Since my last post on my morning prayer routine, I have added a prayer included in Stookey's This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer. It's credited to 15th century Dutch reformer Erasmus of Rotterdam. I appreciate the poetry of the prayer, as well as the paradoxical—mystical, even—depiction of Jesus as the "sun that always rises but never sets." Perfectly appropriate for the morning:
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the sun that always rises but never sets. You are the source of all life, creating and sustaining every living thing. You are the source of all food, material and spiritual, nourishing us in both body and soul. You are the light that dispels the clouds of error and doubt, and goes before me every hour of the day, guiding my thoughts and actions. May I walk in your light, be sustained by your mercy, and be warmed by your love. Amen.
My wife Alyssa is currently in Kenya for two weeks attending a training event for teachers of nonviolent conflict mediation. Needless to say, with no one else in the house, I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands, and have experienced periods of stir-craziness. In the meantime, I've started praying a little more often than usual. This has been partly inspired by a longtime love affair with both private and communal liturgical prayer, but also partly because I was moved to pick up the practice again after reading Richard Beck’s posts on praying the Anglican rosary over at his blog, Experimental Theology.
I used to enjoy communal prayer much more than personal prayer, but over the last year or two I have begun to appreciate my alone time with God much more. This is due in part to experience with trial, error, and persistence in my own personal prayer life, and in part to the fact that the vast majority of the people I know aren't that into the idea of waking up in the wee hours of the morning for liturgical prayer.
I converted my tiny 9’x15’ home office—which I never used as an
office, anyway—into a prayer room, and set up a small altar with candles and a
cross in front of my wall of icons. Taking cues from Beck, last week I went out and purchased the
materials to make my own set of prayer beads. I now use them for my centering
prayer routine (see below). For the crucifix I chose the San Damiano Cross,
which inspired and initiated the ministry of St. Francis of Assisi. It is an
iconic (in the sense that it is an icon) crucifix that depicts a poor, humble,
broken Christ, surrounded by figures from the Gospel narratives.
After sitting down and lighting a charcoal of resin
frankincense, this is the current layout of my morning prayer routine (based in
part on Stookey's prayer book mentioned above):
1)Gloria Patri
2)Introductory Reflection—this reading is included in
Stookey’s material.
3)Opening Prayer
4)Centering Prayer—for this, I use my rosary. My adapted
rosary prayer follows this format:
a.Invitatory Bead: Gloria Patri
b.Cruciform Beads: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
6)Psalm—for
the psalm I use The
Revised Grail Psalms: A Liturgical Psalter,
by Abbot Gregory J. Polan, OSB. Gregory is the Abbot of Conception Abbey, a
Benedictine monastery just a couple hours north of Kansas City. I have visited
the abbey a few times, and have always enjoyed my stays there, particularly the
way the brothers and fathers chant the Psalter. My particular edition of this
book features the musical notation devised for chanting by the monks at
Conception.
7)OT,
Epistle, and Gospel Readings—these usually follow the lectionary.
8)Silent
contemplation—a time for reflection on the readings and prayer for others.
9)Acts
Appropriate to the Day of the Week—this is a short reflective prayer that
is specific to the current day of the week.
10)Lord’s
Prayer
11)Gloria
Patri
The whole endeavor takes about 30 minutes from start
to finish (or roughly the time it takes to burn through one charcoal’s worth of
incense).
I know many folks think it unusual for a Mennonite to
be such an avid liturgical pray-er, but I find the liturgy itself to be
(potentially) incredibly freeing. And the Anabaptists are all about freedom,
right?
Do you have a prayer routine? Have you developed your
own form of prayer, or do you use someone else’s?
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. --Mark 16:1-8
Good Friday is a day unlike any other on the Christian calendar. It is perhaps the only holy day for which the proper observance is a recognition of the loss of all hope.
Think about it--Jesus is dead. In the tomb. Executed by the state.
The disciples, who have followed Jesus around for a few years now, are suddenly scattered, and those who remain together are frightened for their lives.
Finito. End of story.
In the earliest manuscripts of Mark, the first gospel written, this really was the end of the story. The final words of Mark, written around the time of the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., are literally, "They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." Who knew that a gospel (think: "good news") could actually end in such darkness? Fear. Separation. Not even a real, official resurrection story. Just death and a suddenly--and mysteriously--empty tomb.
We don't like to observe or commemorate grief. Often, we push it as far from us as we can; when was the last time you heard a true sermon of lament in church? How often does your family get together to have an observance on the anniversary of the death of a loved one?
I know a pastor who hates even the thought of slow, hymnic worship, preferring instead the pop-rock overtones of contemporary worship music. "Worship is a celebration!" he says, "When I go to a worship service, I don't want to feel like I'm at a funeral. Worship isn't a funeral!"
Well, on Good Friday, that's exactly what it is.
It's also about coming to the realization that we're on our own; there comes a time when every child has to leave their parents' home to live their own lives and make their own decisions. That's the reality of life.
And as for the disciples, they don't even have the guidance of the Holy Spirit with them yet. They are utterly alone.
However, the man in the tomb in this story gives the disciples directions, supposedly from Christ himself, to meet Jesus in Galilee. Obviously Jesus trusted them enough to make do on their own for a while and to follow his instructions without him hovering over their every move. Sometimes we fail to recognize that God has given us all the tools we need to be a force for good in the world. He has given us instructions, it's up to us to follow.
But for now, we rest in the quiet shadows of the tomb of our crucified Lord.
This morning, as per tradition in the church where I was raised--and for the last few years, at the Baptist Student Center--some friends of ours will join Alyssa and myself for a small breakfast of home made hot cross buns and coffee, resting and reflecting on the life and death of the man we have all devoted our lives to following. We wish you could join us. However, if you cannot, here for your own meditation is the short litany and prayer we will be reading from. I have also posted two little hymns that I have found to be very meaningful and appropriate. Grace and peace be with you, and may you find the value in giving yourself over fully to grief, even if only one day a year.
*****
A Good Friday Litany
Leader: When the tomb looms large before our eyes, remind us, Lord, who we are: People: We are the children of the resurrection; the place of death will not hold us.
Leader: We are the painters of rainbows; the shadow of death will not daunt us. People: We are the breakers of loaves and fishes; the taste of death will not defile us.
Leader: We are the raisers of the dead; the power of death will not defy us. People: We are the people of the Pentecost; the spirit of death will not destroy us. All: God is our refuge and our strength. We gather in the power and sure promise of resurrection. (source)
Prayer
Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that justice and peace may increase, until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love. Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer, hear the cry of those in misery and need. In their afflictions show them your mercy, and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (source)
"He Never Said a Mumblin' Word," by The Welcome Wagon
"It is Finished," by Trent Dabbs, Kate York, Leigh Nash, and Kevin Bevil
