Discipleship Conference: Lectio divina workshop

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Ears Thou Hast Dug for Me

 

Psalm 40:6

aznayim karitha li , literally “ears thou hast dug for me”

“mine ears thou has opened” (KJV)

“thou has given me an open ear” (RSV)

“my ears you have pierced” (NIV)

The psalm poet was bold to imagine God swinging a pickaxe, digging our ears in our granite blockheads so that we can hear, really hear, what he speaks to us.

The primary organ for receiving God’s revelation is not the eye that sees but the ear that hears – which means that all our reading of Scripture must develop into a hearing of the word of God.

Eugene Peterson (2006), Eat This Book: A Conversation in the art of spiritual reading, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 92)

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How to Practice Lectio Divina

Father Luke Dysinger, O.S.B., is prior of St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo, Calif., where he has been a monk since 1981. A priest and physician, he writes and teaches in the fields of mystical theology and biomedical ethics. He shares on the practice of lectio divina.

# Choose a text of the Scriptures that you wish to pray. Many Christians use in their daily lectio divina one of the readings from the eucharistic liturgy for the day (find the readings here); others prefer to slowly work through a particular book of the Bible. It makes no difference which text is chosen, as long as one has no set goal of "covering" a certain amount of text. The amount of text covered is in God's hands, not yours.

# Place yourself in a comfortable position and allow yourself to become silent. Some Christians focus for a few moments on their breathing; others have a beloved "prayer word" or "prayer phrase" they gently recite.. For some, the practice known as "centering prayer" makes a good, brief introduction to lectio divina. Use whatever method is best for you and allow yourself to enjoy silence for a few moments.

# Turn to the text and read it slowly, gently. Savor each portion of the reading, constantly listening for the "still, small voice" of a word or phrase that somehow says, "I am for you today." Do not expect lightning or ecstasies. In lectio divina, God is teaching us to listen to him, to seek him in silence. He does not reach out and grab us; rather, he gently invites us ever more deeply into his presence.

# Take the word or phrase into yourself. Memorize it and slowly repeat it to yourself, allowing it to interact with your inner world of concerns, memories, and ideas. Do not be afraid of distractions. Memories or thoughts are simply parts of yourself that, when they rise up during lectio divina, are asking to be given to God along with the rest of your inner self. Allow this inner pondering, this rumination, to invite you into dialogue with God.

# Speak to God. Whether you use words, ideas, or images--or all three--is not important. Interact with God as you would with one who you know loves and accepts you. And give to him what you have discovered during your experience of meditation. Experience God by using the word or phrase he has given you as a means of blessing and of transforming the ideas and memories that your reflection on his word has awakened. Give to God what you have found within your heart.

# Rest in God's embrace. And when he invites you to return to your contemplation of his word or to your inner dialogue with him, do so. Learn to use words when words are helpful, and to let go of words when they no longer are necessary. Rejoice in the knowledge that God is with you in both words and silence, in spiritual activity and inner receptivity.

Sometimes in lectio divina, you may return several times to the printed text, either to savor the literary context of the word or phrase that God has given or to seek a new word or phrase to ponder. At other times, only a single word or phrase will fill the whole time set aside for lectio divina. It is not necessary to assess anxiously the quality of your lectio divina, as if you were "performing" or seeking some goal. Lectio divina has no goal other than that of being in the presence of God by praying the Scriptures.

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Shout to the World

Pastor Paul Long from Paul Long's Ramblings has been using my book, Spiritual Formation on the Run for his reflections. Here is his latest, reposted here with his consent.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

SHOUT TO THE WORLD (Spiritual formation on the Run)

Been a while since I last posted my reflections of my Lectio Divina exercises using Alex's "Spiritual formation on the run". Been extra busy as my wife is still in Malaysia. Not too busy to do my contemplation as it is after all being done ... "on the run". :-) If you didn't get that, that's the whole beauty of this concept. You do not have to be disappear for hours in a quiet secluded place to get close to God and "practice the presence of God". But busy I have been as all the cooking and cleaning duties are now my domain so time to type is rather limited ... but more on that as it is related to this blog's reflection and ramblings. Ah ... Brother Lawrence would be smiling in heaven at hearing this .... :-)

Ok, first this is from chapter 16 entitled: SHOUT TO THE WORLD

Elie Wiesel writes: One of the Just Men came to Sodom, determined to save its inhabitants from sin and punishment. Night and day he walked the streets and markets protesting against greed and theft, falsehood and indifference. In the beginning, people listened and smiled ironically. Then they stopped listening: he no longer amused them. The killers went on killing, the wise men kept silent, as if there were no Just Man in their midst. One day, a child, moved by the compassion for the unfortunate teacher, approached him with these words: "Poor stranger, you shout, you scream, don't you see that it is hopeless?" "Yes, I see;' answered the Just Man. "Then why do you go on?" "I'll tell you why. In the beginning, I thought I could change man. Today, I know I cannot. If I still shout today, if I still scream, it is to prevent man from ultimately changing me."

