Lent group meditations to increase our relationship with the living Lord

Transcription

1 The Great I Am Lent group meditations to increase our relationship with the living Lord DAVID D ADAM A

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3 The Great I Am Lent group meditations to increase our relationship with the living Lord DAVID D ADAM A

4 kevin mayhew First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Kevin Mayhew Ltd Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Copyright 2008 David Adam The right of David Adam to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher ISBN Catalogue No Cover design by Rob Mortonson Edited and typeset by Katherine Laidler Printed and bound in Great Britain

5 Contents Introduction 5 First Week of Lent 15 I am the bread of life Second Week of Lent 23 I am the light of the world Third Week of Lent 31 I am the gate for the sheep Fourth Week of Lent 39 I am the good shepherd Fifth Week of Lent 47 I am the way, and the truth, and the life Holy Week 57 I am the true vine Easter Week 65 I am the resurrection and the life Affirmation 73 Acknowledgements 75

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7 Introduction From as early as the third century Lent was seen as a time to prepare for Easter. It was a time for teaching those who wanted to accept the faith and for preparing the lapsed for re-admission to the fullness of the believing community. It was a time to help people to commit their lives to God and to a living relationship with him. This is not so much a time of denial but of learning to live life to the full. Only what restricts our growth in this relationship need be cut way. A life of sin was seen as a life that missed the mark, and Lent was a time to renew people s aim and make sure they were not losing out on the fullness of life. These meditations introduce us to the mystery that is all around us and the great mystery which is God. It is impossible to comprehend God with our minds but we can hold him in our hearts and be held in his heart. We will seek to look in depth at what Jesus is saying in the seven I am statements and see how they bring us to a deeper awareness of his ever-present love and saving power. All of the sayings are from St John s Gospel, which is depicted by the image of an eagle because it soars so high. This Gospel has a special structure and balance and a different feel to the other three Gospels. In it there are seven miracles or signs of power and also seven special statements which begin with words I am. Although these sessions are laid out like study notes, they are more for meditation: they are not so much to be debated with our minds as to be allowed to enter into our hearts. Above all, they are to help us to encounter the risen and living Lord. Faith is not what we believe but rather whom we believe; faith is having a living relationship with our God. Easter is more than hymns 5

8 THE GREAT I AM and alleluias, more than services and ceremonies; it is an encounter with the risen Lord, and all of life is meant to be lived in awareness of this encounter. It is about getting to know him and returning to the foundation of our faith which is Jesus Christ. We are not the people of a book, not even the Bible, special as that is; we are the people of God. As Christians we are in Christ and he is in us. We need to live with this awareness to live full lives. In each session I have provided a suggestion of hymns to be sung or listened to. The hymns can be used as quiet readings to direct our attention to our Lord and his saving work. The Gospel reading is given in full and is followed by some thoughts on it, although immediately after the reading of the Gospel I have suggested a period of silence. The Gospel is then backed up by references to the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfils the longings of humankind. After this we look at how others have shown their experience of this saying of Jesus in their lives. It is then important to make this our own not just the words but our relationship with our God. To assist in this I have begun each session with a prayer and ended it with a prayer. The common pattern for each session is as follows Prayer Suggested hymns Gospel Silence Thoughts on the Gospel Old Testament Reaction of others Our action Silence Prayer 6

