Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

October 21, 2009

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes
But in having new eyes.
---Marcel Proust---
Prayer is the mother
And daughter of tears.
It is an expiation of sin,
A bridge across temptation,
A bulwark against affliction.
It wipes out conflict,
Is the work of angels,
And is the nourishment
Of everything spiritual.
---St. John Climacus---

Blind Bartimaeus

Sunday’s reading in the gospel of Mark is the story of Bartimaeus, who called out to Jesus on the Jericho road, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." When Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, he replied, "Lord, I want to see."

In Mark’s gospel, stories of the blind receiving sight are sandwiched in between teaching sessions with the disciples, when they show themselves to be particularly obtuse. It is one of Mark’s examples of irony: the blind receive sight, but the disciples continue to be blind. And in these stories, we can see ourselves. How often are we "blind" to God’s work in the world around us? How much attention do we pay to God’s own nudging in our own lives? Are we blind to our faults because we are fixed on those of others, or in reverse: are we so fixed on our own faults that we continually compare ourselves with others?

Bartimaeus reached out to Jesus with a simple request: “Lord, I want to see.” It is a request that can become the heart of our prayers, and indeed one of our prayers in the Book of Common Prayer reads,

"O heavenly Father, who has filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works…” Others from Evening prayer, ask for God’s help in lightening our darkness, of lighting the lamp of charity, of being enfolded with the radiance of God’s light: all pointing to the need to see what God is doing, and not be lost in our own dark world."

What will we see when we pray that prayer, "Lord, I want to see?" Will we see the radiance of God? Or will we see even more deeply the needs of this world? It depends, I suppose on what form our blindness takes. But we can be sure that no matter where the adventure of having new eyes takes us, God will be there to be our light.

Be our light in the darkness, O Lord,
And in your great mercy
Defend us from all perils and dangers
Of this night;
For the love of your only Son,
Our Savior Jesus Christ.
AMEN.

Contemplative Living: Obedience

"O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts"
Psalm 95

Obedience gets a bad rap in our society and, perhaps especially, in our church. But obedience is an ancient Christian virtue, and one held in high esteem for many thousands of years.

What happened?

As faithful people everywhere began having more access to scripture and more opportunities for individual piety, their eyes were opened to the liberties taken by the institutional church. As with Adam and Eve in the garden, once you realize what has happened, you cannot return to the former state of innocence.

But obedience, which is all about listening and then acting on what has been heard, goes beyond doctrine and is deeper than law. Obedience is spiritual practice; much like weight lifting is physical practice.

I know a little about weight lifting now as I have started-in a very "light" way-to practice getting strong at a gym!

I often don't want to believe that I need to be consistent, show up, and brave my way through a work out on machines whose names I do not know.

I am obedient to the workout I have been given by the trainer who knows more than I. Another way of saying this is that I have made a commitment and have opened my ears to listen. I think the word obedience trips us up because we ask ourselves-who am I supposed to obey? To whom am I supposed to listen?

I believe that I am to listen to the voice of the Divine, and this is where practice comes into the art of obedience.

I commit myself to regular times of worship and scripture reading and prayer and contemplating the beauty of creation.

All of these, and more, reflect the voice that desires to speak with me.
Obedience is a virtue of love.
I love the Other and
I am willing to listen to the Other.

Listen with your heart softened.
Listen in the beauty of love.

Blessings,
Debra

Daily Morning Prayer

Daily Morning Prayer

This Week at St. James

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

For Matt Rogers, our Postulant
For those who are deployed and their families.

O Lord God Almighty,
As you have taught us
To call the evening, the morning
And the noonday one day;
And have made the sun
To know its going down:
Dispel the darkness of our hearts,
That by your brightness
We may know you to be the true God
And eternal light,
Living and reigning forever and ever.
AMEN.

In Closing:

Grant us, Lord,
The lamp of Charity
Which never fails,
That it may burn in us
And shed its light on those around us,
And that by its brightness
We may have a vision of that holy City,
Where dwells the true and never-failing Light,
Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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