Abide in me

One of the repeated phrases in the movie The Big Lebowski is "The Dude Abides." It's one of my favorite movies, and during seminary, we would watch it before going out for late-night bowling. The abide word stood out to me because around the same time I was really into that movie, I was also struggling to learn a little bit of Biblical Greek. The abide word is all over St. John's Gospel. That word, abide, is just one English translation of the Greek word  μένω or menoe. It may also be translated stay, remain, dwell, live, or be. 

After discovering it, μένω became part of my prayer life, especially in my meditation practice. It points me toward letting go of action, worry, thinking; away from all that I do to keep myself busy, and just be with Christ. Christians sometimes think we know better than God and spend a lot of time telling God about the way things should be. I'm not saying we shouldn't share what's heavy on our hearts with God. I'm all for that. Let loose your deepest desires, joys, anger, sadness, and your questions to the Almighty who already knows the secrets of our hearts. Talking to God honestly leads to honest conversation. Pray for yourself, your family, your friends, and pray for your enemies, too! We are all on a journey, but let's sojourn a while. 

To sit still and listen for the still small voice of God is a practice of trust. It is a practice of remembering that I am not ultimately in control, and the sooner I can align with the movement of the Holy Spirit, the sooner I can start to bear the fruits of the Spirit, and lend a hand to the kingdom of God. Yes, abiding a while will likely lead back to action, thought, and concern for injustice in the world, but not without clarity of call. 

Jesus teaches his followers to abide in him. "Aide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." (from John 15, NRSV) 

I fear that a lot of time, those who consider themselves followers of Jesus do a lot of listening to other sources besides God. We spend more time listening to the opinions,  agenda, and propaganda of worldly powers. Perhaps we drown out any quiet time with distractions so that we don't have listen to the depths of our soul, our moral compass, the call of God. I know because I do that. I escape from what overwhelms me like anyone else. 

I know that about myself, which is why I return to meditation. I am far from being an expert, I am a student every time I sit down to meditate. I have a constant chatter in my mind, which is why it's called a practice. The simple repetition of my prayer helps hold my overactive mind at bay. And when the uninvited mind-chatter returns, I notice it, honor whatever come up, let it go, and return to my prayer. I practice abiding with Christ. The results, if you are curious, are in the rest of my life. Sitting quietly for 20 or so minutes doesn't always feel as peaceful as it might look from the outside. However, it changes the rest of my life, and my temperament toward the world around me. 

I believe the Dude, and I'm talking about Jesus, here, I believe the Dude abides. If I am to do his work in the world, I would do well to abide with him.