Friday after Ash Wednesday - The Way of the Cross

Admirers of nature, like Henry David Thoreau, touch on the value of walking to strengthen the body, mind, and soul. How often have we heard an older person say that they enjoy their daily "constitutional" - a habit of walking the neighborhood or some other set path.  Current exercise gurus tout the importance of walking as a way to exercise every muscle of the body.

The spiritual practice of walking has been part of religious tradition for centuries. Meditative walking is as much a part of spiritual practice as sitting meditation. Meditative walking involves mindful attention to each step taken, to the in and out of one's breath. It is done slowly and with no particular destination in mind. In other words, Renee Miller says,  "it is walking in order to walk. It is the reason for the practice and the end of the practice. The time spent in the middle is time of union with the Divine." (Strength for the Journey, 114)

The centuries old practice of the Way of the Cross (or as some call it, the Stations of the Cross), is a way of combining the spiritual practice of walking with a conscious meditation on the passion and death of Jesus.

As we make the journey along the Way of the Cross, we must first acknowledge that this devotion is first and foremost prayer.  It isn't an intellectual exercise.  Rather, we must see it in the context of our relationship with God.  As we read through the text of each of the stations and look at the artistic renderings, we discover an invitation to enter into a gifted faith experience of who Jesus is for all humanity. It beckons us open our hearts to be touched and leads us to express our response in prayer.
Walking the walk slowly and deliberately enabling us to remember is that this is an imaginative exercise.  Its purpose is not a historical examination of "what really happened" on that day in history but about something far much more profound.  It is an opportunity to use this long standing Christian practice to let Jesus touch our hearts deeply by showing us the depth of his love.  The context is the historical fact that he was made to carry the instrument of his death, from the place where he was condemned to die, to Calvary where he died, and that he was taken down and laid in a tomb. By this we begin to realize that Jesus wants to use any means available to move our hearts to know his love personally and deeply. By moving deliberately along "the way" we can get caught up in the mystery of God's love as we imaginatively visualize the "meaning" of Christ's passion and death.

The point of this exercise is to lead us into gratitude. It will also lead us into a sense of solidarity with all our brothers and sisters. In our busy, high tech lives we can too easily get out of touch with the sufferings of real people in our world. By using our bodies as well as our minds as we journey with Jesus in the Stations, we may only begin to imagine the experience of those who are tortured, unjustly accused or victimized, sitting on death row, carrying impossible burdens, facing terminal illnesses, or simply fatigued with life as was Jesus in his last hours.

Each Friday in Lent, St. Luke's Church is open for individuals, families, and groups to make this prayer walk. Meditation aids are provided. The scheduled time is Friday evening at 7 PM, however, one can make the journey at anytime on any day - and it doesn't have to be in church. This Lent, as we all seek to Journey Deeper, let's use our time earnestly to begin to "walk the talk" of our discipleship.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday: Time to Center

Photo: Getty images

Every day as I sit in front of my computer to write a letter, compose an article, construct a bulletin or do something related to my work, I get frustrated because the machine often does not work as fast as I want it to. Stepping back a bit, I recognize how silly this frustration is. All I need to bring to mind is a world without these marvelous machines. How long it took me to hand-write a draft, type it up, and then type it again (and maybe even again) once I discovered all the mistakes in the finished product. This is a perspective unknown to recent generations who began their learning in front of an iPad or some other computerized gizmo.

In all this, we begin to realize that we move at a pace in daily life that keeps our soul as busy as our bodies - our unconscious as full as our conscious minds. We switch from idea to idea, task to task, observe images, have thought, experience emotions with the speed of the computers that are suppose to make our lives easier.  No wonder so many people in our day find it difficult to pray or to perceive a Divine Presence in their lives. They encounter even greater difficulty when people like me say that the best way to become aware of this presence and to tap into its power is to, well, pray.

Interestingly, we deceive ourselves if we think this is a problem unique to the modern age. Since the beginning of humanity, the press of daily life has made prayer a problem - something often left to others - to priests, monks, nuns, and those who seemingly have more time and space for such things. No wonder then, that contemplative prayer has been part of our Christian practice from ancient times. Its modern counterpart, centering prayer, is not only a way to pray but has the potential to make a significant impact on the pattern of our lives even when we are not "praying."

You see, the problem with prayer is that it requires us to slow down. It actually requires us to be still. How can we master the focus needed to be aware of the Divine much less to commune with that presence when we are continually assaulted by those same ideas, images, feelings, thoughts, and emotions that were so present to us even before we sat down to pray. Even as we try to calm ourselves inwardly, the demands of tonight's meeting, or the need to arrange the little league car pool, or even figure out what will be for tonight's dinner soon impinges on our mental, emotional, and spiritual space. This constant chatter makes our efforts to pray way too hard and we "throw in the towel," frustrated that this "prayer thing" is beyond us. 

Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk and a master of centering prayer, teaches that we are not able to see the fruits of this prayer while we are praying, as when others notice that our spiritual practice of centering prayer has made a difference in us. The practice of centering prayer enables us to "let go" more easily by being less and less focused on those things that seem so urgent (and are often ultimately unimportant). As we develop the "muscle memory" involved in this practice, we gradually see that many things over which we fret have little or no real impact on the people we are called to be.

