the Exodus.  So yes I do believe G-d, in Her own good Time and Way, will provide.

The key to this waiting is “in Her own good Time and Way” G-d will offer the drink and food we need and it’s always in that perfect moment.  The moment when we not only need it the most but the moment when we are open the widest for hearing G-d’s voice speak the Word we so desperately thirst and hunger for.

For the last two and half years I have been in my own time of Advent, walking in a wilderness of my own making as I waited for G-d to give me a Word I could respond to about where my ministry would take me.  And in that time there have been many impatient moments.  Many times I have tried to hurry G‑d.  I have tried to guess what She will speak and tried starting a task with no direction from Her.  It rarely works out because you cannot hurry G-d.  G-d will speak when the time is right, when my heart is open the widest to hear G-d speak and not before.

Through out this time G-d has been allowing a ministry to begin gestating within me.  To grow in concept piece by piece, step by step while at the same time letting G-d open me up to whom I am and who She is. I am learning that G‑d is my greatest counselor, friend, lover, supporter, confidant, comforter, and confessor.  All I have to do is live a life that puts G-d first, keep our relationship strong and allowing the counselor, friend, lover, supporter, confidant, comforter, and confessor work through me in a working partnership with Her.

It seems as if it would be easy to do what G-d asks of us doesn’t it?  But it is not.  Ask the Israelites how hard it was to follow the path G-d laid before them.  Ask the disciples how hard it was to walk the path Jesus laid before them.  Each one will tell you it is not easy.  Yes G-d will provide for the poor and needy but verse 41:20 of Isaiah says it best.  We are to “… see and know … consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.” We fail hopelessly in that understanding.  All too often we take G-d’s handiwork for granted and do not see what the Lord does for us.  I, just like the rest of the human race, all too often think we are entitled to the abundance we see around us.  We forget just where and who it comes from, where and from whom we come from.  It has taken me a life time to understand in a small way the meaning of verse 20.  And, it has only been in the last year and half that I have worked hardest to be patient and to let G-d speak when She is ready and not me.

And now G-d is bringing me closer to an understanding of what my role as Her partner will be.  And, somehow I feel it is appropriate that G-d picked Advent for this to happen, the time for me to begin to feel the movement of a baby ministry within me.  I am excited and scared about bringing into reality this ministry of my very own.  It takes courage for me to step out and claim my role as G-d partner a courage I do not always have.  I have many fears; will I be worthy of G-ds trust, will I hurry this up and as a result rush to completion what needed time to grow, will I give up saying “sorry G-d this to hard for me,” will I simply not be enough for the task.  There are so many fears, so much excitement, and so many hopes.  The future I do not know, only G-d does, so I will keep waiting, and listening, and moving with G-d’s time and moments.  Patience is really hard but I continue to learn to lean into the open arms and let G-d teach me.

This Week’s Spiritual Practice

Do you have something waiting to emerge from you?  Waiting is hard (just ask any 4 year old) but it can be done. So this week I simply ask that each day you find yourself a quiet place and sit in silence for 5 to 20 minutes.  Listen for a Word from G-d.  It might be a Word about doing something, or it might be G-d whispering “I love you.”  Just remember whatever happens let it happen in G-d’s time not yours and be grateful for the time spent with G-d.

Ruth Jewell, ©December 10, 2013

Prayerful Tuesday – Through Acts of Faith

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Reflection:  Hebrews 11:32-34 (The Message) 

32-34 I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of Faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves.  They were protected from Lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies.

I have always found this chapter of Hebrews somewhat difficult and these 3 verses when read outside the context of the whole chapter are, I think, somewhat confusing. These 3 verses are also often used to justify the idea of “G-d is on my side in this war because I am more faithful than you are.”  But I do not believe that is what the author had in mind.

The writer of Hebrews is making a case for faith, a faith in what we cannot see.  Now that I get, and, for me the writer could have stopped at verse 3 of chapter 11 and his argument would have been made.

Hebrews 11:1-3 – The Message (MSG) – Faith in What We Don’t See  1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. 3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

But he didn’t and so now I am left with chapter and verse that could be problematic when read outside the context of the whole chapter 11 and in fact the complete Letter to the Hebrews.  My difficulty isn’t with its premise it is with how it is interpreted and used in today’s world, the 21st century.  Yes Gideon, Barak, Samson, and the rest had faith in G-d and they used that faith to give them the courage to defend themselves and fight for a place to live.  Yes they are told by G-d and Moses they are G-d’s chosen people and that G-d would be right there beside them through thick and thin.  At least that is what is told in the Pentateuch, which was written during the Babylonian Exile sometime between 600 BCE and 580 BCE and not by Moses.

Now don’t get me wrong I actually love the Letter to the Hebrews.  The Letter’s central idea of Jesus as the High Priest, our representative who stands before G-d in our name as our advocate means we have a spokesperson on our side, something the disadvantaged throughout history rarely have.  That is an important metaphor to keep in mind.  It is also the root meaning of Chapter 11.

In the first three verses of Chapter 11 the author of Hebrews lays out the important points he wants to make: “By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.”  The remainder of this chapter is a litany of heroes from the Jewish Bible.  They are examples of faith, combined with trust, obedience, and hope that supports the desire for a better place to live, a place to call their own where G-d is the planner and builder, a place where G-d is the central focus.  The memory of the prophets, kings and soldiers the author invokes is not about “whose side G-d is on,” it’s about being true to G-d’s teaching and message.  It is not the act of fighting or going to war that the author is writing about. The important point it is the faithfulness of those who were fighting to build a homeland and country.  Would Gideon have lost if they hadn’t had faith?  That is a possibility because they might not have had the courage to stand up for what they believed in. And, by invoking the heroes  of his Jewish faith the author is placing Jesus among the great and small who throughout history have listened  to G-d’s  call to stand up and speak G‑d’s message of justice, mercy, and  compassion (Micah 6:8).  To walk with G-d does not mean the road will be easy rather it means G-d walks with us into the “lion’s den” offering support and not making smoothing out the potholes.

As I contemplate these verses at  the dawning of Advent I am hearing G-d’s call to respond as Isaiah, Moses, Jesus, Paul, and the author of Hebrews to speak out in G-d’s name for justice, mercy, and compassion for those who cannot speak for themselves.   In the next 4 weeks as I, we, wait for the celebration of the birth of love in human form we need to remember why Jesus came.  He didn’t come so we could give gifts, or eat ourselves sick, or spend money with no thought of consequences.  Jesus came to bring us a way of life.  We are called by G-d to respond to those who are in need, to give out of our abundance. Because we have enough to live comfortably it is our responsibility to ensure that everyone has enough to live comfortably.   To give joyfully and generously, whether it is material, monetary, or spiritually is to practice the teaching of Jesus when he walked among us.

Spiritual Practice

So this week’s spiritual challenge is not an easy one but one worth doing.  What would you life be like if you examined where you are on your spiritual journey and choose what you can give, how you might serve or where you can answer G-d’s call of service and walk in the path of Jesus?  In what acts of faith will G-d recognize your footprints

Ruth Jewell, ©December 3, 2013