LENTEN RETREAT I
Dear All of Us,
Let's Lent
and
"Try this on
for
Soul Size."
Life is a dynamic
an alternation
a pulsation
a back and forth
Action- Pause
We work
We sleep
We give
We receive
When things
are balanced,
we are.
Such certainly
spiritual life.
Lent
a
Pause
that gives needed
spiritual balance.
It's like a team
taking a time out
to further a win
or
to find one.
Lent
"The pause
that refreshes"
Lent
an annual
Retreat
to go
forward
If that's a fit,
we're all invited to
Pause
Refresh
Retreat
together here
in our weekly huddles
during Lent
Our theme and approach
come from
The Desert
Mothers and Fathers
Now, please don't reach for
your water bottle and
head for the doors.
Yes, they were
long ago,
far away and
big time different
from us in our
here and now.
They also knew
and modeled
a near perfect
Pause
They lived it
in a mix up
much like our
right now
social/spiritual
messiness
and
misorder.
They had
to step out
to step up.
We do too.
Let's follow
their good lead
and
retreat forward.
Richard Rohr maps it out for us.
Speaking of the Desert Mothers and Fathers and their time he says:
"They were surely bona fide Christians and yet knew none of the
doctrines which many of us today take as essential orthodoxy, such as
the two natures of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, the inerrancy of the
Bible, and on and on. This early period is a clearing house for
essential Christianity." (1)
(emphasis mine and I hope ours))
Over time Christianity got complicated, compromised and corrupted.
To go forward we really need to get back to basics -
Retreat Forward
The Desert Mamas and Papas take us back to our future.
They had the basics down cold out there in the hot desert.
They didn't fuss.
They focused.
It was no frills, no fooling.
It was an essential experience of living Jesus the Christ.
It was Love Lived.
It was Kingdom coming,
It was wonder-full.
In our Now:
Are we really and ready for that?
In what kind of packaging have we received Christianity?
What's core, and what's later conditioning and current container?
How taken and/or troubled are we with the condition and container of
current Christianity?
How willing are we to make adjustments to live
"essential Christianity"?
Given the particulars of our life setting, how can the practical living of
the Gospel be the core and center of our daily, actual, living?
Are we genuinely wrapped in with a for real Christian community?
FOR PAUSE PONDER PRAYER
To
RETREAT FORWARD
We are invited to join in/gather together a small group,
or covenant with a trusted Soul Friend.
If neither is possible, we fly solo.
We open wide to The Spirit.
We focus on
"essential Christianity"
What is it?
We want to
"for real"
commit to it.
We skinny dip
in a sea of scripture.
We Spirit Soak in Matthew
especially
The Sermon
on the Mount
What/how is that to be lived
in our here and now?
We use
The Message
translation
(free online)
We pray a lot,
settle into scripture
listen a lot,
speak some,
support greatly.
SUGGESTION:
We begin with Spirit Prayer and then silence.
We slowly read a portion of
Mathew three times.
We pause in silence for a few minutes
after each reading.
We then share.
We seek one focus per reading:
(1) What is the core message here?
(2) How can that be lived here and now?
(3) How can we help each other live it?
Let's do a practice run with
Matthrew 4:17
After Jesus
went through his own
Retreat Forward
in those forty
desert days and nights
he was out and about
preaching.
We do well to begin
where Jesus began with
his inaugural theme:
"Change your life.
God's kingdom is at hand."
Following the prompts above;
(1) Jesus says we need to change how we live.
That's a lot more than to stop sticking our bubble gum
on the underside of the pew when we go to church.
Jesus is saying we need a life re-set.
Do we hear it?
Will we do it?
Jesus says God's Kin-Domain is here.
Really!
Do we hear that?
Will we move in?
Or are we on hold til heaven?
Do we hear that God is ready for
a whole new way of life for us
and for world order?
Or do we "theologize" and "spiritualize" it inert?
(2) How do we put flesh on those bones?
Are we really ready for "essential Christianity" and the major change of
mentality, values, lifestyle that it means for -
the wheels we drive and the address where we park them?
our relationships with "The naughty and nice" in our orbit?
betting the farm on Gospel not Empire values and ways?
accepting profound divine intimacy?
blending and bonding with others in sweaty/sweet community
as The Gathered (L."eccelesia"), The Body of Christ?
sticking our neck out for social justice and realizing we may get more
than a body chop for it?
What are the top two things we need to do/undo to be for real in response?
(3) Will we hang in there with others as they work out this changed,
Kin-Domain life even when it stretches every tolerance and supportive
muscle we have?
What scares us about that?
What could that look like?
When we stumble fumble will we let others pick us up?
What are the top concerns we face?
What are a few approaches we are willing to try?
What do we say?
Are we really ready/willing for a life reset?
Or, will we settle for a little light dusting
of what is and how we are?
"ALL IN" LENT
Let's daily, lots, and from the heart, pray for each in our shared
PAUSE
******
frankly speaking
spirituality for the street
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Thanks for the goodness
of doing Lent together.
See you next week.
Much love
John Frank
******
OPPS!
Almost forgot.
Chaulk it up to me being
on the shady side of
eighty three
(1) Daily Meditations,
Center for Action
and Contemplation,
May 4, 2015
******