This short story from Wiesel has a powerful message for us as we struggle to live a Christian life or a life pleasing to God in the world. The world has a powerful and seductive influence on us. It knows the right buttons to push. Get this mobile phone and it will make you look sophisticated, techno-savvy and well connected. Drive this brand of car and the world will recognise you as a successful man. Do not leave home without this credit card because you are a well-travelled jetsetter. It takes a lot of effort and wisdom to resist the temptations of this world. Satan tempted our Lord Jesus with the satisfaction of fleshy desires (bread from stones), security from harm (angel's protection), and power and wealth (all the kingdoms on earth). And Satan is still tempting Jesus' disciples in these areas. Jesus taught that we, His disciples, are not of this world but are destined for another.

As new Christians, many of us were full of fire, shouting and screaming, as we tried to make people understand the danger they were in. We were like people standing at the edge of a cliff and shouting to others, "Do not walk over there. There is a cliff. You will fall over to your doom. Turn back:' And, to our astonishment and dismay, we discovered that nobody was listening to us. Nobody paid attention to our message. Nobody believed us. The people kept on walking and fell off the cliff. Soon we stopped shouting and screaming. Maybe we whispered a bit here and there. But as we stopped fighting the world, we became like the world. We were like someone swimming against a current. The moment we stopped swimming, we were swept back by the current.

I wonder how many of us have stopped swimming against the current and are even now swimming with the current. It is so easy to stop shouting and be with the crowd. Just relax a little here and there. A small white lie; a little stealing and cheating here and there. Nobody will know. We become insensitive to the needs of others. We eat, drink and are merry to excess.

The Christian life is a life of constant struggle. We struggle against our flesh, the world and Satan. We know that we cannot change man; only God can do that. However, we must always be on guard that the world does not change us. That will happen if we let down our guard and stop struggling against the world. So, brothers and sisters, let us continually encourage one another in our struggle. We cannot go at it alone; a piece of coal that falls out of the fire cools down very fast. Do not let the world change us.

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I really like Wiesel's story. And I like Alex's reflections in this chapter. I like the story as I can truly identify with it. And I like Alex's reflections especially that on materialism as this is one (of many many many many .... reason why I felt I should leave Malaysia and come to New Zealand.

Living in PJ and serving in a middle class (dare I say upper middle class?) church was killing my family. The pressure of finding the money to join in basic activities of the majority was just too hard. Too many heart breaking incidents ... like having my then 9 year old son close to tears because he was afraid that his friends would laugh at his RM 30 shoes (not cool and branded like the what others wore) was difficult for me. It was so hard not to capitulate and go for the RM 60 shoes that was more presentable (let's not even go near the RM 100 - 200 shoes) . But how could I live with myself if I bought my 9 year old shoes (in which he would outgrow in a year) that cost more than my working shoes?

In times like this (and I best not give any more example lest I be misinterpreted) I would shout (in my head and heart or else I might end up being committed to a mental institution) the values that I believe I should hold and ray my heart listens to my head. And every now and then when I cannot take it anymore I make myself unpopular by speaking to some parents or youth and tell them things like ... "Please don't buy your child a new car when he / she gets his . her driver's license." Or "Is it justifiable for you (a teenager who is not working) to pay RM 10 for a cup of coffee at coffee bean?"

Of course "nobody" goes to coffee bean anymore ... (it was that long ago :-)) and being the dummy that I am, I forgot that RM 10 was for the cheapest cup of coffee and only cheapskates like me would drink that. Yes, I went but someone paid as they wanted to chat with me over coffee and I bought the cheapest. And of course there were times when a few youth would listen to me and refrain from certain things but most of this handful soon caved in under pressure.

And yes I knew after a few years that "nobody" is listening to me. They are just tolerating me BUT like the man in the story, every now and then I needed to "shout out" not so much for the sake of others but for my own sake.

Ok, better make it clear that I am not totally against going for buying branded goods, buying nice stuff for your children, taking fancy holidays and going to StarBucks (or is that place also not cool anymore - I don't know ...) etc. Just that have seen too many Christians being so used to such things that their spending and lifestyles I feel are way to excessive in comparison to other important things. As the world's lifestyle influences them, their walk with God clearly suffers (if not them, then their children).

