I am never as good at being spiritually disciplined as I wish. Maybe that is to confess that I live in hope. The hope is twofold. The first hope is that being spiritually disciplined is itself a good thing. Somehow it makes sense for life---at least for my life. It is better than not being spiritually disciplined. But that is always tempting---more by default than intention. Amazingly after all these years, it is still too easy to forget, to get busy…whatever. And I don’t do anything. The second hope is that I can do better than I am doing now with my measly efforts.
No doubt, this is partly why I like to visit and stay in monasteries. The monastic life is wrapped around a daily schedule of worship and work. Most of us have some kind of schedule---even folks who are retired often manage a de facto kind of schedule. But it usually does not take seriously worship, certainly not the way the monks intend. Clearly, we are not monks. I am close enough to the monastic world, I am not sure I would make a very good monk. But then, most monks I know say they aren’t very good either! That’s why I like those guys and gals; they have a wonderful sense of humor.
Daily I try to touch base with the so-called liturgy of hours. Traditionally, monks pray seven times a day. This is in fulfillment of a passage in the Psalms which does instruct folks to pray seven times daily. I am not going to manage that, except when I actually am at the monastery. When I visit one, it is much easy to fall into the schedule that everyone else is doing. The cool thing is a monk simply does not want to talk when the bell rings for the next stop in the monastic church for worship. They might say they will have coffee a bit later. But not now.
Monks seem less suckers for interruptions than I am. I doubt that they are constitutionally better able to resist than any other human being. It is that they have vowed to do what they said they wanted to do. If you sign up for that style of living, then you go to worship when the bell sounds. It might only be for fifteen minutes. But they have prioritized it. So they do it. I still find that I experience some slippage between what I might say I want to do and what I actually do. And I know on my own, it is harder.
One of the “offices,” as they are called, is compline. Compline is the last one of the daily worship experiences. Typically, in the monastery they monks gather one last time in the church for a chance to say thanks to God for the day and to pray for a safe night. Usually Compline finishes with the last word and that leads into the Great Silence, which means the monks are not going to run off chattering. They are ready for night, rest and the coming new day. For the Trappists, who are serious about this thing, the next worship gathering is at 3:15 am! They are not going to go out drinking into the wee hours of the night.
At Compline, like every other of the “offices,” there will be some selection from the Psalms. I like this. As a Quaker, we did not always use the Psalms. Of course, like most kids, I learned “The Lord is my Shepherd” and not much else. I did not really know there were 150 Psalms in the Psalter, as it is called. Some of them are pretty long, some quite short. So tonight, I turn to the first of the Psalms that is used. It is Psalm 91.
That Psalm begins with these words, which are appropriate as we prepare for the night ahead. It is a form of prayer. “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” (Ps 91:1-2) I can resonate with this theology. In fact, I rather like addressing God as the Most High. That is not so much a name, as it is a descriptor. It has the benefit of not being gender-specific, like Father is.
God as the Most High is a metaphor drawn from space. It is the God “up there,” but the Psalmist is intentional. The writer intends to talk about this Most High casting a shadow. Since this is Compline, I assume the shadow is not really from the sun. It is a shadow of protection. In fact, the Psalmist shifts description of God to the Almighty. This God is a God of power---capable of protecting us while we innocently sleep away the night.
Since we will be vulnerable through the coming night, God will be there to protect us. This enables us to sleep with a sense of security. There is no need for worry or anxiety. This Psalm actually refers to another Psalm in using two other images for God’s work: God provides refuge and is a fortress. Again, the theme of safety is demonstrated. In these kinds of times, that is a good message.
Spending just a little time in my own Compline is a nice way to finish the day and head to bed. I know it is good for me and that I want to do it. Now all it takes is a little discipline! Maybe I should get an alarm bell. When it rings, I lay aside whatever I am doing, spend some Compline time and go to bed. All it takes is a little spiritual discipline. I am hopeful.
No doubt, this is partly why I like to visit and stay in monasteries. The monastic life is wrapped around a daily schedule of worship and work. Most of us have some kind of schedule---even folks who are retired often manage a de facto kind of schedule. But it usually does not take seriously worship, certainly not the way the monks intend. Clearly, we are not monks. I am close enough to the monastic world, I am not sure I would make a very good monk. But then, most monks I know say they aren’t very good either! That’s why I like those guys and gals; they have a wonderful sense of humor.
Daily I try to touch base with the so-called liturgy of hours. Traditionally, monks pray seven times a day. This is in fulfillment of a passage in the Psalms which does instruct folks to pray seven times daily. I am not going to manage that, except when I actually am at the monastery. When I visit one, it is much easy to fall into the schedule that everyone else is doing. The cool thing is a monk simply does not want to talk when the bell rings for the next stop in the monastic church for worship. They might say they will have coffee a bit later. But not now.
Monks seem less suckers for interruptions than I am. I doubt that they are constitutionally better able to resist than any other human being. It is that they have vowed to do what they said they wanted to do. If you sign up for that style of living, then you go to worship when the bell sounds. It might only be for fifteen minutes. But they have prioritized it. So they do it. I still find that I experience some slippage between what I might say I want to do and what I actually do. And I know on my own, it is harder.
One of the “offices,” as they are called, is compline. Compline is the last one of the daily worship experiences. Typically, in the monastery they monks gather one last time in the church for a chance to say thanks to God for the day and to pray for a safe night. Usually Compline finishes with the last word and that leads into the Great Silence, which means the monks are not going to run off chattering. They are ready for night, rest and the coming new day. For the Trappists, who are serious about this thing, the next worship gathering is at 3:15 am! They are not going to go out drinking into the wee hours of the night.
At Compline, like every other of the “offices,” there will be some selection from the Psalms. I like this. As a Quaker, we did not always use the Psalms. Of course, like most kids, I learned “The Lord is my Shepherd” and not much else. I did not really know there were 150 Psalms in the Psalter, as it is called. Some of them are pretty long, some quite short. So tonight, I turn to the first of the Psalms that is used. It is Psalm 91.
That Psalm begins with these words, which are appropriate as we prepare for the night ahead. It is a form of prayer. “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” (Ps 91:1-2) I can resonate with this theology. In fact, I rather like addressing God as the Most High. That is not so much a name, as it is a descriptor. It has the benefit of not being gender-specific, like Father is.
God as the Most High is a metaphor drawn from space. It is the God “up there,” but the Psalmist is intentional. The writer intends to talk about this Most High casting a shadow. Since this is Compline, I assume the shadow is not really from the sun. It is a shadow of protection. In fact, the Psalmist shifts description of God to the Almighty. This God is a God of power---capable of protecting us while we innocently sleep away the night.
Since we will be vulnerable through the coming night, God will be there to protect us. This enables us to sleep with a sense of security. There is no need for worry or anxiety. This Psalm actually refers to another Psalm in using two other images for God’s work: God provides refuge and is a fortress. Again, the theme of safety is demonstrated. In these kinds of times, that is a good message.
Spending just a little time in my own Compline is a nice way to finish the day and head to bed. I know it is good for me and that I want to do it. Now all it takes is a little discipline! Maybe I should get an alarm bell. When it rings, I lay aside whatever I am doing, spend some Compline time and go to bed. All it takes is a little spiritual discipline. I am hopeful.
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