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11/18/07 Benthiem

Running Just to Catch Myself

Well, could anyone relate to that disjointed, hectic video?  Does your life ever seem to fly in circles only to find that when you lay your head on the pillow at the end of the day you’re not real sure what you accomplished during the day (and maybe you can’t even remember everything you did during the day)?  I ask the question, but I think I can pretty much assume the answer.  I’m sure that more than a few of us can relate.  Life get’s so busy, and it’s only getting busier.  A question I want to consider with you this morning is “Is there an alternative?” and “Is this God’s plan for our life?”.

SLIDE 1

The man on the screen has a good deal to say about this topic.  Do you recognize him?  SLIDE 2 It’s Rick Warren.  And if you don’t recognize him SLIDE 3 you almost certainly recognize his bestselling book.  The Purpose Driven Life.  I think one of the reasons that it’s been a top seller is that it addresses the problem illustrated in the video we just saw.  People’s lives are spinning out of control around the track of monotony, and people are wondering if God has a plan behind it all… a purpose for their lives.  Haven’t you ever wondered that?  Haven’t you ever wondered if God had a reason for waking you up for yet another day of craziness?

SLIDE 4

This morning I want to read Matthew 20:29-34 with you.  I’m not sure, but I doubt that you can find this passage anywhere in Warren’s book.  It’s not typically a passage used to address purpose, but if you’ll let me, I want to take a journey with you this morning.  I wouldn’t have guessed this passage to have anything to do with purpose either, but God spoke to me through it, and he may be wanting to speak to you through it this morning as well.

This morning I want to do something with you that may help us to step back from the craziness that we left back at home (or maybe we took it with us into the sanctuary).  It’s an ancient practice… a practice meant to help followers of God to slow down… to pause… to relax… and truly consider God’s word.  We’re going to be using a modified version of SLIDE 5 Lectio Divina.  If you’re interested in learning more about it, you can Google it.  It’s Latin for “Holy Reading.”  If that’s helpful for you, great.  If it gets in the way.  Don’t worry about it.

SLIDE 6

Lectio Divina isn’t usually done with a group this large, but it will work.  I’m going to be reading the passage three times, and each time, as I read it, I’m going to be asking you to do something different.  As I’m reading it, you can close your eyes, or read along on the screen, or in the pew Bible, or just listen.  When we’re all done, I’m going to share with you what God revealed to me when I did this with this passage.

After the first time I’ve read it, I’ll give some time, and I want you to focus on one word or phrase in the passage that glimmers… that stands out for you.  Now, in a smaller setting, I’d ask everyone to share that word or phrase, but here, this morning, if three or four of you would like to say that word aloud, that would be fine.

Then I’ll be reading the passage a second time.  This time I want you to try to identify the feeling you have around the word or phrase that you have chosen.  Again I’ll give some time, and if three or four of you would like to share you feeling… your emotion…  I’d invite you to do that.

Finally I’ll read the passage a third time.  And this is probably the hardest part to do in a large setting such as this, so we’ll be modifying it.  I’ll give some time for you to think about the connections that you see between the word or phrase, the emotion you felt, and your current circumstances.  Normally I’d ask you to share these thoughts, but whereas the first two times around involve a dozen words or less, this step involves a bit more explanation, so I’m going to ask that we just spend a few moments in silence to consider this on our own.  Then I’ll draw us all back together, and I’ll share what my connections were.

I recognize that this is probably something new for many of you, but let’s begin, and I’ll walk us through it.  First, I’ll read the passage.

SLIDE 7

Matthew 20:29-34 (NIV)
²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  ³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  SLIDE 8 ³² Jesus stopped and called them.  “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

SLIDE 9

OK, now let’s just take a few moments to consider which word or phrase glimmered for us.  Which word or phrase stood out?  If three or four of you would like to share your word or phrase aloud, I’d invite you to do so. (Pause)

Now I’ll read the passage again, and I’ll ask you to think about the feelings and emotions you have around the word or phrase you’ve chosen.

SLIDE 10

Matthew 20:29-34 (NIV)
²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  ³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  SLIDE 11 ³² Jesus stopped and called them.  “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

SLIDE 12

Now take a few moments to consider the feelings and emotions you have connected to the word or phrase you’ve chosen.  If three or four of you would like to share those aloud, I’d invite you to do so. (Pause)

And now I’ll read the passage a final time.  This time I want you to consider how your word or phrase and your emotions and feelings intersect where you are today, in your current situation.

SLIDE 13

Matthew 20:29-34 (NIV)
²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  ³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  SLIDE 14 ³² Jesus stopped and called them.  “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

SLIDE 15

Now take a few moments to consider how your word or phrase and feeling or emotion connects to you where you are this morning. (Pause)

Now, if I may, I’d like to take a few minutes to share with you the journey God took me on as I went through Lectio Divina with this passage.