But "nobody" listens to me anyway, right? LOL So I am "shouting" out extra loud for myself so that I will be forced to read what I blog one day should I go astray :-)

Side note: End of this year I am taking my family when my mum comes for a visit for a nice holiday. Jennifer and I have saved up since coming and we are going to spend $2,000 holidaying. Of course there may be some who may be rolling on the floor laughing (ROTFL) because $2,000 may not seem much especially since prices of tourist holiday activities are so expensive. But for me it is a huge amount and in my spare time I have been working on the budget so I think we will manage. :-) And it has taken me a long time to get to this stage to spend money like this but I think we all deserve a good holiday as a family. I have learned from the example of some families here. They work hard, live simply, serve God and save up for family holidays. I think that is a good example of discipline and good stewardship.


So what have I been shouting about lately? Basic disciplines! My children must really resent me for this but I need to shout (and often literally!) even if they do not seem to be listening.
The floor is not the place to toss their stuff, clothes (clean or dirty) nor rubbish! So hang up your clothes and keep your rooms tidy.
The dining table must be wiped clean after meals
When you have finished your drink, wash your cup, don't leave it in the sink and soak it with water! (What an irritating habit!)
Do your chores first before going off to play!
Let me know your schedules early and not inform me at the last minute.
That should suffice, right? :-)

And of course I tell them whether they seem to be listening or not that these are basic disciplines that will help them later in life. Because not to do them is just being plain lazy! Obvious my "shouting" is also for my benefit because the most embarrassing thing would be if I be lazy and my children get the opportunity to point a finger at me and say, "Hypocrite!" :-)

One more side note ... My church's former pastor, (a wise man in my eyes) commented on Sunday that there were some difficult things in the passage he was going to preach on that needed to be heard. That was the difficulty of preaching through a book of the Bible. You can't just only preach the nice encouraging stuff and avoid the tough stuff. I wonder too in my preaching.

Very few people like to listen to the rebukes and challenges in Scripture. But I must also shout these things if I wish to be a faithful preacher of God's Word. BTW, note that the famous verses of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says the following: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Notice that of the four uses of Scripture mentioned, rebuking and correcting are two of them? Food for thought?

A final note for now ... "shouting our loud" truths (as hard as it may be to do or hear) is not totally hopeless. I see changes in people's lives. For example, my eldest now that he has a part time job faithfully tithes and has decided to do it anonymously. My heart overflows with joy and thanksgiving to God. All my "shouting for years" on financial giving, responsibility, the importance of being generous, blessing others etc has reaped benefits.

So let us indeed keep shouting to the world (and ourselves) what needs to be heard for the glory of God.

Paul's other reflections from Spiritual Formation on the Run:

the Silence in the Noise
Omission and Commission
A Burning Bush

Reflections from Spiritual Formation on the Run (2)

More meditations from Pastor Paul Long

Here's chapter 12 from Alex Tang's "Spiritual Formation on the Run" and some of my reflections. (BTW, I hope to blog on chapter 13 in a few weeks as they are closely related .... )

The Silence in the Noise

A legend has it that there was a temple built on an island which held a thousand bells, big and small, fashioned by the finest craftsmen in the world. Whenever the wind blew or a storm raged, all the bells would peal out in a symphony that send the heart of the hearer into raptures.

But over the centuries, the island sank into the sea, and with it, the temple bells. It is said that the bells continued to peal out ceaselessly, and could be heard by anyone who would listen. Inspired by this legend, a young man travelled thousands of miles, determined to hear those bells. He sat for days on the shore, facing the vanished island, and listened with all his might. But all he could hear was the sound of the sea. He made every effort to block it out. But to no avail, the sound of the sea seemed to flood his world.

He kept at his task for weeks. Each time he got disheartened he would listen to the village elders who spoke with passion of the mysterious legend. Then his heart will be aflame... only for him to be discouraged again when weeks of further effort yielded no results.

Finally, he decided to give up. Perhaps he was not destined to hear the bells. Perhaps the legend was not true. It was his final day, and he went to the shore to say goodbye to the sea, the sky, the wind, and the coconut trees. He lay on the sand, and for the first time listened to the sound of the sea. Soon he was so lost in the sound that he was barely conscious of himself, so deep was the silence the sound produced.

