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The Practice of Availability & Obedience Here am I the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your Word. (Luke 1:38)
This prayer of Mary is one I am trying to pray through these days of Advent. I am hearing the call to pray and fast and yet differently. It seems more like simple watching. . . intentional breathing. . . keener attentiveness. Seasons like this are few and far between in my life. Advent it seems is a call to Attention. The Gospel text for this week is from Matthew-- Jesus warns
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 24:42
Things too deep to articulate are happening within me and teh inability to articulate them makes me feel ignorant. For awhile I thought that was humility but now I am sure it is ignorance. Humility is knowing a lot but not thinking highly of yourself. Ignorance is knowing you don't know a lot. I sense a next phase of education coming-- not in the conventional sense-- but in the classroom of the Spirit. As in, "the Spirit will teach you."
I must first learn what it means to show up for class. To be able to truly say, "Here am I the servant of the Lord." That's what it means to show up. It's the practice of radical availability.
That is why I am trying to fast. I am so bad at it-- so please give the Holy Spirit permission to prompt you to pray for me.
Labels: passion year, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 11/30/2004 06:38:00 PM | 0 comments
Saturday, November 27, 2004
The Practice of Treasuring and Pondering More and more I appreciate the presence of Mary in the Christmas story. Despite being at ground zero of the whole cataclysmic event she displays an amazing sense of being present in the moment. Following what must have been a horrific birth in a barnyard come a band of sheep herders (not exactly who you would want dropping by the hospital for a visit) with a wild story about angels. Luke, in chapter 2, offers Mary's response:
19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
What would it look like to treasure up something and ponder it in my heart? I don't think I do that much. I think it would look like stillness and feel like slowing and seem like freedom. The idea affords another great practice for the days of Advent-- Treasuring up pondering in the heart-- the inmost place of being.
It reminds me of another phrase-- for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.
I've been pondering this scrap sent me by Steve Moore recently. It is from William Law's "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life," 1729:
Let every day, therefore, be a day of humility;
condescend to all the weaknesses adn infirmities of your fellow creatures,
cover their frailties, love their excellencies,
encourage their virtues, relieve their wants,
rejoice in their prosperities,
compassionate their distress,
receive their friendship,
overlook their unkindness,
forgive their malice,
be a servant of servants,
and condescend to the lowest offices
to the lowest of mankind.
Labels: passion year, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 11/27/2004 02:16:00 PM | 1 comments
The Practice of Reversal Late this morning I made my way out into our garage to do some pre-winter cleaning. It is both disgusting and convicting to have so much stuff we don't need out there. And then to contemplate another truck load of stuff headed our way this Christmas. More than ever, I want to reappropriate Christmas. It strikes me as completely inane to continue in the consumeristic matrix. Why do we just keep getting and giving more and more stuff? Wouldn't it be great if we opted out of all that buying and owning and instead pooled our monies into a huge anonymous fund, wiring it as a surprise to thousands of orphanages around the world on Christmas morning. This would get us closer to Mary's prayer (Luke 1)
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
Christmas could be a time of inventing a new practice: reversal.
The Bible defines rich far below the threshold of Forbes Magazine or VH1's Fabulous Life. Once I heard Billy Abraham cite John the Baptist's definition of being rich as "two coats." If I were pastoring a church-- and someday maybe I'll get that assignment-- I've got some fun ideas. Early in Advent we would invite everyone to bring a coat to church to give away. Once everyone was safely locked inside the building we would give them two choices. They could come to the alter and leave behind 1. The coat they brought to give away, or 2. The nicer coat they were wearing, leaving them with the old coat to take home and wear. Option 2 reveals the practice of reversal. What a living reminder! All winter long as the old coat got worn, its wearer would think and pray and rejoice over some poor person being blessed with their nice new Gap winter coat.
It would be interesting to see what other imaginative ideas of the practice of reversal a congregation could dream up.
What if for one month we practiced reversal in giving. We would give 90% of our income to the Kingdom and keep 10%.
Back to the garage. Our son, David (4), obviously inspired by my "stuff reorganization" began to go through a lot of his stuff. Donning a Santa Hat underneath his crash helmet, he rode his scooter around the driveway. Each lap he would pick up one of his toys and give it to me, shouting Ho Ho Ho. I overheard him out in the street at one point shouting in his best Santa vocal in the cadence of the closing words of "The Night Before Christmas," "Forgiveness to All and to all a Good night."
Reversal.
Labels: passion year, theology
posted by John David Walt | at 11/27/2004 01:30:00 PM | 2 comments
Getting Started Theology - Doxology = ideology.
Doxology :- Theology = idolatry.
Theology + Doxology = reality.
Theology x Doxology = eternity.
Labels: theology
posted by John David Walt | at 11/27/2004 01:51:00 AM | 0 comments
Today...