Be Thou My Vision is an old Irish Hymn which celebrates the intimacy of God's presence with us, and pleads for more of it!
Until we gather again as a community, CTK will release a daily devotional each morning. Each devotional will include a song to sing, a short devotional (to be read alone or with your family), questions for discussion or reflection, and a prayer. See the rest of our series on our blog.
Devotional
Yesterday we meditated on the concept of apocalypse as a revealing or unveiling. One of the things that has been revealed to me through this experience is how dependent I am, in healthy and unhealthy ways, for other people for my spiritual life and growth.
Before... all this... we at CTK were exploring the Sermon on the Mount during worship on Sunday nights. After reading the Bible, then a couple of commentaries, I turned in my preparation to two sources, time and time again: digital sermons of Sinclair Ferguson at First Pres. Columbia for a more traditional perspective, and digital sermons from Scott Sauls at Christ Pres. Nashville, for a perspective that was more attuned to the contemporary zietgiest. I wasn't at the worship services where these sermons were preached; I didn't sing the hymns, pray the prayers, or participate in the sacraments with these congregations each week, and yet my spiritual life and sermon preparation benefited every time I sat down to listen. I am grateful, and will continue to listen to these men preach.
During the recent... stuff... we as a Christian community have come to appreciate the benefits that technology can provide to our spiritual life. Many of you have watched live stream sermons or congregations at worship. Great! I wonder if its possible to be both thankful for these resources, and yet at the same time still believe that God has given us a massive opportunity for embracing a deeper personal experience of him. What if God is using this experience to keep us from being people who acknowledge Jesus with their lips in corporate worship, but whose hearts are far from him (Matthew 15:8)? What if this is the time when we can embrace him even in our most intimate relationships- our family/household/selves?
Sermons are important, but that people grow as they are exposed to the rhythms of liturgy- ESPECIALLY liturgy that speaks to the deepest parts of our human experience; liturgy that is (cringe!) relevant. I don't know about you, but locked in my house with my family makes me grateful that worship follows a rhythm to which I must conform. It forces me to be a real human!
I have to be forced to see the wonder of God the creator as his glory is expressed in my family- I would miss it otherwise.
I have to be forced to reckon with the ways I have wronged the people nearest to me who are made in his image, and thereby wronged him- I would miss it otherwise.
I have to be forced to stop and remember that God loves me and has forgiven me because of what Jesus has done- I would miss it otherwise.
I have to be forced to participate wholeheartedly in worship, and not just mail it in while the people on stage do the religious performance. I have to be forced to make God's story MY story- I would miss it otherwise.
At CTK, for the duration of this pandemic, we will not live stream our service. NOT because its wrong (it isn't!), or unhelpful (it can be so helpful!), but because we believe that this is a great time to take responsibility for making the rhythms of worship our own. For taking responsibility for our own spiritual lives, instead of exporting that responsibility to the religious professionals. For reclaiming spiritual intimacy with those who live with us. For getting to know our own spiritual selves.
Here is a link to Christ Presbyterian Church Nashville's livestream on Sunday morning. But if you only do one thing this Sunday, do the liturgy. Pray together. Confess your sins. Sing a song. Read the Bible. Talk to one another about God, and talk to him about yourself and your circumstance. I will send out a short order of worship. with readings, prayers, and discussion questions that you can adapt to suit your household, I would encourage you to do it as a family or as an individual. What if God is calling us, in this Lenten season, amidst the disruption of our regular meetings, into a renewed closeness and intimacy with himself?
A quote:
“The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped — it requires an active participation in following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory, in circumstances that become clear only in the hesitations and questionings, in the pauses and reflections where we engage in prayerful conversation with one another and with him.” - Eugene Peterson
For discussion:
1. What are some of the ways we have tried to live vicariously through other people's spirituality? Do you want more? Its ok to be honest!
2. How do you feel about leading prayer and scripture reading with your family, or just doing it yourself? Don't judge that feeling... interrogate it! Why do you feel that way?
3. Guilt at past failures always prevents us from trying again. Do you see yourself as a beloved child, who the Father loves, and who he delights in even in our stumbling attempts to follow him? Can you hold that love in front of you? What a great time to dust yourself off and try again. Blame it on the pandemic!
4. Talk to your family or prepare yourself to read the Bible and pray this Sunday. What are their fears? Don't judge those fears...accept them. And yet... God promises to be with us when two or three are gathered in his name.
A prayer for God's courage, from the Lorica of St. Patrick:
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Amen.