(Part
1)by Fr. Joseph Neiman
A Rule of Life (Part
1)
by Fr. Joseph Neiman
How do I see the hand of God at work in my
life?
How do I experience the Lord's presence on a daily basis?
How do I know which decisions I make are part of the Lord's call to walk in a
path that will lead to the fullness of life God promises me? These are
discipleship questions, and the answers are profoundly simple and simply
profound at the same time.
We each need a rule of life! The Greek word for what I am talking about is "canon" and it originally meant in the writings of Homer "a rod used for measuring" or a "standard" or a "norm" or a "rule". The word "canon" is used in Christian tradition in several ways. The Eucharistic Prayer in our worship ("The Great Thanksgiving" BCP p. 361) was called in the old Latin missals, the Canon of the Mass. The clergy who seek to keep the bishop on the straight path of preaching the Gospel are called "canons" (there in our Cathedral special seats behind the Bishop's chair for the canons). The rules which govern our life together as a Diocesan and a National Church are called canons. And we each need a canon or rule of life to govern our growth as disciples so we have eyes to see the presence of the Lord in our lives and ears to hear what the Lord will advise us about life and decisions.
What does a rule of life look like? There are interior and exterior components. The interior components are silence, solitude, prayer and reflection on God's Word in Sacred Scripture. The exterior components are worship, service, study (in organized groups/classes) and events like retreats, Cursillo, Quiet Days, and the like.
SILENCE:
Many (perhaps most) of us seldom have silence in our lives either exteriorly or interiorly. There is noise all around us from the television or radio playing to the banter in our work places, homes and neighborhoods. We rarely have time or space to enter into the depths of silence where the good Lord can speak to us in our hearts. Centering prayer is a way to experience silence and listening. While we can more easily find ways to exclude the exterior noise, quieting the interior noise of our minds is more difficult and takes practice. Closing one's eyes (which distract us greatly), using a prayer word as an anchor (saying it over and over when our mind starts to run), and looking in our mind's eye for darkness, for the absence of words and ideas are ways to practice interior silence. Advent is a good time to begin, if this is not already part of our "rule of life" as the season encourages waiting for the Lord (i.e. prepare for His coming into our lives again symbolically at Christmas).
SOLITUDE:
Each of us can find silence if we practice the second interior discipline, which is solitude. Solitude is also difficult yet easy. It means finding a place where the phone doesn't ring, where no one will bother you, and where you can enter the silence in prayer or study God's Word in Scripture for even a brief period of time. It often helps to have the same place for silence, solitude and prayer. For some it is a special room, chair, walk in the woods, or visit to a chapel (which might be a park bench or some other special place). In silence and solitude we can listen to the Lord speaking directly to our hearts. We can hand over to the good Lord those troubles, which worry us, those people whom we have yet to forgive, those memories, which plague us, and all the burdens which we carry. Surrendering them in silence and solitude is the first step in acknowledging that we cannot handle or control much of what happens to us and so we truly do need God's help in our lives. That's the overt way of saying, "Help," and acknowledging that we are not our own gods.
DAILY PRAYER:
This can take many, many forms. There are small prayer cards on the wall in the entranceway of the Church (narthex), which can put us into the rhythm of praying with the whole Church (see BCP p. 136ff). We can memorize a favorite prayer (samples BCP pp. 814ff) or Psalm (e.g. Psalm 23 or 121) or a passage from Scripture. Every one of us should know and teach our children the Lord's Prayer, and prayers before meals and retiring at night should also be a regular family event. There are also simple prayers that can be repeated over and over in our heads when we are driving or seeking to shut out the noise in our lives: "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner" is part of the classic Jesus prayer. I often recommend to persons suffering or worried to focus on their breathing in and out and use a prayer with each: "Lord Jesus" (in) "bless X" person or "heal me" or whatever the need. Learn what triggers us to do something, which we know is detrimental to us (e.g. addictions, gossip, eating, stealing, cursing, etc.) and then at that moment move into a prayer asking the Lord's help.
These are three of the basic or interior parts to our Rule of Life. I will take up some of the others in the next Lion's Tale. Try these out as part of your preparation for Christmas and discover the peace, which is possible in your life even in the midst of what can be a hectic season. God bless and keep you this day and always.
Joseph+