Sacred Mundane: The Blog

Yes, another book review. 🙂  I just finished Spiritual Mentoring: A Guide for Seeking and Giving Direction by Randy Reese and Keith Anderson. Excellent!  One of the things I love about it is that it comes at discipleship (called Spiritual Mentoring here) from the perspective of … dead people! Yes, they pick the brains of great men and women of God who have gone before us: Julian of Norwich, Augustine, Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Ignatius of Loyala.   I’m simply including some exerpts here to whet your appetite. Definitely worth reading!

“Spirituality is practical: everything can be seen as a container of the holy. In fact, the everyday containers of time and place become holy as God’s presence fills them. Spirituality is, therefore, inherently and intensely sacramental.  We understand that God’s presence is not confined to that which is sacred; rather God’s grace is mediated through the ordinary.  It is experiential rather than abstract.  As an old Russian proverb says, “Every day can be a messenger of God.” (p. 26)

Amen!  Does this sound familiar? The Sacredness of the Mundane perhaps?

And on motivation for discipling:

“If there is a desire to instruct and tutor another in the ways you have found useful, perhaps it is time to think again. Mentoring is not about telling. It is about listening-to the Holy Spirit and to the life of another.”  (p. 28)

Listening.  All about learning to listen.

“Pay attention for the presence of God in everything … spiritual mentoring is a relationship that helps us pay attention to our stories and to recognize there the already present action of God.”  (p. 40)

On sharing our stories, our pain:

“When he wrote his book on ministry, Henri Nouwen called it The Wounded Healer because he understood that only those whose own hearts have been wounded by suffering of life can be authentically available to others, it is through telling our own histories of pain and joy that we can serve the needs of others, which is ministry.”  (p. 88)

On our spiritual life:

“A commonly held view today equates our spirituality with our devotional life … If I “feel” God in my prayer life or if I “hear” God in almost auditory experience, if I “see” God in a mystical or charismatic vision, then my spiritual life is good, strong, or effective.  The universal teaching of spirituality over all the centuries speaks in unison: God speaks to us in many ways; spirituality is learning to pay attention to the presence of God in everything.  Spiritual listening is never limited to the activities of worship, daily devotions, or spiritual exercises.  It echoes in unexpected ways every hour of the day or night.” (p. 95) 

And

“Prayer is pilgrimage. The closer I get to the goal, the farther away I might feel.  The more holy I become, the less holy I know myself to be.  The more experienced I am in my ministry, the less competent I may feel to lead others to spiritual growth.”  (p. 118)

On necessary, brutal self-examination:

“[Ignatius] understood that we are capable of ‘quenching the spirit’ through ‘inordinate attachments,’ that is, distractions, digressions, habits, or sins that block our progress or keep us from knowing the will of God…Though this sort of self-examination is not a popular discipline today, a sober moral and spiritual inventory of the heart is essential to the spiritual journey. We stop and ponder our own persistence at disobedience.”  (p. 136)

On the reflective life:

“Ignatian methods may be difficult for many in our frantically busy world, but reflective living is surely not impossible for any of us. Even as we wait at the traffic light, can we not lift a prayer?  As we wait in line at the bank, can we not think about the moments of our day? As we drive everywhere, can we turn off the radio, tapes and CDs and listen reflectively to the events of our day? Certainly the discipline of creating time for reflection is a lifeline for spiritual health. Without times in quiet, thoughtful reflection, our spirituality remains shallow, anemic and misguided.”  (p. 145)

On identifying one’s own voice in history:

“Your own voice will reflect the holy history of your own life and its experiences…It is an unfortunate conspiracy of adults and painful experiences that stifle a child.”  (p. 156)

Good stuff!

This morning I read these words of Jesus in my quiet time:

“…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure ofhis heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  Matthew 12:34-37

It naturally reminded me of the ever-convicting words of Paul…

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”  Ephesians 4:29

And of James:

“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”  James 3:8-10

Then Jeff stumbled across this video, by John Piper’s DesiringGod ministry, which dramatizes the James 3 passage powerfully:

Wow.  Jeff and I were both reminded several times in the past week just about how unruly our tongues can be, especially with regard to “foolish talking and course jesting” (Eph. 5:4).  We live in such an age of sarcasm, and yes perhaps “we kid because we care”, but several times I’ve thought of just how stupid I can be, how often I’d like to go back and just delete something I say.  But there’s no option for that. And the things that we say in our least guarded moments are revelatory of our hearts, just as Jesus said.

I am challenged by Jesus reminder that we will be judged by the idle words that we speak.  Words are a gift.  A tool.  A means of furthering the kingdom of God and providing healing for those who are wounded.  How do I use my words?

A few nights ago Jeff and I went and saw Fireproof, the new movie about the Love Dare.  The Love Dare was a 40-day challenge, with each day presenting a new thing for Caleb, the main character, to do for his wife in order to learn the meaning of true love and commitment.  Day One of the Love Dare quoted James 3, and challenged Caleb to refrain from saying anything negative or critical to his wife.  I think it’s interesting that the Love Dare started with words.  It didn’t start with flowers, romance, or even anything to do with praying together or reading Scripture together. It just started with taming the tongue.  James tells us the tongue is the rudder that steers the entire ship, perhaps there is wisdom then in starting there.

I’m enormously challenged in this area. Our culture uses sarcasm, belittles, and throws words around with no caution whatsoever.  The norm is to use words manipulatively, for our own gain and benefit.  Scripture says our words are sacred, blessing God.  How we use them will steer the course of our life.  By our words we will be justified, and by our words we will be condemned.

So this challenge this week is watch our words.  My personal challenge is to not use sarcasm or say anything belittling or negative this week.  I will not complain.  Perhaps you want to do something similar.  Ask your spouse for accountability.  Try day one of the Love Dare, and refuse to say anything critical to your spouse.  Tailor make the challenge for your own life.  Where does your verbal life need to change?  God give us the grace to use words for your glory, for furtherance of your Kingdom, and to build up and heal those in our lives.  We know we need to grow. Give us grace.

My pastor said a great thing the other day that was totally out of character for him (he’s very soft, funny, not an in-your-face kind of guy).  He said, “There’s only one reason why you don’t read your Bible.  Because you’re arrogant.”  We sat in silence for a second.  “Arrogant.  The reason I don’t read my Bible is that I’m arrogant.  I don’t think I’m desperate enough to search God’s Word for more revelation of Himself and His will.  I’m arrogant.” 

I would wholeheartedly agree.  And in order to make the charge more convicting for me personally, I would add, There’s only one reason why you don’t pray more.  Because you’re arrogant.  There’s only one reason I don’t pray more. It’s not that I don’t have time (I have time for dessert, time for homework, and time to do the laundry).  It’s because I arrogantly don’t believe I’m that dependent on God.  Challenging.

Just a thought for the day…