In the depth of that silence, he heard it! The twinkle of a tiny bell followed by another, and another, and another.., and soon every one of the thousand temple bells was pealing out in harmony, and his heart was rapt in joyous ecstasy.

This story teaches us two important lessons about listening and awareness. First, all of us have a desire to hear God's voice. We want to hear what he is saying to us. We want him to speak peace and comfort to our trials and tribulations. We have been taught early in our Christian life to set aside time for prayer and Bible reading. We call it the "quiet time.” We are told that if we have our quiet time regularly, we will hear the voice of God. If not audibly, at least we know that he speaks to us in answered prayers or through the Bible passages we read.

Two things can happen with our quiet time. One is that we come too busy and do not have time to pray and read the Bible. Then we feel guilty, and we think we have lost the opportunity to hear God's voice. The other possibility is that we continue faithfully in our prayer and Bible reading, but we find it dry and boring after a while. We also find that we do not hear God speaking to us. We must be aware that God speaks to us in many ways. He speaks to us through Word. He also speaks to us in our prayers, through other people, circumstances and dreams, and in our daily living.

For those of us who are too busy for prayer and Bible reading, aware that God still speaks to us in our busy lives. For those who disciplined in prayer and Bible reading, be careful that we do not try too hard. Like the young man on the beach who tried so hard to hear the bells by consciously shutting out the ocean sounds, we too may try too hard to hear God's voice. In the spiritual life, it is not the effort that counts. Spiritual growth is not something we build, but who we become. Sometimes, we try too hard in our spiritual life. For example, we want to have faith. Now, faith is not something we can create. There is nothing we can do to make us have more faith. Faith is a gift, something that only God can give. The only thing we can do is ask God for it.

Many of us live hectic, busy and noisy lives. A recent scientific study showed that cities have a high level of ambient noise. This level of noise can be disruptive to our well-being if we are exposed to it for too long. The noise can also cause deafness. Yet it is in our hectic, busy and noisy lives that God speaks to us. Unfortunately, many of us are already deaf to him because we have not learnt to embrace the noise until we can hear the silence within. The noisy world is like a weather storm, a typhoon. There is always a centre called the "eye" of the storm. This "eye" is a calm, quiet and peaceful area within the raging storm. We must learn to be aware of the noise around us. We can embrace the noise of the world and move beyond it into the silence within. It is in this silence that we hear the voice of God.

How do we not try too hard, and enter into the silence of our busy and noisy lives? We begin by being aware that God is in our busy and noisy lives. God is not only just present in church on Sunday. We do not leave God behind when we leave the church building after a service. God is not only present in our daily lives, but he is also speaking to us all the time. Speaking to God is prayer and Paul has taught us to pray "unceasingly." This means that it is possible to be speaking and listening to God 24/7. Since God is already with us, there is no need to try too hard to reach him. If possible, set aside some time for him alone; this is your quiet time. If not, listen for him in the happenings of your daily lives. Try to be aware of God's presence and voice in the routine, mundane activities of your daily lives. Catch a glimpse of God in a sunrise, a beautiful flower, a friendly smile, a loving touch, an opportunity to offer help, and an opportunity to receive help. When we become aware of God's presence in our lives, each encounter is dazzling, like a sudden burst of joy. Time seems to stand still. There a deep, warm silence. And in the silence you will hear the voice of God who calls you his beloved. It is possible to hear the harmony of a thousand bells.

BTW this chapter was "coincidentally" related to my last Sunday's sermon. :-) How amazing is that? To me it is, ok? :-)

I have been well aware of the fact for a long time that God speaks to us in that quiet gentle voice when we learn to be silent. Verses like "Be still and know that I am God", powerful episodes like God speaking to Elijah when he was depressed .... It has been a good reminder for me that in the hustle and bustle of life, I need to be aware of the noise around me and find God in the centre . As I reflected on this Psalm 29 added for me an additional perspective - that God can also be found in the noise and chaos! The LORD is in in control of all the "violence" and is Almighty. The more chaotic things are, the more I can be assured that God is still in control! Sounds contradictory I know but .... not sure how to express it :-)

I love to the reminder that I can and should try to catch a glimpse of God in everyday things like a smile, the sunrise etc. For me God blessed me by opening my eyes to something I have always seemed to miss until just a couple of weeks ago. THE RAINBOW! (Yes, I know the colours are wrong :-))

Now everyday I look out for rainbows (as it is the rainy seasons) and almost every day I see rainbows! NZ rainbows are incredible, I must try to carry a camera with me and take one and post it up! In Malaysia, I mostly see small incomplete looking faint faded looking ones. Here they are HUGE and WIDE so clear. I think it must have something to with the better air quality, and the fact that there are more areas where the land is level as well as the very low angle of the sun can be blinding) a few hours after sunrise and before sunset. It's as if the rainbows end is actually touching the ground.