9 INTRODUCTION The two periods of silence are of great importance because in them we turn to our God who is ever-present. We need to take to heart the words Be still and know that I am God. At the very end of this book there is a set of affirmations that can be used after each session and as a regular quiet meditation at home. The method I have used for looking at these sayings can be compared to a piece of four-part music. There will be the main theme taken from the Gospel: this is the part we need to learn and hold on to. I would like to assign this to the tenor part. Tenor comes from the Latin tenere, meaning to hold. Plainsong, also known as cantus firmus, was usually given the tenor part in early medieval masses. This held the song while higher and lower voices wrapped it round with the developing counterpoint. We all need to learn this part and to be able to sing it and to live it. The world should see in us the Good News. One of the great weaknesses of the Christian West is that so few know the very Gospel which is the foundation of their faith. As with a piece of music, do not merely listen to the Gospel, let it enter your life and be able to sing it in your own way. Allow the Gospel to lead you into the presence and love of Christ. Beneath the tenor is the bass part, deep and underlying. Think of this as the Old Testament without which we would not get the fullness of the Gospel meaning. The Old Testament grounds the whole and keeps it solid, helping us to see that this is what is meant. Without these bass notes, our understanding can be thin and reedy, without depth, a gliding, even though often beautifully, over the surface. We need to discover there is a depth to things: a depth to the Gospel and to ourselves. Much can be done with this two-part harmony of Old and New Testament. But more parts can enrich it and extend it further. 7

10 THE GREAT I AM Above the tenor part is the alto, which develops the theme as laid out in the tenor part and leads us on to another realm of thought and experience. This voice may often appear to be quiet but it has exciting things to do and adds to the whole meaning. The alto can greatly enrich the feel of what is going on. To the alto is assigned the experience of others, whether from the past or from within the group that is sharing this journey. We do not live in a vacuum and we should learn from the wisdom and experience of those among whom we live and also from those who have gone before us. Let us share what the song does for us. Quite often today the top line is the one that people learn to sing. This represents our own experience. Sometimes this can appear to dominate and lead in new directions; sometimes it is in danger of shutting out all other sounds; but unless it is in harmony with the cantus firmus we are in danger of fragmentation and discord. All parts are there to enrich the others and allow a fullness of sound that is a fullness of life. We need to know our Scriptures, to relate to others and allow them to speak to us, but we do have our own individual part to play; without it, the whole is not complete. Life, like music, is a lot about listening and learning to live in harmony with others. I like this idea of four-part singing but I ask you to heed the words of St Augustine in his work On Music : he says the secret of a genuine spiritual life lies in learning how to perform the rhythms of one s life but without getting entangled in them. Let this time of sharing together be time of joy and quiet meditation. The choice of the I am sayings came through my own seeking for God in the present tense. I worry for Christians whose Gospel is restricted to the New Testament and who can only tell of what God has done. Too often the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are spoken of in the past 8

11 INTRODUCTION tense as if God was once at work but has ceased to be active now. I sought to know the God who is, is present, is loving, is here and with us now. I wanted to know the God with whom we have to do and in whom all things abide. The Bible regularly uses the imperfect (incomplete) tense when talking of God s actions, for they are not finished; God is at work and at work in us now. One of my friends is a very busy man. He keeps a general store, runs a small filling station, and acts as churchwarden and treasurer in the local church. I have often met him when many demands were being made upon him. He was being torn in different directions and it would seem life and what he stood for was falling apart. On such occasions he had a wonderful expression for his condition. He would say, I am feeling a bit mosaic today. I got the picture: life was being fractured into small pieces and at this stage it would be easy for it to fall apart. He faced many troubles but because he had a deep faith in a loving and ever-present God, he managed to cope. It was at this time I used in my prayers the words Lord, broken on the cross, we come to you for you alone can make us whole. A fragmented person or society needs to come to know that their strength and wholeness come from God. Moses must have also felt mosaic when he found himself in the wilderness! He had been adopted by Pharaoh s daughter and given royal privileges. It looked as if he had a rosy future but in siding with his people he had to flee from the royal court and enter into the wilderness. He felt like an alien in a foreign land (Exodus 2:22). This very dislocation of his life brought him into the silence and solitude of the desert. There in the stillness he became aware of God and of the holiness of the ground on which he stood. This raises questions in his heart and mind, and he asks, Who am I? What shall I say? 9

