God’s Commandments in Psalm 119

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Sunday, October 1, 2017

God’s Commandments in Psalm 119

I appreciate Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words so much. His commentary on the beginnings of Psalm 119 hit home to me. We are considering verse 4:

You laid down Your commandments,

that we should fully keep them.

I was particularly intrigued by his description of “the Hebrew word for ‘commandments’ in this verse. It is a word that cannot be translated by a single word of ours.” [1] I am fascinated by these types of words that cannot be translated, word-for-word. Instead, translators are forced to find approximate definitions and translations.

I appreciate the candor of some translators and commentators when they honestly state their difficulties in translation and interpretation. And, sometimes, a word in one language takes a phrase or even a sentence to define it in another language. (Again, I think this is fascinating!) The word translated as “commandments” is one such word, “that cannot be translated by a single word of ours. It derives from the verb for seeking, visiting, paying attention to. Hence, the commandments are what God looks at, pays attention to, and the means by which He seeks and visits the human being.” [2] (The NIV translation is “precepts,” which conveys much similar ideas.)

Bonhoeffer considered God’s commandment to be a permanent thing, in fact, a continual thing. As Bonhoeffer mentions, God’s commands are not just for an instant, or for a short period of time. No, they are for a good long time. What’s more, God “laid them down.” God established the commandments as one lays a cornerstone for a building.

What a marvelous image! God meant the commandments to be permanent, laid as a foundation or cornerstone. Thank You, God, for giving us the gracious gift of Your Scriptures—Your commandments.

@chaplaineliza

 

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[1] Meditating on the Word, Dietrich Bonhöffer, edited by David McI. Gracie. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 2000, 106.

[2] Ibid.

Breathe, Center, Pray.

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Saturday, January 14, 2017

Breathe, Center, Pray.

Breathe. Just breathe. Big breath in, big breath out. Slowly.

This suggestion works for so many things. When you are afraid or fearful. Or, when you feel anxiety creeping up to get you. Perhaps, if you are angry and you need to cool down. Or, when you would like to calm yourself and focus.

As I said, this really does work. Slowing the breath seems to lengthen out time. Another suggestion? Keep track of your breaths. Slowly, slowly. Don’t cry or speed up or—especially—if you wish to find calmness, stillness, serenity, even.

If we pay attention to breathing, we can get down to the very foundation of life. The overarching principle remains the same.

Breathe. Calm yourself. Slow down and let yourself fill with all good things as you breathe in. Slow down further, breathe out, and let go of all anxiety, fear, anger. Let go, and breathe out everything negative.

Now you are in a much better place to connect with God. Reaching your Higher Power can happen at any time, true. However, breathing deeply, in and out, certainly helps us to center and concentrate.

Now, center. Now, pray. Now, serenity. Thanks, God.

@chaplaineliza

 

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Why not visit my companion blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.  #PursuePEACE. My Facebook page, Pursuing Peace – Thanks! And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

Peace and Social Justice

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Peace and Social Justice

Tonight was the panel on Social Justice as a foundation to faith streams. The panel was hosted by the Muslim Community Center. I was the Christian representative on the panel, and we all shared on what was each religion’s view of social justice.

But first, we all had several moments of silence for all those who died and were injured in the shooting in Orlando. And all the relatives and loved ones.

The audience was diverse and appreciative. We shared expressions of peace. And then, we delved more deeply into social justice. Expressions of why the Eternal requires us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

The Mayor closed the evening with reflections, and a call to walk together. To pursue peace. Our suburb is so diverse, and we all are encouraged to reach out to one another.

Thank God for gatherings of friendly people, people who are open and want to try to understand more about other faith traditions. God willing, may we live in peace, harmony, and friendship.

@chaplaineliza

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Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza  And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

Center, Praise God for the Rock of Our Salvation

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Friday, September 25, 2015

Center, Praise God for the Rock of Our Salvation

The Rock. Something quite solid about that Name of God! Solid, good foundation for me. And, for anyone else following at home, my word of the day, my Name of God for today is Rock.

I had difficulty concentrating or “getting down to business” today when I was praying. But once I got there, I did have an impression to report. I saw (or, felt) “Rock” as a refuge, or a place of respite and safety. This is not usually what happens when I pray. Quite the contrary! But that’s what happened today.

Yes, the verse that was mentioned in the list of Names of God is 1 Corinthians 10:4. And yes, this verse refers to the Rock being Christ. Which Rock? The Rock in the wilderness, the Rock that the people of Israel drank from during their wanderings for years.

Dear Lord Jesus, whether You are seen as the Rock from whom the miraculous water flowed in the wilderness, or the Rock of safety, of refuge, it doesn’t matter. You still are my Rock of salvation. Thank You for this passage from 1 Corinthians.

Thank You for the strong impression I received about You and Your character. You do keep us safe and secure. Just like a building’s foundation, just like the Rock in Psalm 18:3—“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”

@chaplaineliza

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Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

Lamb of God, in Prayer

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Sunday, September 20, 2015

Lamb of God, in Prayer

Today’s Name of God has such power for me. Such resonance. It’s another of my go-to expressions for God and God’s person. God’s character. My word—Name of God for today is Lamb of God.

As I used Centering Prayer earlier today, this phrase made it so easy, so immediate for me to go to prayer. “Lamb of God” has so many connections in my brain and memory. So many of the memories come from music. This phrase is a touchstone and foundation for countless songs and hymns, not to mention portions of religious services and pieces of classical music.

