The Daily Disciplines
Everything we do is practice for the next time. When we cease to practice, we lose our fluency, and memory becomes imperfect. Some things are practiced by default- when did you last consciously practice eating? Other things require conscious effort. My handwriting is slow, laborious and has lost its fluency. I type without thinking.
When we took our young children back out to the desert where we had lived, they were profoundly uncomfortable with the open spaces. We noticed our son was happier and less fractious whenever we went walking in the enclosed space of mountain gorges. We become used to, and are affected by our environment. Years before, leaving the desert, my wife and I were depressed, dislocated and disoriented by urban life. A day out walking in the hills begins to resurrect memories and instincts which have been lost to our consciousness.
As urban westerners we live in a profoundly artificial environment. It is possible, even easy, to avoid the outside world for days at a time! Enter the garage by an inside door from the house, drive out using the automatic door opener, drive to the underground car park, and take the internal lift up to work. Leave before it is properly light, and return home after dark. We live in a world which we Australians especially, think we control. In truth, we are irradiated with uncontrolled advertising and other stimulation, rarely alone enough to be in silence, and uncomfortable if we are. We live in a noisy, crowded and driven world, which is the anathema of all that our spiritual ancestors learned is necessary for health. We have stepped out of reality into an artificial place.
The spiritual disciplines are designed to bring us back into the real world from our artificial place. They create time, silence and space for us to re-engage with the depths of life. They patrol the corridors of the mind, as someone has said, re-minding us of what is really important. Religion without practice becomes merely an idea, caught in the currents of the ideas round about, without the anchor of reality.
The first task of theology
This is a deep post from Theology Forum:
We have been exploring the inner life of the theologian (and the theological student) from various angles over the last couple months. Most recently, James challenged us to consider Lent a season for 'setting aside' areas of our calling in order that we might take them up again in renewed awareness of their dedication to God. Toward this end, James is setting aside scholarship (and TF) for Lent because, ‘I can sit and think all day about God without ever really thinking about God....
This applies not only to theologians in the formal sense. It applies to any attempt at Christian discipleship. We can get so focussed on the discipleship that we forget the first principles. The author concludes with words from Karl Barth.
The first and basic act of theological work is prayer...Undoubtedly, from thevery beginning and without intermission, theological workalso study; in every respect it is also service; and finally it would certainly be in vain were it not also an act of love. But theological work does not merely begin with prayer and is not merely accompanied by it; in its totality it is peculiar and characteristic of theology that it can be performed only in the act of prayer ... We should keep in mind the fact that prayer, as such, is work; in fact, very hard work, although inits execution the hands are most fittingly not moved but folded.
My comment:
There is so much I should do.
I should love my wife by spending time and talking with her each day.
I should pray.
I should keep fit and get exercise.
I should go the denominational meetings.
I should keep up to date with my reading.
I should relax.
I have to commute.
I really should do some work, too!
This is complicated by the fact that I am a little bit obsessive, which might be apparent from this post!
Grace for me, has been letting myself lighten up. Morning prayer, first thing, is really important. It noticeably shapes my day. A Compline litany is good, but often does not happen. I have let go of midday prayers.
Here, from upstairs in the city, what is liberating for me is to actually stop for lunch... didn't do that for seven years in IT... and simply wander up and down Rundle Mall and watch what goes past. I sometimes regret the "not" of the midday Office, but I think it is doing me good not to try at everything so hard.
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