On the eve of newness

This is a time when clearing out the build up of "stuff" is a prelude to a time of intense creativity. There is the strongest sense of "get ready" because there is coming a flood of intense art making, writing and the building of relationships (new and old). It is not easy to make these kinds of changes, it requires making the mess so much bigger in the process of reorganizing. But the satisfaction of reusing materials to complete the preparation and sending unwanted things to a new home clears both the studio and the mind. So, it is with great anticipation thatIi prepare for the newness that is coming.

The space in between

There is a distance between us, a gap that is invisible to the casual observer. The space between two people and the space between two buildings and the space between an artwork and a viewer and the space between an artist and their materials and the space between the physical and the divine and the space between the sensuous stuff of life and the rational intellect of our minds. It is in this place that great questions are formed, philosophy has its way, art of all kinds is birthed and religion finds a home. When we expect an answer that ends the questions we leave the gap and move on. So many do not even know that the gap is waiting for them to be enriched by the struggle for meaning, challenged by the transcendent nature of meeting the other in the space that lies in between.

moments...

The moments pass us by, we are too distracted to notice the connection, the person, the event. Those moments lead to other moments that we will never see, because we failed to do the simple task of, "paying attention." It is essential for a life well-lived. Look carefully, see with your eyes wide open, listen to the inner voice of prompting, look for connections. When we experience the moment, it leads to other moments and events and people and an ongoing chain of life-changing interactions that echo into our future. So, be alert, life in the present, calm your mind, be where you are, listen carefully and the moments of meaning will become a lifetime of rich encounters. Remember, pay attention.

A nestled soul

So as I sifted through these thoughts and pondered on the possibility of praying without ceasing, I think I begin to see some light in the process. The three ways of praying with three ways of positioning ourselves in God open a way to a different kind of life. We pray to God, we set our will to God and we give our wishes to God. Now these sound like so many other prayer talks, but the other three ways have a newness to me that is worth exploring.

“Motion towards” – To me this implies the forward motion of our lives in primarily the physical world. This is our getting up and going to work and playing in the park and reading a good book and researching a beloved topic and pursuing the life we are called to live here on this earth. This is a part of praying without ceasing, living out our lives in a continual movement towards God in the life He has laid out before us, not written in stone but a life to be discovered in the simple and the complex aspects of life.

“Accession to” – This is the upward call of Christ to be ever mindful of the spiritual realities that permeate our time here on earth. To be aware of the majesty, the power, the overarching immensity of God, and the multidimensionality of God. This is a mindset, an orientation of our lives that acknowledges our finitude and dependence on a power greater than us. It is a wordless awareness that our lives are not ours, but bought at a great price in love.

“Nearness at” – This phrase made me think that a God that is intimate, near us, is so much more than a distant God of power and might. This aspect of praying without ceasing is the closeness of God through the Holy Spirit, connecting with us at the deepest level of our souls. It is an intersection that words do not easily define. It is the life of God within us, nourishing us, encouraging us, protecting us, holding us, it is those ongoing prayers that have no words yet speak in great volumes through our souls.

So, in my simple love of words, for me, I have found the possibility of praying with out ceasing, setting my life, orientating my mind and nestling my soul in a life devoted to serving the God we name as Lord.

The endless voice from within

“Pray Without Ceasing” I Thessalonians 5:17
This little phrase is key to a life lived in simple communion with God. For most of my Christian experience, I found it an impossible concept to consider a reality to be lived. I saw prayer as an active, usually verbal articulation of concerns, requests, etc. In recent months, I have sought to unpack what these words might mean and if they could be lived out.
I am not a trained theologian but I am passionate about words and the meanings within them, so with a Vines Bible Dictionary and a Strong’s Concordance, I search for indicators as to what these words might mean.
I found the word “pray” in this case to be the word proseuchomal. It means simply “to pray to God.” But upon further looking into the two parts of the word, I found some interesting results:
Pros – Has three ways of being used, “motion towards”, “accession to”, and “nearness at”.
Euchomal – Also has three ways, “to wish”, “to will”, and “to pray”.
The next two words, “without ceasing’ seem to be found in one word, adialeiptos. What is fascinating about this word is that it means, “that which is constantly recurring”. It specifically does not imply something that does not have interruption but rather it is referring to something that is ongoing and implies a regenerative experience.