I’ve gone through Lectio Divina with several passages in the past.  Sometimes it’s been really meaningful to me… other times it was all I could do just to stay awake.  But going through this passage was one of those really meaningful times for me.  When I was told we were going to go through Lectio Divina, I already knew what my emotion was going to be (Which, by the way, is not a good way to go into Lectio Divina.  You should come to the passage with an open mind and allow God to take you in the direction he wants you to go with the passage.)  But anyway, I thought I knew which direction I was going to go.  My emotion was going to be purpose.  I was having a hard time seeing any purpose to my life, and I was sure that God wanted to show me that I had purpose, no matter what the passage was.

So the passage was read that we all just listened to and my word was “compassion.”  SLIDE 16  The passage says Jesus was “moved with compassion.”  I thought great!  This is where God wants me to go.  God’s going to have compassion on me and show me that I have purpose.  (Don’t you just love it when you think you have God all figured out?)

OK, so I listened to the passage a second time and I had my predetermined emotion all set… purpose.  SLIDE 17  God wanted to show me that I had purpose… I was sure of it.  But most times, when you think you have God all figured, you can probably prepare yourself for a surprise.  And that was the case for me.  I kept trying to think about purpose.  That was my whole reason for this exercise.  That, though, was the problem.  It was MY reason, but it wasn’t GOD’S reason.  As hard as I tried to think about purpose, the only word that kept coming to mind was “peace.”  SLIDE 18

Peace?  Why peace?  What did peace have to do with purpose?  The answer… not a whole lot.  But while I thought purpose was the spiritual mountain I had to climb, God said, “No, as important as that mountain may be, that’s not where you are right now.  I want you to think about peace… my peace.”  OK, so by now it was clear that I didn’t have God figured out.  So I listened to the passage a third time with open ears AND an open heart.  This time I would listen to it with peace in mind.

In the passage we have Jesus, the disciples, a large crowd, and these two blind men.  And as I listened with peace in mind I realized that I was lacking peace.  I was lacking shalom.  Now, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the word shalom or not, but it’s probably one of the coolest Hebrew words I know.  We translate it as peace in English, but that’s only because we don’t have any real good word for Shalom.  Shalom is much more than the absence of violence.  Shalom is a holistic peace.  In other words, it is a peace which involves your whole being.  When you experience God’s shalom you are at peace physically… you are at peace spiritually… you are at peace relationally… you are at peace vocationally… you are at peace financially…  You are at peace in every sense of the word.  And it was this peace… this shalom… that I was lacking.

And so when I listened to the passage I could most easily identify with the characters in the story who were also lacking something… the blind men.  The blind men were lacking sight – I was lacking peace.  I was not at peace with my circumstances in life.  While I was looking for purpose, for a reason for why I was where I was… doing what I was doing… being who I was, God was saying I want you to simply have peace with where you are… with what you’re doing… with who you are.  Trust me for the future, I want you to experience shalom here and now.

So I looked back at the passage.  And here are the blind men looking for sight.  They come to Jesus, and Jesus, moved with compassion, touches their eyes, and immediately, their sight is restored.  Well, by now I’m feeling pretty skeptical.  OK Jesus, maybe you restored their sight immediately, but there’s no way you could restore my peace… not immediately.  My circumstances need to change first.  I can’t have holistic peace where I am in life right now.  And his response was “You can if you trust me.  Will you trust me?”

SLIDE 19

This might not seem like anything profound now, but when I first sensed God saying this to me it was like a whack up-side the head.  He was right.  The reason I wasn’t at peace was because I was trying to take on things that weren’t mine to take on.  I was worrying about tomorrow when tomorrow could worry about itself.

So what does this passage have to say to you?  Maybe God’s telling you that you need to experience shalom too…  I don’t know.  If there’s one thing this experience has reminded me of, it’s that I can’t dictate to God what he has to teach me, or you for that matter.  But I do know that learning to experience shalom, regardless of our circumstances, is a lesson that we would all do well to learn.

Let me take you back to the video that we started with.  In the song, Mark Shultz takes us through a day which is likely all too typical for all too many of us.  We’re running from here to there to the next place without taking any time to take our “shalom pulse.”  And if you remember, any mention of God came way at the end of the song when Mark said, “When I meet God, I’ll ask him a question.”  Then, do you remember the next line?  It was “I just forgot the question.”  Essentially, life had gotten so busy that God got pushed out of life all together.  Pushing God out of your life (whether intentionally or unintentionally) is certainly no way to experience God’s shalom in your life.  I wonder how the song…  I wonder how our lives… would be different if we were to put God in the beginning of the song.  I wonder if we could stop running to catch ourselves and start walking by Jesus’ side.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.