12 THE GREAT I AM How am I to do this? Moses has no confidence without God. But he is not without God and God promises to be with him always. Our God is the One in whom we live and move and have our being. Moses wants to know the nature of God but, of course, the human mind cannot comprehend the fullness of God. However, God reveals to Moses that he is not just the God of his ancestors; he is the present God, the God who is with him and with all who need him. God reveals his presence with the words I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:1-15) The revealing of the Holy One is what we need to transform our lives. We need to know that the ground on which we are standing is holy ground. We may have to find our own desert, if it does not find us. Silence and solitude are great instruments in the growth of awareness. We should set aside time and a place where we may become aware of the Holy One in our midst. It is when we have found God or been found by him in one place that all places become holy. We need to work for the day when we can say with Jacob, Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not. In our seeking God, we have to be open enough to let God find us. Let all our senses be alert to the God who comes to each of us. It is worth thinking upon the words of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning ( ): Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God but only he who sees takes off his shoes. Our God is the God who is present and waits upon us to turn to him. Let these words of the French philosopher and priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( ) challenge your thinking about God: 10

13 INTRODUCTION God is not far away from us, altogether apart from the world we see, touch, hear, smell and taste about us. Rather he awaits us at every instant of our action. Seek to learn that God and our world are not separate: the world of spirit and matter are interwoven and this is the world in which we live. Our God is here, present with us. Too often we are caught talking about God when we should be taking to him; we too easily ignore the presence of God in our midst. Regularly take time off from your busyness to acknowledge you are in the presence and love of God. In using this book it is good to weave times of silence every day into what we are doing. We are always wanting to enclose God within the framework of our understanding; we would like to explain him and name him. In the attempt to put a name to God there is the desire to control him. We only slowly learn that God is greater than all our thoughts and that the mind alone cannot contain him. It was difficult for Moses to explain how he had been found by God, how God called him from the burning bush. Moses wants to be able to tell others about God. God tells of his name, his nature, with the verb to be. God says, Ehyeh asher ehyeh which is usually translated, I AM WHO I AM. No words or tense can do justice to the nature of God, what God is or what he will be. For Moses, the God of his fathers, the God of history, the God of past experience, the God who was, has become the living God, the God that he now personally encounters; God is the great I am. This experience of Moses is something we all need to experience. As we can learn from Moses and his encounter with the living God, so we can learn from another dislocated life, the woman of Samaria, who meets Jesus by Jacob s 11

14 THE GREAT I AM Well at Sychar (John 4:1-42). The time is midday, when most people are staying out of the sun and resting. At this time the woman comes to the well because of a life out of tune with others. She is a Samaritan and a woman two good reasons for Jesus not to speak to her: her sex and her race. But, of course, he does and he does so not as a critic or one to condemn. Jesus has a natural thirst; the woman has an unquenchable thirst. We may be reminded of the cry of the psalmist in Psalm 42:1, 2: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? The woman has sought to fill her emptiness with different relationships; she has been married five times and now is living with a man who is not her husband. No doubt she is an outcast and despised by many; some would say beyond redemption. There is a play on words about water and thirst between the two as Jesus leads her gently. When the woman said to him, I know the Messiah is coming (who is called Christ), Jesus simply tells her, I am he, the one who is speaking to you (John 4:25, 26). There is this wonderful moment when she personally knows and encounters the living Christ. It does not end there, for the woman goes and tells of her experience, saying to others, Come and see. Many Samaritans came to Jesus because of her and asked him to stay with them. How often do we come to the Lord and ask him to abide with us? They came to belief not because of what they were told but because of their own relationship with Jesus. Jesus is not a theory but a dynamic living person. We may need someone to introduce us to him but above all we need to make our own relationship with him. The aim of this book is to help you to come to him. He is not a theory about life, or simply a good example to follow; he is not just a holy man or a prophet. He is 12

