Acts 13: 14, 43-52; Revelations 7: 9, 14-17; John 10:27-30; Psalm 100
May 12, 2019
Lloyd Penner
Spiritual Drought Pt. 2
I ended last Sunday’s homily with the words, “Streams will flow in the desert and the wasteland will be a watered garden”. We looked at the symptoms, causes and impact of spiritual drought. Today, our theme is spiritual recovery.
The church of my youth held revival services each Spring and Fall. It was a time of self examination, repentance and a time to make a recommitment to Jesus. I am not suggesting we should hold formal revival services but there are times when individuals and churches need “revival” through a process of self examination, repentance and recommitment. As a church it would be good to re-examine where we stand spiritually. However, today we will focus on individual spiritual renewal.
The first step is to recognize that we that I need renewal. Yes, I am in a spiritual “funk”. I don’t have the same intimacy with God that I used to have but I want that to be restored. The scriptures are clear that God in his mercy and love is always ready to restore us so that once again we experience the joy of our salvation. Jesus said, “Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened onto you.” Jesus also said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
The path of spiritual recovery is not going to be the same for each of us. What I want to offer are some suggestions based on my experience and certain Scriptures and ideas in Brian McLaren’s’ book, Naked Spirituality. As I noted last Sunday, the church at Ephesus was doing very well except for one major thing – they had lost their “first love” for God and each other. The solution the Angel of the Ephesian church said was “to repent.” Repent means that we acknowledge the ways in which we have missed the mark – how are actions, words and thoughts have separated us from ourselves, other people, the earth and God. This may require that I make things right with people I have harmed. The second thing the Angel says to the Ephesian church is “to do the things they had done when they first came to faith”. What was it that previously gave you such joy and close connection with Jesus? Was it prayer, walks in nature, reading the Bible and uplifting books or being with other Christians etc.?
But it may be that what worked for you in the past does not work as well for you anymore. This may be an invitation to explore new ways of enhancing your spiritual connection with God. Your spiritual drought may be a blessing. One of the things I have been learning about myself these past years is that I want a spirituality that is practical – that is - one that helps me live with an underlying sense of the sacred- a spirituality that can transform my everyday experiences and my encounters with people. That can help me live moment by moment. Brian McLaren encourages us to develop practices such as solitude and spending time in nature that awaken us to the “here-ness of God.
Another thing I am slowly learning is that when I am spiritually alive it’s because my head, heart, and body are in alignment. I feel connected and whole. And this connection spills over into my relationships with others and my reactions to problems that arise. Spiritual renewal is going to involve all 3 centres: head, heart and body. Let’s look at the 3 centres beginning with the body.
In Romans 12, Paul calls us to offer our bodies to God as a living sacrifice - an act of worship. Our bodies are a great gift from God and as such part of our calling is to do whatever we can to preserve it. I find that regular exercise is essential to my spiritual health. It definitely helps to align my body with my head and heart which promotes spiritual vitality. In addition, when a person feels depressed, vigorous exercise helps to move the negative energy out of our head into the body where it often dissolves.
How can we nurture the heart centre? McLaren encourages us to practice gratitude and appreciation. Gratitude for God’s generosity as seen in nature, in giving us life. Gratitude for our families, our friends, this gathering and much more. Gratitude opens our heart – a key element in achieving wholeness. Jean Vanier who died this week exuded heart energy giving us a tremendous example of how to live a life of compassion. I highly recommend you download the Tuesday As it Happens radio podcast which included a rebroadcast of a 2015 interview with Vanier and an interview with Ian Brown whose son is severely mentally disabled. Brown spent 3 days with Vanier and he shares his reflections of that amazing experience. Brown remembers Vanier saying, “The real person is one who is learning to love”. About 25 years ago some of us heard Vanier speak at Westminster United Church – what an inspirational evening it was which I shall never forget.
Another point McLaren makes about spiritual renewal relates to both the heart and the body - the need to practice jubilation. He writes that in the early Middle Ages people stood during worship and often danced to express their joy. Eventually the story goes church authorities did not like this and so put in pews to inhibit dancing. Maybe we should get rid of the chairs. I don’t dance but music does it for me. Last week it was Keith Green’s song, “There is a Redeemer” This week it was Brahm’s piece, “How Lovely is your dwelling place oh Lord of Hosts” (Psalm 84). As I listened, the floodgates opened and I cried tears of ecstasy. McLaren says that when we are truly plugged into God it’s as if we are plugged into a current of high voltage joy. Revival movements in history have almost always been characterized by joyous celebration. Some of us will remember the jubilant worship that characterized the charismatic renewal when it emerged in the late 1960s. At our Friday Night Conversation last September Jane, Roger, Kerry and Craig mentioned that one of the things that really stood out for them at the renewal conference sponsored by Richard Rohr’s organization they had attended was the joyous worship.
Renewal also involves the head. Last Sunday I stated that intellectual doubt can undermine our spiritual life. Doubts about the Bible, doubts about the basic foundations of our faith, and doubts about the existence of God need to be taken seriously. To me it requires more faith to believe that matter, energy and the laws of nature such as gravity came from nothing than to believe that there is an ultimate source we call God. As for the Bible, McLaren reminds us that the Bible is primarily a book of stories-stories about how the people of Israel and the early Christians wrestled with issues and encountered God in their lives. It’s not a history book in the modern sense in which rigid rules of research and evidence have to be followed (although it certainly contains a lot of history). The events that the authors of the Bible include are chosen for a spiritual purpose and interpreted with that goal in mind. That is what makes the stories true not whether they happened exactly as described. Moreover, because our minds are limited we can never fully understand anything including spiritual realities. As Paul said “We look through a glass darkly. Now we know in part then we shall know fully. If we remember this, intellectual doubts do not need to rob us of spiritual vitality.
In conclusion I want to remind us that throughout the history of the church Christians have found that certain spiritual practices can help us renew our experience of God. They help us connect our 3 centres (head, heart and body) with the realm of the Spirit. Both Richard Rohr and Brian McLaren emphasize meditation and contemplative prayer. Each of us needs to find the spiritual disciplines that work for us. We also need to remember that spiritual renewal is not a once for all experience. The cycle of spiritual decline and renewal often repeats itself but each time we can learn new things and thus grow stronger in our faith. Ultimately what we want is a fresh experience of Jesus- a restoration of our first love.