St Catherine’s Monastery
As I continue to reflect on the phrase: Rest in the Moment, I realized that this is not something that comes to us naturally. We need guides to lead our journey. Thinking about this reminded me of this post from a couple of years ago which I thought you might enjoy revisiting. Make sure you listen to the song – using photos from last year’s Celtic retreat, which I added at the end.
Several years ago Tom and I had the privilege of visiting St Catherine’s monastery in the Sinai desert. This is one of the oldest working monasteries in existence, and monastic life in the area dates back to the 4th century. Evidently at one point there were something like 3,000 hermits living in the hills around the site. However the history, of St Catherine’s monastery goes much further back than that. Tradition has it that St Catherine’s monastery sits at the base of Mt Sinai. Many believe that is also the site for Moses’s encounter with God in the midst of the burning bush.
I was thinking about this over the weekend and wondering what it must have been like for the Israelites to live out in the desert. It had never struck me before that God did not send them out without a well seasoned guide. Moses had lived out in the desert before, and if tradition is correct then he brought them back to the same part of the desert that he was familiar with. Maybe he even brought them back to the home that he had lived in for all those years, the place where he raised his family, the place where he know how to live without allowing the desert to consume him.
Moses would have known how to find water, how to track the animals and how to provide shelter. Not only did Moses provide guidance and leadership for them, but God also provided a pillar of cloud to guide them through the day and a pillar of fire to light the night. Talk about overkill, but a people who were not used to desert life probably needed a lot of help in finding their way.
As I thought about this I was reminded of the Australian explorers who ventured into the desert interior of my country. Some of them took aboriginal guides with them, native peoples who knew how to recognize the tracks of animals and signs that water was close. These explorers survived. Others, like Burke and Wills, took no aboriginal guides. They perished in the wilderness.
God does not send us out into the desert to die either. We are not without lots of well seasoned guides either. It is reassuring to know that thousands have walked out into the desert, led by God, before us and not only survived but thrived and grown in intimacy with God as a result of their experiences.
My own guides are many and varied. There are those I know only by the stories I have read – people like Moses and Aaron who not only guided the Israelites so many thousands of years ago but who continue to inspire and direct us. Others like the Celtic saint Patrick, Elizabeth Fry, and modern day saints like Mother Teresa, have guided not just my life but all our lives in wilderness times. For most of us there are other lesser known guides too, like our parents, pastors and friends who have walked both beside and ahead of us through the desert places.
Who are your Moses figures who have wandered in the desert ahead of you and established a home for you? Who are the ones you can rely on to find water, food and shelter for you in desert places? Take some time to give thanks to God for them today.
The best place to find rest is in the desert. This is one of the thoughts that occurred to me as I contemplated yesterday’s phrase: Rest in the moment.
It is in the seemingly dry and barren places that the distractions drop away and we are able to relax (unless of course we are dying of thirst but that is another story). It is in the wilderness, that we grow and learn to follow God rather than our own desires. Here we are not subject to the enslavement of busy work that sometimes overwhelms us with its burdens like Egypt did to the Israelites. Nor do we carry the responsibility of fruitful living where the demands of sowing, growing, and harvesting can be just as consuming, as it was for the Israelites once they entered the promised land.
In the wilderness we learn to let go and trust in God or we perish. And letting go makes room for new life. Mary Mrozowski, one of the founders of Contemplative Outreach tells us:
to welcome and to let go is one of the most radically loving, faith-filled gestures we can make in each moment of each day. It is an open-hearted embrace of all that is in ourselves and in the world.
What do you think?
When I was in Denver a couple of weeks ago, Jennifer Herrick gave me the photo above. It is made completely of the words rest in the moment. It has been a wonderful inspiration for me as I contemplated life and faith this week.
These last couple of months have been rough ones for me. Many of you know that several weeks ago the building on our property on Camano Island was vandalized, and in spite of the sense of God’s presence with us in the discernment process we are going through, I still struggle with questions of what if? when? and how?
As well as that I have faced some challenges in my personal life. I have developed arthritis in my foot which has made two of my greatest pleasures – walking and gardening – impossible. Whether it is for a season or forever I do not know.
What I am learning, in the midst of these challenges is to let go, rest and enjoy the gifts of each moment. Paul’s words in Philippians come to mind.
