A Desert Monk Speaks to Us Today

"Pay attention to what I tell you: 

whoever you may be, always have God before your eyes; 

whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures; 

in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it.

Keep these three precepts and you will be saved."

~Desert father, Abba Anthony 

(taken from "Common Prayer/A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals")

The reading from Common Prayer on June 1 offers this prayer to follow up Abba Anthony's advice, "Grow us slowly, persistently, Lord, to be people who watch without distraction, listen without interruption, and stay put without inclination to flee. Amen."

It's the last part of Anthony's advice and of the prayer that strikes me this morning. There is an inclination to flee in me. When I've been someplace for a while, or a situation is not to my liking. But the tendency extends to jobs and projects. I'll work on something for a while, even feel God has called me to it, and then, after a while, I begin to wonder if I should really be doing something else instead. It feels like there must be something else more important that I'm neglecting. 

I've recognized this in myself before, but I haven't had the absolute assurance that the feeling is wrong. And if it is wrong, then which thing do I choose to do and not look back? 

Does this dilema make sense to anyone else?

Abba Anthony says, "Do not easily leave." 

Do not easily leave my house, my church, my state, my job, my calling, my current writing project, etc. 

Yes, Lord, please grow us slowly, persistently, to be people who watch without distraction, listen without interruption, and stay put without inclination to flee. Amen.

Time: Friend or Foe

I'm learning the need to see time from a different perspective. So often time is my foe. I have plans for my life and there just doesn't seem to be enough time to accomplish them. Soon I realize a decade has gone by and I still haven't achieved my goal.

Since this is always the case, there must be a flaw in my perspective, my plan or my thinking in some way. Following the Movements of the Spirit, Henri Nouwen, teaches that we need to view time as kairos instead of chronos. Chronos is chronology, the events of our life connected by time over which we have no control. Kairos is an opportunity for a change of heart. Both are Greek words for time, but very different in concept. Kairos carries a more mystical sense, an awareness that defining, moments can break into the chronology of time at any point, or that every moment defines a life.

"Time needs to be converted from chronos to kairos...The spiritual life is a formation process in which time slowly loses its opaqueness and becomes transparent. To start seeing that the many events of our day, week, or year are not obstacles to a full and meaningful life, but the way to it, is a real experience of conversion. Once we discover that writing letters, attending classes, visiting friends, cooking food, and even doing the dishes are not a series of random activities but contain within themselves the transforming power of re-creation, we move from time lived as chronos to time lived as kairos (right time, the real moment, the opportunity for change, the chance of a lifetime). When our time becomes kairos, endless new possibilities and opportunities open up to our vision." ~Following the Movements of the Spirit.

I'm reminded again of the words by John Lenin, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Year after year we could be missing our real life by planning for another one that will never exist.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have goals or make plans. We must. But, let us rethink the plans, make sure they're simple, doable, and embrace interruptions as opportunities to grow, change, even remold our plans. A good example is writing a novel. The author comes up with a good plot summary (chronological time line of events to happen in the character's life), but part way through the book, the author realizes that the character's life is going a different direction. Time to adjust the plot summary.

Lord, let me embrace time as a friend, welcoming the interruptions You allow, rather than fighting time as my arch enemy. Thank You for the gift of time that You've allotted for my life, may I live each moment pleasing you no matter what arises.

The Story Nature Tells

Jackson's Tree, photo by Joshua Thompson

 "We could do an immense service to our world if we would let nature heal, counsel, and teach again."

~Christensen and Laird (Henri Nouwen), "Spiritual Formation: following the Movements of the Spirit"

When we see nature as only something to be used, we miss the story it was created to tell. Even environmentalists can take nature for grantit when they hurry by a city park to get to their recycling rally. They may not notice the beauty and lessons of the old trees swaying above the playground equipment or the wildflowers trampled below the feet of dozens of children on a field day.

Spiritual Formation, based on Nouwen's teaching, goes on to say, "When we contemplate creation rather than manipulating it, we are able to see nature as a gift of God to be cherished and cared for." And I would add, "...to be learned from".

God created the plants for our nourishment and for our enjoyment (beauty). "Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food..." Genesis 2:9. We also learn that the leaves and other plants are for healing. We see the use of oil for healing in scripture again and again. By example, we learn from scripture that we can take life lessons and lessons about God from nature. 

God is referred to as our rock, our light and His voice is compared to thunder. Examples abound. But how did the psalmists and other writers come up with these comparisons?

They took time to meditate on aspects of nature.

I recently received a lesson from an old tree at a retreat center where our church leaders met for prayer. This is what I wrote:

Looking out the window at a very old tree, I notice deep grooves in the trunk, thick chunks of bark protruding and a deep hole in the bark at one place. It has been through so much history. I wonder about all the changes and things it has seen. I sense God say, "It's amazing what one can see or experience when he/she just stays in one place. Stay. Wait. Pray. Watch."

The Happiness Deception

Freedom to pursue life, liberty and anything that makes me happy.

Isn't that right? After all we're Americans and personal happiness is our highest goal. Or so it often seems.

Unfortunately the Church in America has bought into the lie that God's highest goal is for us to be happy.

"God would want me to have this, after all, it's what I want, it will make me happy and He is my father who loves me, right?"  ~A common line of reasoning when we're trying to justify our desires.

The truth is, God's highest goal for us is to be mature, holy, obedient, spiritual adults. His desire is for us to grow out of immature selfishness and into selfless love.

Sacrifice is better for us than indulgence.

It is true that He's our Father, but He doesn't want us to be perpetual infants.

Many soldiers have sacrificed to give us freedom in this country. Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice to give us freedom from sin and eternal destruction.

Plants offer a great example, when they grow to maturity they give of themselves. An obvious example is a fruit tree, when it matures it bears fruit for us to pick and be nourished. But even weeds give of themselves. For example, Dandelions are full of nutrition and a tea of nettles can offer help against allergies.

Let us stop searching for opportunities to treat ourselves.

Let us search for opportunities to give of ourselves.