15 INTRODUCTION our Saviour and our God; he is the risen and living Lord and he wants us to come to him. John s purpose in the I am sayings is not just to tell us what Jesus said but who he is. We are meant to decide by making our own relationship with him. John says, These are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). Dietrich Bonhoeffer opposed the philosophy and attitude of the Nazi regime. At the outbreak of war in 1939 he returned to Germany, despite being on a lecture tour in the United States at the time. His opposition to the Nazis led to his imprisonment in 1943 and he remained a prisoner until he was killed by the Nazis in Bonhoeffer was very aware of how life was being fragmented by the modern world; too many demands were being made of people. He saw that there was a danger of many lives disintegrating in the ferment that was around them. If he saw the speed of life today and the multi-choices we have, he would be just as concerned as ever. In one of his letters from prison he suggested that what we need is a firm base on which to build our lives if we are not to fall apart: God requires that we should love him eternally with our whole hearts, yet not so as to compromise or diminish our earthly affections, but as a kind of cantus firmus to which the other melodies of life provide the counterpoint. Earthly affection is one of those contrapuntal themes, a theme that enjoys an autonomy of its own... Where the ground bass is firm and clear, there is nothing to stop the counterpoint from being developed to the utmost of its limits... We must have a good and clear cantus firmus. Without it there can be no full or perfect 13

16 THE GREAT I AM sound, but with it the counterpoint has a firm support and cannot get out of tune or fade out, yet is always a perfect whole in its own right. It is only polyphony of this kind that can give life a wholeness, and at the same time assure us that nothing can go wrong so long as the cantus firmus is kept going... pin your faith on the cantus firmus. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison Remember the cantus firmus is not the written Gospel but the living Lord who is with us. We should begin by affirming in his presence, The Lord is here: his Spirit is with us. David Adam 14

17 First Week of Lent I am the bread of life John 6:35 Prayer Lord Christ, we come to you in our emptiness: we who hunger and thirst come to you. We who are perishing in the wilderness come to you for hope and for help. We come for refreshment, for renewal, for strength. We come to you for in you is eternal life. You are the true and living bread: you are the Word of Life. O Lord, I hunger for you, I long for you, I seek you and I search for you. My life is not satisfied with material things alone: all things are passing; only you are eternal. Come, fill my emptiness with your presence: come, Bread of Life, fill me and strengthen me. You are food and life to the weary. Come, that I may fully live to your glory. Suggested hymns I am the bread of life (And I will raise you up) Jesus the Lord said: I am the Bread Guide me, O thou great Redeemer 15

18 THE GREAT I AM Gospel When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them, Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal. Then they said to him, What must we do to perform the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty... I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. John 6:25-35, 51 Silence 16

19 FIRST WEEK OF LENT Thoughts on the Gospel Many still come to Jesus for what they can get out of him, whether it is for bread, peace or salvation. Jesus seeks us to come to him out of love and in response to his love for us. There is no doubt that we need to come to him, for without him there is an emptiness in our lives that nothing else can fill. Without him we are in danger of perishing in the wilderness of this world. But the wonderful news, the Gospel, is that we are not without him. He comes to us and dwells in us. To believe in Jesus means to have a living relationship with him. It is through this living relationship that we are given strength and peace, for we know he is with us and loves us. We need food to exist but we all need to do more than exist: we need to live. This is what the second-century bishop Irenaeus meant when he said, the glory of God is a living man. Do we learn to come to Jesus each day and more than once in the day? Do we feed on him in our hearts? It is no use feeding your body if your soul is allowed to die. In our longings, in our emptiness let us hear Jesus saying, I am the bread of life. Old Testament Much of the Old Testament is about how the people of God survived their troubles through the abiding presence and power of God. Because they were not alone, because they were loved by God, they survived against great odds. The great image of this survival is the Exodus from Egypt and how God provided for them in the desert. Exodus 16:1-15 tells of how God provided bread in the wilderness without which they would have perished. 17