For more information on centering prayer, you may want to download the simple and practical guide found here: Thomas Keating's guide to centering prayer

Ash Wednesday - Developing Spiritual Practices

In his Prime Performance System, Dr. Jim Taylor* teaches that practice is the foundation of success in athletics: it’s what you do that determines whether you do or do not achieve your goals. While the spiritual life is not an athletic contest, there are some interesting parallels that arise.

• Practice like you compete. Simply put, practice has little real significance unless it is aimed at a goal - the competition that tests our abilities. We do not "compete" in the spiritual life, however, our spiritual "practice" must have a higher purpose than just our immediate well-being. It must be future oriented - namely that we undertake spiritual disciplines so that we are fit when spiritual challenges encounter us. For example, if we daily practice ways to "depend on God" even when it seems we don't "need" God, when the day comes (a serious illness, the loss of a loved one, a stressful family situation), we naturally and almost automatically recognize God's presence and the inner strength that a life with God provides. 

• Consistency is what often separates great athletes from good athletes. Regular routines in practice develop what some call "muscle memory." This is true in many areas of our lives. Take the simple act of brushing your teeth. Do you make every movement intentionally? Or has the daily routine of moving the brush inside your mouth made the process from beginning to end, nearly automatic? I am sure you think of other things when your brush your teeth. We need to develop our "spiritual muscles" in a similar way - by consistent repetition we can raise our spiritual awareness from the mere task at hand to a more transcendent purpose. 

• Experiment with new things. Dr. Taylor teaches that the only way to improve as an athlete is to experiment and try new things. But he also recognizes that improvement is often difficult: it takes time and is often frustrating. Experimenting can makes us uncomfortable because new things are unfamiliar. At first, they don’t feel good, and sometime they don’t seem to work. Yet, despite these obstacles, to achieve the higher purposes for which we strive in the spiritual life, we must be open to try new things, physically, emotionally, mentally, and with the varied traditions we have inherited. Only through experimentation can we find that mixture that will lead us to even greater awareness of the power of the Spirit in our lives.

• Maintain a healthy perspective. We live in a culture in which we are led to believe that everything can be accomplished quickly and with little or no effort. But reality is just the opposite. Often we too late discover that anything in life worth doing takes commitment, time, and energy. If we buy into the ‘fast and now’ perspective, we may be doomed to an experience of the spiritual life that is filled with frustration and dissatisfaction. Consequently, we soon come face-to-face with the normal challenges of life noting little or no growth or less real meaning and purpose in our lives.

• Seek to maximize the quality of spiritual practice. The quality of any specific practice will have a great impact on how we develop as a disciple of Christ and the difference that makes in our daily lives. Specifically, it enables us to get the most out of a spiritual practice, thereby moving us closer to spiritual growth. Quality practice enables us to ingrain effective physical, spiritual, and mental skills and habits that can prepare us well for the challenges Christian disciples face in our modern world. Our goal, then, must be to engage in "high-quality" spiritual practices every day. We can find these "high-quality" practices in the teachings of spiritual masters through the ages - or by following the advice of others who have made the journey before us. 

So, as we launch into our Lenten pilgrimage and experiment with new spiritual practices, we should remember a few things: (1) the goal of spiritual practices is never the practice itself, but the higher value of intimacy with God; (2) many practices become richer and deeper when we experience them with others, rather than by ourselves; and, (3) like any other discipline, the spiritual disciplines don’t come easy. So don’t be discouraged. Practice, and don’t be discouraged.

_____

*Dr. Jim Taylor, "

Practice is the Foundation of Athletic Success" The Huffington Post 

04/29/2016, updated Dec 06, 2017. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jim-taylor/practice-is-the-foundatio_b_9806606.html

Strength for the Journey: A beginning

As has become my custom during the days of Lent, I hope to make a faithful pilgrimage with the people of St. Luke's, Lebanon, as we Journey Deeper during this holy season.

To guide us along the way, I plan to use the reflections in Renee Miller's Strength for the Journey, as a starting point. You may see a quote from Miller's work from time to time as well as other sources that provide the meat in an otherwise "meatless" season (as in the old days of fasting and abstinence). I also hope to have an original thought or two along the way.

I hope that these blog entries help you as you seek to Journey Deeper with us this Lent. And yet, none of us makes this journey alone. If you find these reflections helpful, please share how with us in the comments section of the blog or on the linked portions of our Facebook page. Even more important, if you have a thought that arises from these starting points, please share it with us. We will learn and grow together as we share with one another the challenges we encounter on our Lenten pilgrimage.

As with any pilgrimage, we need to prepare ourselves for the journey. Here is a prayer to use in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, the day we will launch out to Journey Deeper.

A Prayer for the days before Ash Wednesday

God Our Father,

As we prepare to begin Lent, help us to remember what these days before Lent are about.

We thank you first of all that you love all of us as your children, and that through the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus, we receive forgiveness for our sins. Help us to celebrate and live that message of forgiveness by forgiving those who have sinned against you.

Lord, we know that you created the world and you created us. You created all that is good for the body and the soul. Enable us to enjoy these few remaining days before Lent in a spirit of celebration of the goodness of your creation, so that, through our fasting and abstinence, we may come to an even deeper appreciation of all that you have given. 

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.