Without even realizing it, I planted a seed for this week's entry in last week's introduction to this blog. 

This happened when I said I was reading Thompson's Soul Feast with the "eyes of my heart" this go-round as opposed to having read with the "eyes of a student" back when I read the book in Seminary. Sometimes we read in order to gain information; that's what I meant by reading with the "eyes of a student." Other times, we read in order to experience transformation and that's what I mean by reading with the "eyes of the heart." 

In chapter two of Soul Feast, Thompson uses the metaphor of a love letter to make this distinction. Who, what, when, where, how - information concerns - are not first and foremost when one reads a love letter. Presumably we know the facts about someone who knows us well enough to profess to love us! Rather, you or I would read a love letter (and send a love letter, btw) in order to experience something of the relationship with our beloved. 

Sometimes we read scripture for information, but other times we need to read it as though we're reading a love letter. "Chewing the bread of the word" is Thompson's way of means setting aside reading for information and seeking, instead, to read for the experience of connecting with God.

> Pause for a bit and read the Lord's Prayer aloud, thinking about what each phrase might mean. Read the prayer a second time, imagining how each phrase helps you connect with God. There's no right or wrong here; just see if this experiment will help the difference make sense to you.

​

When I did that experiment for myself, one line was particularly helpful in making the distinction between information and transformation: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." ​When I read that line of the prayer for information, I simply note the reality that God's forgiveness encourages me to forgive others. Reading the same line for transformation, though, I marvel that God's forgiveness can so transform my way of being in the world that I can't help but forgive my neighbors! The prayer is way more than a string of facts - it forms us as disciples.

That Lord's Prayer experiment is a bit of an appetizer for a centuries old practice called Lectio Divina. The 4-movement dance of Lectio Divina can be summarized as Reading, Reflecting, Responding and Resting.

Sometimes I find it helpful to do that first step, the Reading step, a few times. I'm too used to being a student who reads for information! So, I might read through one time and let my mind make meaning of the text. With the Lord's Prayer, this means recognizing that this passage is Jesus' recommended prayer for his disciples. The second time I read through, I try to take in the spiritual impact of the whole text. Again, with the Lord's Prayer, this might mean marveling at Jesus' tenderness in providing exactly what the disciples asked of him - a particular way to pray. When I do a third reading, I look for the place where the prayer has traction for me in particular. Today that connection is with "Forgive us." What does it feel like - as opposed to what does it mean - to be forgiven?

The Reflecting step is about meditating on the part of the text that rose to the surface in the Reading step. Reflecting on "Forgive us" takes me on a journey of confession and assurance. It's really a mini journey of Lent and Holy Week as I let "Forgive us" rattle around in my heart, mind and soul. (Reflecting can also be thought of as Receiving - the thoughts and experiences that come to us in this reflection time are gifts from God!)

Reflecting then overflows in a Responding step, where I offer a prayer - praise, thanks, confession - to God for the gifts I received in my reflection. This prayer might be words, but it might be tears, or a smile, or a heaven-ward beat of the heart.

Finally, Resting is a bit of time spent in the presence of God. I suppose the Resting step could even be called Reveling - either way, we're meant to remain in the moment of connection. This step is the 'point' of Lectio Divina, really, for this spiritual practice is meant to draw us into closer relationship with the Triune God.

> Pause and practice Lectio Divina with one or more of the following texts:
Psalm 121, Luke 15:1-7, Matthew 26:6-13, I Corinthians 13:1-13
You can use the same practice with poetry (Christian Wiman, Wendell Berry, Kathleen Norris, St. John of the Cross, CS Lewis to name just a few) or with artwork (the St. John's Bible is a treasure trove, or search for icons or old masters' works.).

Lectio Divina can happen in 15 or 20 minutes or you can spend hours (or days) at a time! Slow down and savor, even for just a while, and I'm sure the Holy Spirit will feed your spirit. 

Until next time
Peace,
Lisa

P.S. Share your discoveries - and your struggles, too - in the comments section. -L
​

Who knew we'd start a blog?!
If the COVID-19 pandemic has any gift to offer us, I think it is the gift of sabbath.

We're living in a time and circumstance that is forcing us to slow down, take stock and connect more deeply. I've spent more time on the phone with friends in the last 10 days and more time texting my brother and sister, too. Probably even a greater number of intentional 'checking in' phonecalls with church members.

I may even be praying more constantly than ever - worry and anxiety hover close and I find myself working hard to rest in God's presence. If you're reading this blog, maybe you're sensing a need to deepen your connection to the Triune One, too. If so, well, then you're practicing sabbath. And I suppose we have a pandemic to thank for that. 