I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Phil 4:11-13 NLT)
To rest in the moment, find our contentment in God and fully savour the depth of revelation of God each moment holds, we must learn to let go and be content no matter what our circumstances. Sometimes it is a letting go of things that we love to do or people that we care about. Sometimes it is a letting go of hopes for the future. Sometimes it is just a letting go of busyness and fast paced lifestyles. Whatever it might be, we will never learn to rest fully in the presence of God unless we can relinquish our desire to be in control of our lives.
What is Your Response?
Sit quietly with your eyes closed and your hands clasped gently in your lap. Take some deep breaths in and out and relax yourself into the presence of God. Read through Paul’s words several times or take time to contemplate the prayer and photo above. Savour the wonder of God’s warm embrace. What distracts your attention from being fully attentive to God? What resentments and frustrations surface? Where have you tried to control your life and so clouded your enjoyment of God in this present moment? How is God asking you to respond?
As I think of what it means to rest in each moment, I am reminded of Ann Voskamp’s words in her important book One Thousand Gifts:
Life is too urgent to be lived fast, too important to be consumed in a blur of activity, too precious to not take notice of the God moments, the God love that bursts out in an unexpected hugs and unanticipated beauty.
We love to be able to move fast, map out our lives and feel we are in control. Then we get sick, lose our job, our spouse dies. We lose control and in grasping to secure the reigns of our lives again we find we can never put them back together in the way they were before. We get angry, blame God, long for the things that are no longer possible, become resentful. In the process we often miss the God moments all around us.
What is your response?
Listen to the song below. While you do so look around you. What sounds, sights, fragrances that you don’t usually notice catch your attention? What new aspects of God do they reveal to you? In what ways do they encourage you to rest more fully in each moment.
Imagine if the local church became the place in culture to experience creativity, beauty and transcendence.
This compelling statement at the beginning of J.Scott McElroy’s new book Creative Church Handbook: Reclaiming the Power of the Arts in Your Congregation, really caught my attention. This probably does not surprise you as I am convinced that the stirring of imagination and creativity within all of us is an essential tool to help us move forward into God’s creative future. My own awakening of creativity over the last ten years has strengthened my faith in amazing ways so it has been a delight to read through this book and explore new and exciting ways to incorporate art and dance into the church.
This book is a wonderful place to start in exploring creativity within the church both as an expression during worship services as well as for outreach into the community. I was impressed at the breadth of Scott’s exploration of creativity and the thoroughness with which he details ways to use arts, music, and dance in a variety of ways.
My favourite chapter, however is his exploration of how to use creative arts beyond the church walls. He gives interesting examples of arts in use to reach out to the homeless, for healing therapy and to help connect businesses in the community to name just a few possibilities.
This book is a great resource for both novices and those already well seasoned in the use of arts in the church – a wonderful creative tool that will stir your imagination and that of your congregation in important ways.
It is still over a week till father’s day but I wanted to get this litany up early for those who want to use it to do some preparation for the day. I have interspersed scripture verses that help me to affirm the characteristics of God that I believe are also attributes of a good father.
God our eternal father,
Who made our earth and all it contains,
Today we thank you for the gift of fathers
And for the men who have fathered us as mentors and guides.
For us, there is one God, the Father who is the ultimate source of all things and the goal of our lives. (1 Cor 8:6 The Voice)
Generous and providing God,
We thank you for the good gifts you provide through fathers,
Guide them to be good role models and loving to all their children.
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.[a] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. (James 1:17 NLT)
Blessing and just God,
We thank you for fathers who teach justice and uphold your truth,
Strengthen them to handle difficult situations in a loving way.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Eph 1: 3 NLT)
Protecting and kind God,
We thank you for those who father alone,
Support and guide them, help them to be a father like you.
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. (Ps 68:5)
Comforting and merciful God,
We thank you for good memories of fathers we have lost,
Continue to nurture and surround us with their love.
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. (2 Cor 1:3-4,)
Inclusive and embracing God,
We thank you for welcoming us as a father into your eternal family,
May we cherish all your children as if they were our own.
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (1 Jn 3:1)
Eternal, and home keeping God,
We thank you for preparing an eternal home,
Where all peoples will find a place of belonging and abundance.
There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? (Jn 14:2)
God our Father,
We thank you for your Father’s heart,
Bless through it all fathers, mothers, children and creatures of the earth,
Strengthen us all with your fathering love,
Enable us to become the loving, caring persons we are meant to be.
Amen.
