O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I've been captivated by this 200 year old hymn and it's author, Anne Steele. She lived quite an interesting life. Do yourself a huge favor and go read her bio. Her hymns are alive with her love for Jesus all the while expressing her own sorrow and pain. I've copied the words to my favorite hymn of hers so far below.
1. Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel
2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust
3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there
4. Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet
Worship music is forming. It's refreshing to see music that's honest and yet hopeful.
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11 ESV)
For the last 9 or 10 weeks, I have been slowly memorizing Colossians 3:1-17. Actually, everyone in my Apprentice Group has been memorizing this passage. We started off with verses 1-2. That turned out to be pretty easy. The next week we added 2 more verses which wasn't too terribly difficult. Fast forward to about week 6. By week 6, we should have had about a dozen verses memorized. That was a lot harder. It was kind of fun though because misery loves company and we were all feeling the pressure of trying to learn the first 17 verses of Colossians 3.
I have to admit that this exercise in Bible memorization has been the most intense memorization I've done in years, probably since Bible College. It's harder than I remember it (or maybe I'm just older). All in all, I think it's been a good practice for me and our group. A few of my reflections follow.
Shared disciplines are powerful. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have done this on my own but when 6 people all commit to memorizing the same verses, it provides some extra motivation knowing that you would have to face those folks week after week. It's part of why monks rise early to pray because they know all their brothers are going to be there so they better join them. Peer pressure can be a good thing and in this case, it was a key component to us working hard at learning the assigned verses each week.
It works. Yes, you really can hide God's word in your heart. Not too long after starting this practice, this passage just happened to show up in our Easter liturgy. You can bet we all recognized it right away! I also noticed that these verses often came to mind during the day when I needed to be reminded of them. The Holy Spirit has a way of bringing Scripture we've memorized to mind at just the right time.
Scripture changes us. I don't think one could regularly memorize Scripture without meditating on it. I find myself even now thinking about these verses and what they might mean. As I hide his word in my heart, I am slowly but steadily opening up my heart to the work of the Spirit. I am being purified by the Word.
So, yes, Bible memorization is hard but it's definitely worth it. If you haven't tried it for a while, why not give it a shot?
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people; Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I had an epiphany of sorts last Sunday - namely that I am often discontent. Perhaps, I like things too settled? Maybe I don't live with tension very well? I'm not entirely sure. I do think that there is a part of all of us which longs for Perfection; we long for the return of our Lord when all things will be made right. I suppose that kind of discontentment is okay. Christians should long for the coming of the Lord. However, in the meantime, how should I live? If I were to live by my feelings of discontentment, I would jump from one job to the next, move from one city to another, hop from church to church only to still feel discontent.
It was suggested to me today that I should simply continue saying my prayers daily, receiving the Sacraments, and loving others - in other words, I should remain steadfast. After all, I am a Benedictine. I am called to a life of prayer. Part of the beauty of the Benedictine charism is its rhythm. Day in and day out, the monk prays the divine hours, fasts, works, extends hospitality only to get up and do it all again the next day (and the next, and the next). During the good times and the difficult times, I'm called to be faithful. To keep praying. To keep fasting. To keep extending hospitality. Maybe somewhere along the way, this feeling of discontentment will give way to something better? I doubt it. I tend to think the real blessing might be in living in the tension of the "almost but not yet" reality we Christians face until the coming of our Savior.
Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 8:48AM