Stability: Grace-Filled Leadership

-


    This year my church and many Christians around the world are reading through the Gospel of St. Luke. The Gospel of St. Mark can be easily identified by the repeated use of the word, "immediately." You get a sense of the urgency of the Good News from events happening right on the heels of other events in Mark's Gospel. In St. Luke's Gospel, we hear again and again of the presence of the Holy Spirit. The other obvious feature of the Gospel according to Luke is the presence of prayer. Jesus repeatedly goes off alone to pray, especially before big events. The experience of Jesus's transfiguration takes place while he is praying up on the mountain, with just a few disciples. 

     Prayer, simply defined, is time spent intentionally with God. We often think of praying with words, which is an important kind of prayer. We might remember the prayer Jesus taught us: "Our Father, who art in heaven..." Early on in life, someone taught me that singing is praying twice; a reminder of the special place of arts in our prayer lives. We also pray with our bodies when we make the sign of the cross, lift our hands, or kneel. Prayer can happen through exercise: a mindful walk noticing God's good creation. Prayer can be practiced in many ways. 

When we are young, we learn to ask God about our specific needs, which is an important experience as we learn to be honest and open with God (who already knows our every need.) When we are young we of course pray from our limited perspective: we might ask for a bike, or for our sports team to win. With a little life experience, those things we focus on often include the health of others, prayers for those we have lost, and our own sense of brokeness. 

    Another sort of prayer is sitting in the presence of God. It is a practice of listening beyond our own use of words. It is non-verbal. The most challenging thing is to quiet our busy minds, which these days we often submit to the rapid exchange of information. Some people, in their prayer time use a short phrase such as, "Come, Lord Jesus," quietly repeated to help bring them to a place of stillness and openness. Prayer beads or a rosary can be a tactile way to focus and hold ourselves still in God's presence. 

    This sort of prayer brings us to a sense of stability, trust in God, and openness to what the Holy Spirit is already up to in the world around us. I commend it to you to try out; set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and sit comfortably, opening your heart to God's presence. You could even repeat the phrase, "For God alone my soul in silence waits..." from the Psalms. 

    That sort of prayer can be life changing. There seems not to be much stability in our world today. In many arenas quick, knee-jerk reactions are not only tolerated, but celebrated.  Insults often replace real conversation. Everyone is expected to register an online opinion about every event, then those reactions are criticized, ad nauseum. Praying by sitting still with God is one way to remember in humility that we are all God's creatures; God alone is the creator. Turning off our devices reminds us that the world will go on while we rest in God's holy presence. It might even teach us to offer grace to those we do not agree with or understand. 

    Our world needs people, and especially leaders, who exhibit that sort of stability, careful response, and the grace offered to people whether we agree with them or not. Leaders who are spiritually grounded and work with grace are able to build up community, unite people to work together, and offer wisdom to help their leadership team arrive at solutions. Rather than shooting a hole in the boat we are not completely satisfied with, it is far better to row together to safe harbor, where we can make the necessary upgrades. 

    As I read through the Gospel of St. Luke, I am reminded to be a follower of the Way Jesus taught us. Prayer: spending intentional time with God, is a big part of that. As I examine how I spend the precious minutes of my day, I am seeking to let go of some of the minutes I typically give to screens or news programs, and offering those minutes to God, for whom my soul in silence waits. I pray for stability in our world, in our country, and in our local community. I pray for and with our leaders who are navigating new and challenging waters. Each of us can contribute to stability by practicing prayer and offering grace wherever we may find ourselves. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

plastic: a spiritual perspective

-
Image
Plastic bag in front of Trinity by the Sea On a recent trip to Austin, I was surprised and delighted not to be handed a plastic bag when I checked out of a grocery store. I wasn't buying much, so I was able to carry out my things without remembering to bring in my reusable bags. For some time now, I've gotten in the habit of turning down plastic bags in convenience stores when they try to put my humble bag of sunflower seeds, lonely, in another bag. The plastic grocery bag has become like a handshake at the end of the deal: it seems to make the shopping experience complete. It is such an ingrained habit, that the person behind the cash register sometimes gets a suspicious look when I ask for no bag, as if thinking, "This yahoo is threatening our way of life!" I think about habits a lot, as a Christian of the Episcopal persuasion. Our practices and our experiences in everyday life shape the way we understand our relationship with God, with others, and with ours
Read more

movin' the tide

-
Image
I recently saw a performance by Shinyribs Russell and heard him tell the background story on his song, " Who Built the Moon ." He told a funny story about a conspiracy theorist's idea the moon was built by someone. I like the song for what it is, never mind the conspiracy. That song went through my head again and again this weekend as the Super Moon rose from the gulf horizon, sailed across the sky, and set over the bay. The moon, "hangin' in the sky, shakin' the oceans, and movin' the tide" has long shaped our human lives. It has helped us mark time, it can guide us in our fishing habits, and it inspires artists, musicians, and fireside philosophers. Life looks different in the moonlight. On Sunday morning, as I finished writing my sermon, I took a break to walk outside to see the Super Moon set, and I caught it hanging in the porch of the church. That night, Laura, Eli, and I went to the beach to watch it rise again. Someone told me it's t
Read more
-
Image
For the past three years, I have preached the Gospel Easter Morning including a pop song. The first year it was Widespread Panic's Diner . Last year Prince's I Would Die For You , and this year, the Grateful Dead's Ripple. Music is so inspiring to me, and it is an easy connection to relate to God, Resurrection, and new life through some of my favorite songs, even when they don't use traditional church language. Easter Morning 2023 My earliest impression of the Grateful Dead was as a pre-teen, staying the night at long time friends of my parents and sharing a room with Monroe their son. Earlier in the day Monroe had sent me down a fairly steep hill on his old bike which had no brakes. I managed to stop by veering off the road into the open arms of a magnolia tree. Monroe was so cool. So that night, after having some Neapolitan ice cream we watched MTV. If you remember MTV, you’ll understand how excited he was that a music video of one of his favorite bands, the Grateful
Read more