This is the last of my series on God as Father. You may like to check out the full series:
Meditation Monday: The Father heart of God
Let’s Get Creative for Father’s Day
And for those who want to balance this with maternal images of God check out my posts from the week before Mother’s day:
Meditation Monday – Connecting to the Mother heart of God
Biblical Maternal Images of God by Shiao Chong
Maternal Images of God – a video and a prayer
Let’s Get Creative – Honouring Our Mothers
Saturday June 20th we are recording at the Shafer Baille mansion for an mp3 we are putting together of responsive readings, liturgies and songs from last year’s Celtic retreat. I am really excited about this project which many of you have hoped for and been prodding me to produce for some time now.
I have done my part in both writing and recording some of the liturgies. And my Australian voice sounds pretty good if I do say so myself. Our musicians Matt and Sundee Frazier have also done their part recording their songs, some written especially for the retreat last year.We have also recruited people to read scripture. Now, however we need some others to help. (no I am not looking for your money… yet!) We are looking for 4-6 people who would like to do some of the responses to my liturgies. Here is an example of what is expected: the responses are in bold.
Creator God, loving God,
Source of all life,
Compassionate, caring and generous One.
We gather in this place of your amazing generosity,
Surrounded by your rich abundance and lavish hospitality.
ALL: Hospitable and welcoming God,
We give you thanks,
for all you are and all you give to us,
through this visit to your creation.
We are blessed by your wild hospitality all around.
Berry-laden vines surround us,
Wild salad greens flourish underfoot.
Rich soil teeming with microscopic life,
Majestic trees nourished by its goodness,
Lush ferns growing in their shade.
ALL: Let us taste the goodness of our Creator,
And drink in the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice.
Let us eat of the fruits of the Spirit,
And partake of God’s overflowing generosity,
Let us join in the banquet feast of God.
In Jesus, you place the gospel at the center of our circle.
Together with Brigit, Columba, Patrick, Hilda, and all who have gone before,
you draw all of life into the sacred circle of your redeeming love,
through which all creation is related.
Jesus, you welcome all creation to your banquet feast.
ALL: Let us remember we sit at table with the oppressed and the marginalized,
And learn to share your generous and compassionate ways.
Nourished by faith, hope and love,
We welcome all who hunger and thirst,
And taste of the fruit of God’s spirit together.
If you live in the Seattle area, are available Saturday June 20th and would like to be a part of this I need to hear from you ASAP – just leave a comment below. Your reward – a free lunch, download of the mp3 and a chance to see your name in print.
A couple of days ago I was sitting watching the humming birds at our backyard feeder. They are the most amazing creatures whose very nature defies our understanding of the laws we think govern all of life. I am constantly in awe of their remarkable lives whose very existence reminds us that our God is a god of the impossible. Their wings beat at anything from 10 – 80 times a second, their heart rates can be as high as 1200 per minute. They must feed every ten minutes or so and yet many species migrate thousands of miles each year.
For example, most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds winter between southern Mexico and northern Panama. They begin moving north as early as January, and by the end of February are at the northern coast of Yucatan, gorging on insects and spiders to add a thick layer of fat in preparation for flying to the U.S. Most apparently cross the Gulf, typically leaving at dusk for a nonstop flight of up to 500 miles, which takes 18-22 hours depending on the weather. Before departing, each bird will have nearly doubled its weight, from about 3.25 grams to over 6 grams; when it reaches the U.S. Gulf coast, it may weigh only 2.5 grams. research suggests that many of them will return to the same backyard on exactly the same day each year.
Impossible you might think but why should any of this surprise us? I think that God delights in doing the impossible and loves to remind us of this in the creatures he created. After all it is not only the humming bird that defies our understanding. Bumble bees should not be able to fly according to the laws of aerodynamics. And that my golden retriever has a nose up to 30,000 times more sensitive than mine is truly remarkable.
All of this should give us hope – the God who delights in creating impossible creatures also delights in creating the impossible within and through our lives. Think of those that God has used to change history – a disgruntled tribe of slaves that fled from Egypt into the desert, a rag tag team of disciples that ran away when Jesus was crucified, a very strange and eccentric young man called Francis of Assisi, the mystic Madame Guyon who deserted her family to become a nun. That God could use any of them seems impossible, just as it seems impossible that God could use my life to make a difference in this world. Yet I have had the privilege of touching the lives of thousands.
God’s people are truly impossible people. Without God we can do nothing. With God we can do anything God asks of us and that is more miraculous than any of the amazing creatures that fill our planet.
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