Submerged

It is in the darkness that we find our true character. When the light has dimmed, we face ourselves, without the visual clutter of identity trappings we have purchased. The lightless times are gifts for us to reconsider our lives: where we are, where we are going, where we have come from, who we are, who we want to become, what we have been. It is not surprising that Jonah and Jesus spend three days in darkness, one in the belly of a fish, the other in the belly of death. Both get spat back out into life. Jonah is our point up to Jesus, and both are reminders that we all go through submerged times when light has failed and we cry out our anguish and come face to face with our deepest fears. Easter is a yearly reminder of life after the darkened tunnel. Spring glows with new life after the barren winter, green bursts forth from seemingly dead branches, blossoms adorn tree and plant. It is good to be reminded of the growth that comes from our winters, to assure us again that the dark cold always ends and a new season greets us with such potential.

Eve of the Palm

Thunder clouds rolled in and dropped their wet load over the city, just after sunset. An ominous reminder of the beginning of Holy Week. Darkness, cold and suffering are essential elements of life, before hope can be rejoiced in. How often, we dream of the monotony of paradise: blue water, white beaches and palm branches waving in a gentle breeze. Palm branches are meant to be waved this wekend, but not as a sign of the absence of stress but as the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and victory over death. Yes, the beach is an important place for the restoration of our soul, but Jerusalem is where the test of our faith will be played out when the crowd recognizes us as one of his followers. What shall we say? We waved the palm branch wildly in anticipation of sharing in the victory, but the reality of following in his path requires embracing the thunder clouds of life.

A Deep Place of Contentment

What I have discovered is that the stillness is in my soul. It is a deep place of contentment in the path set before me and I walk it with confidence in the direction that has been set. It does not mean I do not stumble and fall, that is the way of life, it is the getting up and continuing that we are measured by. The stillness and knowing operate at a soul level that creates a foundation for the activeness of my life.

The “be-ing” is a way of viewing myself as a part of the new humanity that Christ calls us to live in and as. We are part of the kingdom of God, a group of people that live to see others operate in new found peace and vitality to pursue their dreams. Becoming a human being rather than merely a human doing is essential for our growth and well being. The doing is not the problem in itself but doing without being is empty of life-giving power. George Bernard Shaw gives us a wonderful sense of how to live fully being and fully doing.

"This is the true joy in life, The being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a great one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievance complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

Shaw gives us the four “beings” of life. These are the four “be’s” of being still and being empowered to fully life out our callings.
1. “Being used for a purpose”-when we are still before God, we are affirmed in our purpose in life. He communes with us to give us strength and direction.
2. “Being used for a great purpose”-seeing ourselves as part of Christ’s new humanity, we are involved in greatness as we follow Him.
3. “Being thoroughly worn out by the end”-we need to run the race with all we have, using the resources that we are given to act upon the call we have received.
4. “Being a force of nature”-the stillness of God is not passive, but powerfully connected to the creative forces that shaped our universe, our world and the transformation of our souls.

So it is with confidence that I share a part of my journey with you, that God will reveal his call upon your life and empower you to walk in the way he has set before you. Be still and know that you are an essential part of the creative work of God on the earth.

Wrestling with this notion

All of my adult life I have wrestled with this notion that we should be “still” before the Lord. When I am still, I fall asleep because I have been doing so much that exhaustion takes over when ever I stop. I have sought out much advice from those more mature in the faith and usually have received the comment that I am doing too much and should lighten the load I carry, and then I would be able to find stillness in the Lord. As you probably know, that has not been the answer that I have found for my life.

The following is a brief look at how I have come to terms with the energy level I have, the vision that drives me and the way I have found stillness in my life. I used to be accused of having multiple adrenaline glands and how unfair that is to others that move more slowly. I find that rather than comparing ourselves to others. We need to seek out what it is that God has called us to do and use whatever resources available to us to accomplish it. I have been gifted (and cursed, if you watch MONK on USA) with an active mind, where ideas never cease and the will to see them actualized. I have patience to pursue them over many years and the endurance to weather much criticism. When I finally stopped listening to advice that was contrary to how God has made me, I have found much peace.