Wow ... long post so I had better end here with this great true story from an old copy of Leadership magazine that has stuck to my mind for 20 years or more now. I can't find the actual original wordings now so excuse me if you have seen it elsewhere. This is my years of retelling of the story, adding my own sensory details :-) ...

Two friends were walking together along one of the busiest streets of New York city, during peak hours when the city was at its busiest and nosiest. As they were walking, one of them (who happened to be a Native American Indian ... a Sioux I think) suddenly stopped, grabbed his friend's hand and said, "Hey, wait, I hear a cricket!" His friend (sorry it is the white guy!) looked at his friend with disbelief and said, "You can hear a cricket? Here in the middle of the busiest street in NY city?" You got to be crazy. There's no a cricket here and even if there was, there's no way you can hear a cricket in the midst of all this noise. Why we can barely hear each other talking!"

His friend, unperturbed responds, "There is a cricket somewhere here. I tell you, I can hear it." He stops, listens intently and then with his friend moves towards a street light where there is a small plant next to it. They both bend down to look and to the amazement of his friend, there it was, a small cricket!

His friend looks at him with amazement and asks, How could you hear that tiny cricket in the midst of all this noise?" His Native American Indian friend looks at him with a smile and says, "You can if you ears are tuned to listen for such sounds." And then he continues, "Let me show you something". He puts his had in his pocket and takes out some loose change. Then he deliberately opens his hand and lets the coins drop. And immediately the people hurrying in the streets to get to their destinations, instinctively stop and their all eyes turn towards the sound of the coins hitting the pavement.

The man turns to his friend with a smile and says, "Despite their busyness and all the noise, people stopped and looked. It all depends on what our ears are tuned to listen for."

Paul's other reflections:
Omission and Commission
A Burning Bush

Lectio Divina with Eugene Peterson

Discipleship
Having Ears, Do You Not Hear?
Ancient practices help us stop merely studying the Bible, and start listening to it.
An interview with Eugene Peterson

The Bible is not a textbook. Nor is it a manual to be studied, mastered, and mechanically applied. Instead, pastor and author Eugene Peterson believes we should listen to the Word of God and reflect upon it like poetry till it infiltrates the soul.

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Lectio Divina Meditation

Lectio Divina

Introduction to Lectio Divina

Stories and Spiritual Formation

I love good stories. Good stories stimulate the emotions, challenge the intellect, and satisfy our hunger for the adventure and exploration. Stories teach us spiritual and moral lessons. Many of us have mental models which we adhere to. These act as filters or worldviews. Hence we only see what we want to see. Or in other words we only see what our minds through our mental models allow us to see. Anything that does not fit our mental models, we do not see.

That is why stories are an important means of communication. It cuts through our mental models into our subconscious. Jesus uses parables which are a form of stories. Stories are also used to teach in other religious traditions.

Anthony Mello was a Jesuit and well known spiritual director and retreat director. He died in 1987. Mello used many stories collected from different religious traditions to teach spiritual truths. He had published many books of collections of these stories, often adding his insight after the stories which I have found very valuable. The Song of the Bird is one of my personal favourite. Another must read is Sadbana:A Way to God.

Here is one story from The Song of the Bird

Wheat from Egyptian Tombs

A handful of wheat,

five thousand years old,

was found in the tomb

of one of the kings

of ancient Egypt.

Someone planted the grains

and, to the amazement of all,

the grains came to life

When a person is enlightened his or her words become like seeds, full of life and energy. And they can remain in seed form for centuries until they are sown in a receptive fertile heart.

I used to think the words of scripture were dead and dry. I know now that they are full of energy and life. But it was my heart that was stony and dead, so how could anything grow there?

A very good reflective question. Compare that to Jesus' parable of the sower, seeds and different soil. (Matt. 13:3-9)

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In The Upper Room

A close personal friend and brother John Chong Ser Choon has written an excellent book for Lenten Meditation.

John is the Retreat Director of Trinity Life Centre.

In the Upper Room is based on John 13-17. John Chong highlights the record of John the beloved disciple of the conversations held around the communal meal of the Last Supper. It contains readings for each of the 40 days of Lent with his Sunday meditations on the Trinity.

I will be using this book for my Lenten meditation this year.

The book is available at some Christian bookstores. You can also get it by contacting John at john@trinitylife.com