20 THE GREAT I AM In Deuteronomy the people of God are reminded of this and that it is God who gives us life: Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3). The prophet Elijah illustrates this well in his own life. He is often provided for when he is in need. In 1 Kings there is a series of times when Elijah is given strength through God s provision. Elijah is fed by the ravens in a time of drought and famine (17:1-7). He is fed by the widow of Zarephath from her small resources which wonderfully replenish themselves as she is willing to share (17:8-16). In 1 Kings 19:1-9 we see Elijah at a very low ebb. Elijah has won a great battle but is now exhausted. He is drained of energy and strength; he is really down and just wants to die. Like all human beings, he discovers what it is like to run out of human supplies. He cannot lift himself up. His own powers have deserted him; he is truly in the wilderness. He can only be healed by a power from outside himself; to be recharged he needs a power source. Because he has this relationship with God, the power he needs is there. God is with him and supplies his needs. It is God who gives us energy and strength; we would be foolish to seek to journey through this world alone. 18

21 FIRST WEEK OF LENT Reaction of others A Roman soldier once came to Julius Caesar and requested that he might commit suicide. He was a poor, drained, dispirited being with no vitality. Caesar looked at him and said, Man, were you ever really alive? How do you respond to this question? Often we pretend liveliness by activity and partying when deep within there is an emptiness, a deep and unsatisfied hunger. When I asked a friend why he drank so much, he replied with great honesty, You have to fill the emptiness with something. I used to be afraid of beings that could drain the life out of people and leave them as the half-dead, as zombies. Dracula had a particular fascination for me. Although this was fiction, I was aware that so many people could hardly be said to be fully alive. So many are starving in a world of plenty; they are empty when they could be God-filled. I rejoiced to hear the Good News. Jesus said, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Jesus said, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Never is a long time. In the Greek, the word used is the strongest negative that can be found used not only to rule out hunger and thirst but the very possibility of it. Hunger deep spiritual hunger becomes impossible for any who come to Jesus. They shall be full and their lives shall be full. Sadly, we so often chase after things and do not take Jesus at his word. Our Scriptures leave us in no doubt that living in the presence of God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is LIFE. But living without God is only existing and is truly already sharing in death. To our emptiness Jesus comes. To our weariness Jesus comes. 19

22 THE GREAT I AM To our hunger Jesus comes. To our boredom Jesus comes. To all who are perishing Jesus comes. He comes to nourish us and strengthen us. There is much more to life and we have often been satisfied with scraps and crumbs when we have been invited to a banquet with the King. God often sends his angels to awaken us and to say, Eat and drink; feed on him and find food for the wilderness and strength to move on. The group may like to share experiences or stories that illustrate how God gives us more than existence: God gives us life in all its fullness. Our action Look at your weekly schedule of living. Every day you look after your body and see that your mind is filled with something. Are you neglecting your inner being, your spirit? It is no use looking good on the outside if the inside is in danger of dying. At this start of Lent, from today set aside some time for quiet and for prayer. Set a fixed time and place for your meeting with Christ. Without fixed times and places we soon fail to meet up. Once you have this holy place you will discover that it extends itself and that all places and times are full of the holy. You may like to make this prayer of St Augustine your own: Lord, to turn from you is to fall, to turn to you is to rise, to stand in your presence is to live for ever. Grant us in all our duties your help, in all our perplexities your guidance, 20

23 FIRST WEEK OF LENT in all our dangers your protection, and in all our sorrows your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. St Augustine of Hippo ( ) Silence Prayer I hunger and I thirst; Jesus, my manna be: ye living waters, burst out of the rock for me. Rough paths my feet have trod since first their course began; feed me, thou Bread of God, help me, thou Son of Man. For still the desert lies my thirsting soul before; O living water rise within me evermore. John Samuel Bewley Monsell ( ) Jesus, come, fill my emptiness with your presence. Jesus, come, fill my loneliness with your love. Jesus, come, fill my troubles with your peace. Jesus, come, fill my sadness with your joy. Jesus, come: come, Bread of Life, refresh and restore me. Turn to the Affirmation on page