Core Spiritual Strength

"But whenever you pray, 

go into your room and shut the door

 and pray to your Father who is in secret; 

and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

(Matthew 6:6)

As my fall risk increased, my doctor prescribed physical therapy.

My first appointment concluded with the therapist saying, “We’ll start by building up your core muscles which are the basis for stability."

So, I wondered what core spiritual practices are the basis for strengthening my faith?

Four core spiritual practices are clear: Bible reading and study, prayer, worship., and acts of justice.

Centering prayer is a core practice which is not an obvious way to deepen your relationship with God. 

Centering Prayer, based on Matthew 6:6, says “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Centering prayer works like this:

First, “enter your room”, meaning finding a quiet place. 

Choose a sacred word or image to refocus when your thoughts wander.

Second, “shut the door,” by sitting comfortably and silently with your eyes closed. 

Let go of all thoughts, worries, memories, and plans. 

When thoughts, feelings, images, and memories arise, use the sacred word or image to recenter. 

Third, at the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes. 

Finally, offer a prayer to God who is in secret and speaks to you beyond words.

This prayer of being quiet takes effort, yet the silence offers a renewed spiritual strength, an inner peace, a deeper connection with God.

It’s like being with God in an oasis of quiet while surrounded by a world of noise.

Restoring Your Soul

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

   He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

   he restores my soul."

(from  Psalm 23)

Lectio Divina, is a method involving reading, meditating, and praying Scripture verses aiming to help people connect more deeply with God. 

 

There are four basic steps: 

1.    Reading the Scripture passage several times slowly listening for God's small voice.

2.   Thinking about how it applies to your life.

3.   Praying and opening your heart to God

4.   Being still and listening for what God is saying to you.

As I read Psalm 23, two words stand out for me; water and soul.

Places where I have been quiet and listening for what God may be saying are the shore and waterfalls.

At the rocky shore of Acadia, N.P., God speaks through the rhythm of the waves rolling against the rocks in sets of three.

God says, the rhythm will remain the same no matter if the seas are calm or stormy; your is consistently restored even in my times of life’s inconsistencies.

I live near several beautiful waterfalls, some large and flowing, some small and merely a trickle.

When I walk to Dingmans Falls, my favorite, sometimes, after rainstorms, the water is gushing majestically.

Sometimes, after a long spell without rain, there is still be a splendid flow down the height of the waterfall.

God restores my soul through the roar of thundering waters pouring down after rainstorms by saying, “it’s ok to express your anger in my presence.”

God restores my soul through a quiet flow saying, “I’m still here, listen to what I have to say.”

I invite you to take some Lectio Divina time listening for what God is saying to you through reviving your soul. 

Peace Be With You

While they were talking about this, 

Jesus himself stood among them 

and said to them, 

“Peace be with you.”

(from Luke 24:36b-48)

Each Sunday my pastor tells us to turn to a person near us and say, “Peace be with you,” a greeting we all say.

Some disciples were discussing the facts about the risen Lord and how they saw a connection between Moses, the prophets, and the Scriptures.

Their conversation included Jesus’ ministry, focus on table ministry, and their experience of the resurrected Jesus. 

When Jesus walked with the disciples and said,” peace be with you,” it was more than a customary welcome.

Jesus standing with them continues sharing the message salvation to disciples gathered after his death.

This greeting connects a wish for common well-being, and is also related to the Hebrew notion of shalom, indicating social relations and justice.

“Peace be with you” is also a reminder Christians are commissioned to forgive sins which can sometimes mean salvation.

So, when Jesus greets someone with “Peace be with you,” it has the possibly of a greater meaning than merely a customary welcome.

For me, the hope in this exchange with Jesus and the disciples is that as Christians greet each other by passing the Peace of Christ, we can gather around the table of salvation, break the bread and share the cup knowing Jesus is alive in the world even with all the brokenness.

Thomas' Need to Know

So the other disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,

and put my finger in the mark of the nails

and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

(from John 20:19-31)

You’d have to see it to believe it!!!

I have a 60-year-old automatic watch my father gave me for college graduation.

The watch, like me, slowed down, needs repair, and requires a specialist compelling me to do an internet search for a repair shop fixing antiques and vintage timepieces.

I located a shop about 20 miles away claiming to repair antique and vintage watches.

Entering the shop, I was amazed to see a collection of grandfather clocks, mantle clocks, wall clocks, and a collection of antique vintage watches.

It's an astonishing collection!!

You’d have to see it to believe it!!!

The only way to experience my amazement, you MUST go there! (133 S Courtland St, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301)

 That’s how it was with Mary and the disciples behind the locked doors fearing for their lives.

Mary makes this astounding announcement “I have seen the Lord.”

Remarkably, Jesus enters the room saying, “Peace be with you” breathes the Holy Spirit on them commissioning them to serve in his name.

The disciples rejoice seeing him especially when Jesus shows his hands and feet confirming this is how one recognizes the Risen Lord.

Thomas, slightly skeptical and probably brokenhearted, needs to rejoice as the disciples have, so he says, I need to see Jesus to believe it.

Understanding Thomas’ needs to know more in his faith journey, Jesus again stands among the disciples meeting Thomas’ need by showing his hand and side.

Sometimes we have to see it to believe it by trusting Jesus will show up in whatever locked rooms we see be them an evil, an injustice, an oppression, or our own locked rooms.

It’s by trusting, through Word and Sacrament, that Jesus will show up we can believe God’s peaceful kingdom will reign.

   

Reconnecting with Jesus

"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.”

(from Mark 16:1-8)

Last week I reconnected with two former youth group members via social media.

One, teaching in an English school, lives in Dubai with two teen-age daughters. 

Knowing his life journey and how far he has come, I’d describe it as going from a “tomb” to an Easter life of new beginnings.

The other moved from the “tomb” of rural life to Easter city life with new beginnings including job hunting, commuting, and learning a transportation system with trains and busses.

I’m certain if we were to reconnect face to face, we’d have a great celebration.

When Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to anoint Jesus, found the stone rolled back, and a young man in a white robe, they were amazed and afraid. 

The young man told them to tell Peter and the disciples to go to Galilee where they will see him.

Through the young man, Jesus makes a trustworthy promise: they will reconnect in Galilee.

The people in 70 AD had seen Jerusalem destroyed, smoke rising from the ruined temple, and their people dispersed.

Jesus’ trustworthy promise was anxiously needed. 

Reconnecting with Jesus in Galilee would involve driving out tormenting demons, hearing words of hope spoken to the broken-hearted, and healing the distressed. 

For us in 2024, we have seen an insurrection, smoke rising from wars, a border crisis with immigrants suffering, and barriers separating people.

Jesus’ trustworthy promise is urgently needed.

Reconnecting with Jesus in Galilee is gathering around the Lord’s Table recalling the great mystery of faith, Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Easter Sunday is for scattered and imperfect Christians to hear the hope in Jesus’ promise to reconnect in Galilee.