One of the immediate hymns that came to my mind is from the German liturgical tradition. A hymn I learned as a child in the Lutheran church where I was baptized and confirmed. The words of this hymn were written in the mid 1500’s by Nikolaus Decius, a follower of Martin Luther. Johann Sebastian Bach used the music for this hymn, O LAMM GOTTES, as a basis (cantus firmus) for the opening section of the St. Matthew Passion.

I think my lifelong attraction to and love for this hymn comes from my early exposure to it. (I was a serious, contemplative child. Some might have said precocious.) Here are the words, as found in the Service Book and Hymnal of the Lutheran Church, copyright 1958.

“O, Lamb of God most holy!/Who on the Cross didst suffer,/And patient, still and lowly,/ Thyself to scorn didst offer;/Our sins by Thee were taken,/Or hope had us forsaken:/Have mercy on us, Jesus!”

This hymn is usually classified as a Lenten hymn. I have also found it under the Sacraments section of various hymnals. I keep coming back to the hymn and to the words of Decius. Simple, profound, moving. This expression of God, this Name of God will most often bring me to tears. With the imagery of the Passover Lamb, unblemished. As John the Baptist said (in the first chapter of the Gospel of John), “John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

So, all of this flashed through my head in the time I centered, using this Name of God. The time of prayer was deeply moving to me. I think it might have been the most intense experience I had all month.

Dear Lamb of God, thank You for this time of prayer, of focus, and of meditation on You and Your Name. Thank You.

@chaplaineliza

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Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

Centering on the Cornerstone

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Monday, September 7, 2015

Centering on the Cornerstone

Each day this month I’ve committed to Centering Prayer. And, to aid me in this prayer method, I’m choosing a name of God found in the Bible. I’m using that for my word of the day. My word—Name of God for today is Cornerstone.

Last week, I chose this Name with ease. I went down the list of Names I had in front of me, initially, and this one seemed good to me. Even earlier today, as I checked my list again to see which Name I was to use as an aid for Centering Prayer, I had no expectation of what I would discover once I started to pray.

When I got into the middle of prayer, I found out how confused this Name of God made me. Yes, I knew that the Apostles Paul and Peter refer to Christ as the Cornerstone, among other biblical references. Yes, I have sung the contemporary gospel song “Christ the Cornerstone” a number of times. But—what did it mean, anyway?

This gave me pause. I really was at a loss, considering what this Name was supposed to signify.

As I prayed, my mind shifted to my good friend Stu, a civil engineer and a professor of civil engineering. He is a sincere believer. I knew he would immediately be able to tell me not only what this Name of God signified, but also the purpose and significance of a cornerstone on a large building. (I found I was still very foggy about both purposes, and needed to remedy that.)

So, I discovered the cornerstone has—for millennia—been used as an important part of a masonry foundation for a larger building. I understand that all other stones (or, bricks) will be laid in reference to this Cornerstone. That makes so much sense to me, in regards to the Name of God. Talk about the light breaking and shining through to me.

Thanks, God. Thanks for giving me wisdom. Thanks for leading me to a good (basic) source of information. Thanks for setting Yourself up as my Cornerstone. I know I need to line up with You, and You alone. In your Son’s name I pray, amen.

@chaplaineliza

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Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

Teach Us to Pray (Focus Friday!)

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – January 16, 2015

Teach Us to Pray (Focus Friday!)

“Teach us to pray.” That’s what the disciples wanted their Rabbi Jesus to do in Luke 11, wasn’t it?

The prayer guide we are considering this month has this request of God as its centerpiece, or foundation. Rev. Howell has based each basic or foundational “lesson” on some general aspect of prayer. He sets up each chapter as a brief lesson or tutorial on prayer. Howell mentions Richard Foster in today’s chapter, and I wanted to find out more about Foster’s viewpoints on prayer.

Accordingly, I checked out his book Celebration of Discipline, in the chapter dealing with prayer. Sure enough, Foster mentions Jesus teaching His disciples to pray. “They had prayed all of their lives, and yet something about the quality and quantity of Jesus’ praying caused them to see how little they knew about prayer. . . . It was liberating to me to understand that prayer involved a learning process. I was set free to question, to experiment, even to fail, for I knew I was learning.” [1]

Yes—the ultimate point, the shining beacon ahead of us is God. Drawing us forward and upward. Yet, I am grateful and relieved that I don’t have to be a perfect practitioner of prayer. As time passes, each of us has the opportunity to grow closer to God in prayer. As Foster explains it, prayer can be understood not only as communication, but as a process.

“In the beginning we are indeed the subject and the center of our prayers. But in God’s time and in God’s way a Copernican revolution takes place in our heart. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, there is a shift in our center of gravity. We pass from thinking of God as part of our life to the realization that we are part of his life.” [2]

This revolution—sometimes almost imperceptible—occurs over time. The starting point is all about me, but change does happen.

As several of my friends and I were considering recently, our self-absorption and self-centered orientation gradually changes. It morphs into something oriented towards God, and towards others. Prayer becomes more and more communication and fellowship with this Higher Power, and less and less asking for favors, requests, and wanting for my desires to be filled, my menu items taken care of.

What do I think is the most important part of this? The point that I cannot achieve communion in prayer alone. God is always there, to help and to guide. To pick me up when I fall down or trip up. (And believe me, I do trip up.)

Thanks, God. I couldn’t do it without You.

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my sister blog, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.

[1] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 1998). 36.

[2] Richard Foster, Prayer (San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 1992). 15.