To Commune
I finished reading Leviticus and there was little that stood out to me for writing a devotional, so this one may be more about recent experiences, rather than Scripture (forgive me).
Yesterday, I travelled to Pittsburgh to visit the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (where I might begin an M.Div program soon and East Liberty Presbyterian Church (which holds a Taize service every Wednesday).
What a great time. After visiting the seminary, looking through their museum, learning about their degree programs, and mulling over my future, the program staff of my church and I visited ELPC. Wow. What a church.
We learned about their programs, facility, staff...it was really a good staff-learning time. But the experience of the trip that I want to share with you came later, at the Taize service. I won't go into the details of what Taize is or how the services are run (http://www.taize.fr/en if you are interested). The main ideas of the service are time for silence and sung prayers.
(Lack of transition)
A while back, Pastor de Vries was talking about prayer and he said that most people pray "just" prayers: "God, just do this..." "Lord, just let that..." I realized that this had been true in my personal prayer times. We, as a culture, are so used to multitasking and always thinking or being told what to think, that we have a hard time sitting quietly. I challenge you right now to sit quietly (not moving) for a few minutes and try to empty your mind of thoughts.
And we wonder why young children have such trouble.
The Taize service was worship in a difference sense than many of us are used to. For me, it brought together the ideas of worship and meditation. It was the first dialogue I'd had with God in a while.
Go back and look at your diagrams of a dialogue from Communication 101, it shows that information flows both ways. We have to strive for this connection, to truly commune with God, in whatever way we can find it.
posted by Ben George @ 3:08 PM
3 Comments:
this taize service idea i am slightly familiar with. what you speak of particularly is one of the things that i am most excited about in my own denominational background, the Friends Church. original "Quaker" meetings were coined "silent" meetings, as they were times of group meditation and prayer. people spoke as the felt led by the "Inner Light" or Holy Spirit. there was no pastoral figure, but rather the "holy priesthood" of the church living as they ought. and God always moves powerfully in these times. very few Friends churches continue silent meetings today, and i think we're the weaker for it. our culture and generation are more in need of provocative silence and considerate reflection than ever before.
I love the "Prayer of the Just." :) It's always fun to listen to the refrains that people have in prayer. We all do it. It's easier to pick out pastors' though!
There's a little anecdote that Doug uses in his sermons sometimes. He was visiting sick folk in a hospital and ended up in the room of a non-member. After visiting for a while, Doug offered to pray but the man declined saying something about praying always involved asking for something. So, Doug asked if he could pray if he didn't ask for anything to which the guy agreed. It was a challenging experience for Doug and it's a challenging experience for any of us.
God's more than Santa Claus for adults and I think the ideas behind the Taize service are brilliant and representative of the full picture of God we should be embracing. Trouble is, I suck at it. I can barely get through an "asking" prayer without my mind wandering in a billion directions! You'll have to let me know the resources you're using for this spiritual disciplines thing, Benny.
(Another Doug connection: he went to a Taize service in France, maybe in the city of Taize and has raved about it. Sounds neat!)
Matt, the meditations book I'm using is "101 ways to scare your congregation"....no, seriously...it's "Sadhana - A Way to God: Christian Exercises in Eastern Form" by Anthony de Mello. It really has helped me to find quiet.
As for prayer, I'm just winging it, but I've made a commitment to scheduling prayer time every day (not just at meals or before bed). And I'm working on setting up an accountability system for it.
In way of Scripture reading, I do a devotional before bed, Kate and I read at least a Chapter every evening, and I try (desperately) to read and update here at least every other day.
I try to take at least one day every month for fasting and prayer.
I know this is starting to sound like a 5 steps to spiritual maturity blog, but that's not what I'm going for. These general guidelines are working for me. As I feel myself slipping, I'll modify them. Feel free to copy ideas, but my recommendation is to find a way that works best for you. Whatever connects you to God.
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