Before life as we knew it stopped, I had plans to spend a week of study leave attending a spiritual retreat - a days-long sabbath of sorts. There would be coursework, to be sure, but most of the week would be sabbath - time to slow down, take stock and connect more deeply to the One who breathed my first breath into me, the same One who nourishes me body, mind and spirit even now. 

In preparation for that retreat, I've been reading two books. I finished Gerald Sittser's Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries a couple of weeks ago. Sittster's book is something of a church history approach to spirituality. I found it refreshing to learn how each phase of the church's history had its unique ways of connecting more deeply to God. Sittster's approach casts a wide net - study is as 'spiritual' as prayer in his view and I was glad to read that!

Marjorie Thompson's Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life is the book I'm reading - actually re-reading - now. (Soul Feast was first published while I was in seminary and I remember reading it for Ministry-101 class.) Unlike Sittster's church history approach, Thompson offers explanation and encouragement for particular spiritual practices. I'm enjoying re-reading Soul Feast this time, well, with the "eyes of the heart" rather than the "eyes of a student." It's practically a different book this time around!

For the next several weeks I'll share my experience of Soul Feast in hopes that you might join me at the table Thompson's setting for us. But please, don't let my experience become your experience. I am offering what I learn in order to encourage you to do your own feasting - if you really want to taste chocolate cake, you've got to get your own fork! Likewise, someone else's spiritual journey can help you crave that nourishment for yourself, but it cannot actually feed you. You have to dig in for yourself.

>Pause for a minute or two: As you come to the table, maybe say the Lord's Prayer to get yourself started. Focus on the "Give us this day" line of the prayer so you'll have in mind what it is that you most need in terms of spiritual nourishment. Below is a shot of Lenten Roses on my windowsill, pause there and think about - maybe even write down somewhere - what you're after in this experience. Then, below the photo, I'll share my takeaways from chapter 1 of Soul Feast and this born-out-of-pandemic blog will be off and running.

Chapter 1: Hunger and Thirst for the Spirit: The Spiritual Yearning of Our Time

I hope you spent some time with “Give us this day” and that you now have a bit of an idea of what it is you’re hungry for.

Thompson’s chapter 1 explores how it is that we've become so very hungry and then suggests what we can do to identify and feed our real cravings. I would liken what she says to what I know (but do not practice very well!) about nutrition: it may be cheaper, faster and tastier to gobble the empty calories of processed foods, but if I spend the time and money to prepare and eat balanced meals, my body will naturally be stronger, leaner and healthier. I'll even find that I begin to crave balanced meals and begin to diminish my junk food dependence.
 
Likewise, contemporary life craves “an infinite supply of thrills, goods, and successes” which don't end up satisfying our real cravings. (p. 1) Made in the image of God, we long for more meaning than we get when we satisfy those shallow culture cravings. Our quick fixes can’t meet our deep needs, so we constantly are left hungry and thirsty for more.
 
Like preparation of a healthy, well-rounded meal, cultivating the spiritual life takes some time, energy and intentionality. We have to be willing to say no to some things in order to say yes to the work of nurturing our spirits.
 
What is unique about cultivating the spiritual life, though, is that a little bit of effort pays off fairly quickly because God meets us in that place where we pray “Give us this day.” This is in contrast to “feeding the beast” that is the way of the culture. Chasing those things that the culture tells us we need will only make us hungrier; a little spiritual food starts a cycle of satisfaction and then draws us (gratefully rather than frantically) into ever more spiritual nurture. “If only I could…” (fill in the blank for what the culture tells you you need: “be skinny,” “be rich,” “be successful”) begins to give way to a steady dependence on God’s “daily bread.”
 
>Pause again: Maybe gaze out a window or go back to the Lenten Rose photograph and consider what spirituality means for you.
 
Thompson says “the spiritual life is simply the increasing vitality and sway of God’s Spirit in us.” (p. 7)  I’d say that spirituality is the experience of seeking and being fed by God’s spirit. It is about intentionality in creating a two-way relationship with God. Spiritual practices and spiritual disciplines are two ways of confessing that a vital two-way relationship doesn’t fall out of thin air, but that it results from consistent effort (practice) and an openness to being conformed to the image of Christ (which is what it means to be disciple-ed/disciplined).
 
>Pause once more: What have you wanted badly enough that you’ve been willing to commit to practice  or discipline in order to make it happen? How ready are you to work at cultivating a deeper spiritual life?
 
Until next time,
Peace
Lisa!

Sittser, Gerald, Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries. IVP Books, 2010. 
Thompson, Marjorie, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life (New Rev edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 2014.