A Sunday Prayer - courtesy of Paul?

Some scholars dispute the authorship of the letter to the Ephesians - based largely on style of writing and emphasis. Both of these are not typical of Paul and have led some academics to believe in the pseudonymous authorship of this letter - also of Colossians, 2 Thessalonians and the Pastoral letters (Timothy and Titus).

Perhaps that surprises you, but it was a relatively common ancient practice to attribute written material to a certain 'school' of thought by saying that it was by x,y or z. The intention was not necessarily to deceive but to give credit to the person attributed. If these epistles were not written by Paul, then it was probably known as such by the early church - although we have no written evidence of this.

But whatever your view on the authorship of Ephesians, it remains a beloved part of the canon of our scriptures. In chapter 3 there is a beautiful prayer that the author addressed to God. Very famous words, but I am about to bastardise them! It was written in the second person plural to the Christians in the church at Ephesus, but if you change the you's to I's it reads as a very personal prayer.

Why not take a few quiet moments to commune with God and speak these words?


Ephesians 3:14-21 - modifiedPicture from Wikipedia

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
I pray that I may be strengthened in my inner being with power through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith, as I am being rooted and grounded in love.
I pray that I may know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that I may be filled with the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to accomplish abundantly far more than I can imagine, to him be glory forever and ever.
Amen.



Thanks be to God for the word.

And may you be rooted and grounded in the deep soil of God's love, as Christ dwells in you - within your trunk, your leaves, your fruit - throughout your being.

God's blessing be upon you.

In the eleventh century Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote this prayer. It is a beautiful call to prayer which you can use in your own time of quiet meditation.

After reading the prayer, I suggest that you take the last two lines (or part of them) and use those words reflectively. Perhaps repeating them in time with your breathing - to allow yourself to move into a closer awareness of God - the God who surrounds and sustains you even when you are not conscious of the divine presence.


Come now, little one,
turn aside for a while
from your daily employment,
escape for a moment
from the tumult of your thoughts.
Put aside your weighty cares,
let your burdensome distractions wait,
free yourself awhile for God
and rest awhile in him.
Enter the inner chamber of your soul,
shut out everything except God
and that which can help you in seeking him.
And when you have shut the door, seek God.

Now, my whole heart, say to God,
'I seek your face, Lord,
it is your face I seek.'


Sometimes I imagine my inner life as a house - a house in which I dwell and in which God enters and lives alongside me. The doors, the windows, the view, are all significant to me. Anselm's words 'enter the inner chamber of your soul', put me in mind of this prayer picture I sometimes use. Perhaps some of you also pray like this occasionally?

If you are interested, I have written more about Anselm here.

The words are modified from the prayer in the Lion book, A Prayer Treasury.
 

Methinks it's time for some more lectio!

If you are new to Lectio Divina - which is another name for 'holy reading', then you can get a more detailed explanation in this article.

Remember that lectio is not a bible study but a way of 'praying the scriptures'. Read the passage a few times s-l-o-w-l-y, then allow the part of the passage (a word, phrase or sentence) that speaks to you the most to move through your being. If it were chocolate, you would be allowing it to melt slowly in your mouth with your eyes closed, the sensation spreading through you!

This is a beautiful passage - words that Jesus spoke to his disciples before his imminent death. And words that he speaks to us, if we have listening hearts.

Enjoy!


John 14:23-27

Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.


Afterwards, have a conversation with God about your time of prayer. If you keep a journal, you might want to follow that with a journal entry.

May God's blessing be on you.

Let's have an Epiphany!

Wikipedia gives the following top two definitions of 'Epiphany':

Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday on January 6 celebrating the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus
Epiphany (feeling), the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something

The word comes from the Greek for "to manifest" or "to show". At Epiphany, we in the Western Churches acknowledge our understanding - our 'seeing' - of Jesus as 'God made man' - the manifestation of the deity in the form of a human being.

In particular, we focus this understanding on the visit of the Magi (wise men) to Jesus at Bethlehem. The Magi, in the story told in Matthew's gospel, represent the whole of humanity - as opposed to just the Jewish world. They came, saw and acknowledged the Christ-child, paying him homage and giving gifts, demonstrating that this child was given for the benefit of the whole world.

So what will we 'see' at this time? The wonder of 'God made man'? The intersection of God's mercy with human frailty at a moment in time?

Here are some words by TS Eliot from The Rock for you to reflect on...


Waste and void. Waste and void. And darkness on the face
of the deep.

Then came at a predetermined moment,
a moment in time and of time,
A moment not out of time, but in time, in what we call history:
transecting, bisecting the world of time,
a moment in time, but not like a moment of time,
A moment in time but time was made through that moment:
for without the meaning there is no time,
and that moment in time gave the meaning.
Then it seemed as if men must proceed from light to light, in the light of the Word,
Through the Passion and Sacrifice saved in spite of their negative being.

TS Eliot 1934