March 11, 2006, Psalm 46
Rev. Dr. Richard M. Knight

The Book of Psalms is the prayer book of the Bible, the hymnal of the Israelites. It’s written in poetry, so instead of saying - "When your world is falling apart," he writes - "though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam." These psalms were sung. This particular psalm has 3 verses and a refrain - "The Lord of hosts is with us." (the word "Selah" is a note to the musicians. It probably meant pause. Please read Psalm 46.

John Ortberg is one of my favorite authors and pastors. We have several of his books available in our little bookstore. Several years ago, Ortberg moved from sunny, laid back southern California to pastor a mega-church in Chicago. As he was settling in in his new city and new position he decided to call his mentor for some advice - a very wise & spiritual man. Ortberg described to his dear friend the new church, the pace of the work, as well as the personal rhythms and schedules of his family. Ortberg said, I asked my wise friend, the most spiritual man I’ve ever known - "What do I need to do to be spiritually healthy?" - to be close to God and to be effective as a family man and a pastor. A long paused ensued. "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." Another long pause. "OK, I wrote that down. That’s a good one. What else?"

"There is nothing else.  There is nothing else. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life."

John Ortberg came to realize that his spiritual mentor was on to a very deep spiritual truth. Ortberg writes: "Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. Hurry can destroy our souls. Hurry can keep us from living well. As Carl Jung wrote, ‘Hurry is not of the devil; hurry is the devil.’"

Hurry keeps us consumed with the "cares and riches and pleasures of life," as Jesus put it. We live in a driven society - driven to excess, driven to constant activity, driven to keep busy!

"What’s ya been doing?

"What you been up to?

"How’s it going?"

We become Human Doings instead of Human Beings.

The problem is constant activity does not draw us near to God. Jesus was aware of this in his day and he routinely withdrew from the crowds and from activity, and he taught his disciples to do the same. "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while," he said in Mark’s Gospel. Now please don’t misunderstand - Jesus was often busy, but he was never hurried, inwardly rushed.

Ortberg lists some symptoms of what he calls "Hurry Sickness."

1 - speeding up daily activities - encouraging other people to talk faster, "Come on, let’s go, kids. Let’s see who can get dressed the quickest!"

2 - Multi-tasking - doing more than one thing at a time. Have you seen people shaving while driving a car? or putting on make-up while driving? Do you think we’re made to live this way?

3 - clutter - hurry filled lives lead to clutter

4 - superficiality in relationships. Ortberg says, Hurry Sickness leads to a diminished capacity to love because "Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible." Because "love always takes time, and time is the one thing that hurried people don’t have."

We can love when we’re active, when we’re doing things - but it’s much harder when we’re rushed, hurried, frenetic. In the same way, we can pray when we’re active but not so well when we’re hurried and inwardly driven and rushed. Last month we talked about Simplifying our lives - adopting attitudes and practices that will enable us to lead the lives we want. Ruthlessly eliminating hurry - as best we’re able - is another thing that can go a long way in simplifying life.

This month we’re talking about the classic spiritual disciplines of our faith - Back to the Basics, as Linda put it last week. Well, one of the classic spiritual disciplines of our faith can help us immensely when it comes to leading less hurried lives - and therefore lives that are more connected to God and to people because we’re less hurried and harried! This classic spiritual discipline is summed up in those beautiful words - "Be still and know that I am God." The discipline is that of meditation - being still in the presence of God.

Now, meditation has a long history in our faith. Although, we tend to think of it as an Eastern practice - along with yoga, Zen, transcendental meditation. And that’s a sad commentary on modern Christianity, which has tended to be very doctrinal and philosophical. But Christianity in its essence is mystical and highly spiritual. It’s not just about believing in God, it’s about experiencing God. It’s not just about having all the correct doctrines about God, it’s about experiencing the companionship of God, the embrace of God, the love and power of God. And that’s where meditation comes in.

The Bible is filled with references to meditation - to being still in God’s presence, to be fully present to God.

Psalm 119 - "My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate upon thy promise."

In Gen. 24 Isaac goes out "to meditate in the field."

Psalm 1 - Blessed is the one who "delights in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night."

Joshua told the Israelites to "meditate on God’s word day and night." Joshua 1:8

The Book of Revelation, ch. 1, John says he was "in the spirit on the Lord’s day" when he received these revelations, these words from God.  John was meditating in the presence of God when God spoke.

Psalm 63 is another example of someone enjoying the blessings of meditation:

"My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."

So, you can see that meditation has a long history in our faith, going all the way back to the Bible. And throughout church history, mystics, monks and people just like you and I have practiced this spiritual discipline.

The goal of meditation is oneness with God. "Be still… and know!" Know that "the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble."

The goal of other types of mediation is sometimes detachment - detachment from the world, from desire, even detachment from one’s self. That’s a fine practice but it’s not primary goal of Christian meditation. The goal of Christian meditation is not detachment but attachment - attachment to God.

In some forms of meditation the goal is to empty one’s self - free from worry, free from wants, free from self. There is that in Christian meditation but still our ultimate goal is not merely emptying ourselves, but it’s emptying ourselves in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As John the Baptist said - "He must increase, I must decrease." More of God, less of me.

Illustration. Christian mediation is like viewing your soul as a beautiful wine glass, goblet and asking God to fill it with the new wine of the Spirit. Sometimes we may feel tht the goblet has to be cleaned first - and God is more than willing to do that. God’s grace will make it shine like new - "If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation!" But the goblet of our souls longs to be filled with God.

One of our parishioners and choir members sent me this quote this week. It’s from The Way of Solomon

"With a quiet mind, a heart still and silent, You will see the infinity of God and the finity of self.  Humility will embrace you, and you will fade into that which is all that is,  Your words will be few, the silence great.  There is room then for listening."

Meditation helps us hear from God - personally, experientially.

Well, we learn to meditate by meditating. This month we’re not just going to tell you to go home and do what we’re talking about - we hope you will. But we thought, let’s do it here. Let’s practice here - what better place.

There are a number of different ways to meditate.

A. There are guided mediations - we’ve done them here.

B. You can meditate on a story from the Bible - see it, put yourself in it, feel it. Ex. Prodigal Son, children in Jesus’ arms.

C. You can mediate on a specific word, such as love, grace, faith, or even the name of Jesus.

D. You can use a famous prayer - like the Lord’s Prayer, saying it slowly, stopping to examine and experience each word, each phrase, each petition.

- "Lord Jesus Christ, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy upon me."

We’re going to do two types of meditation this morning.

E. Breathing

F. Meditating upon a verse of scripture.  So please take out the bulletin insert.  Pick one of these verses.

    "Be still and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10

    "He must increase, I must decrease." John 3:30

    "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Ps. 23:1

    "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Is. 40:31

    "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Ps. 51:10

Say it repeatedly to yourself. Focus on each word. - chew on each word - digest each word. The goal is to personalize and internalize the passage. Set the paper aside if you think you know the verse. Now, please sit up straight, feet flat on the floor.

Focus on your breathing. Breathe from deep within you. Breath out your worries, your fears, your anxiousness, anything that gets in the way of your relationship with God. And breathe in the Holy Spirit, the presence of God. Now meditate on the scripture you chose, saying it a number of times, letting it be either the word of God to you, or your deep, sincere words of faith to God.

Closing prayer: Loving God, thank you for these moments when we draw near to you and you draw near to us. Help us to seek you in the quiet - without hurry, anxiety or rush - that our lives might exhibit your peace and your presence within us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.