Sabbatical #25: “Lorica” Prayer (Path of Celtic Prayer #6)

“Lorica” prayer is “breastplate” prayer, prayer for protection. This isn’t self-preservation for its own sake. Rather, it is that one may fulfill what God has called a person to do in this life and have the strength to do it.

This can be challenging for us on two fronts. First, many of us may have a tendency to miss the heart of the prayer and make it about us and our longevity rather than our commitment to fulfilling God’s mission with our lives. Our lives are not our own – they belong to God.

The other challenge is that we, at least I, often think I go to the doctor to get healthy. The modern mind thinks health is largely in our own hands – unlike the Celts who lived on the edge of life and death more often than not. Now don’t get me wrong. I love those who have discovered God’s ways through science and medicine for the benefit of us all. But let us not forget that God has our hairs numbered. He’s in control. He holds our lives in His hands. Let’s pray to Him for protection.

An example prayer is this “Breastplate of Laidcenn”…

O God, defend me everywhere
With your impregnable power and protection.
Deliver all my mortal limbs,
Guarding each with your protective shield,
So the foul demons shall not hurl their darts
Into my side, as is their wont.

Deliver my skull, hair-covered head, and eyes,
Mouth, tongue, teeth, and nostrils,
Neck, breast, side, and limbs,
Joints, fat, and two hands.

Be a helmet of safety to my head,
To my crown covered with hair,
To my forehead, eyes, and triform brain,
To snout, lip, face, and temple.

To my chin, beard, eyebrows, ears,
Chaps, cheeks, septum, nostrils,
Pupils, irises, eyelids, and the like,
To gums, breath, jaws, gullet.

Protect my spine and ribs and their joints,
Back, ridge, and sinews with their bones;
Protect my skin and blood with kidneys,
The area of the buttocks, nates with thighs.
Protect my hams, calves, femurs,
Houghs and knees with knee-joints;
Protect my ankes and shins and heels,
Shanks, feet with their soles.

Protect my toes growing together,
With the tips of the toes and twice five nails;
Protect my breast, collarbone and small breast,
Nipples, stomach, and navel.

Protect the whole of me with my five senses,
Together with the ten created orifices,
So that from soles of feet to crown of head
I shall not sicken in any organ inside or out. (pp. 125-126)

Did they forget anything? I'm not even sure of what all those are. Bottom line: God is our protector. Pray for your protection and of those who God puts on your heart.

Sabbatical #24: Nature Prayer (Path of Celtic Prayer #5)

I read this chapter a few days ago, but just yesterday I went with Suzanne and our girls on a drive to Mt. Rainier to play in the snow. It was a brief time in the snow, but a great drive to look at beautiful forests, snow patches, rivers, waterfalls, and craggy ledges all about. It was beautiful.

We control our environments so much that we can easily forget, apart from the natural tragedies on CNN, the wonder and power of God’s created world. The Celts lived in nature and had a hearty appreciation for it. So much so that they could be considered by some to cross the line into nature worship. According to Miller, though, their goal was to celebrate the great God behind nature, not nature.

Nature gives us a picture of God’s character and should evoke wonder and praise in us. Note this choice quote from Miller challenges the modern “inside” world that most of us inhabit…

A supersized God makes us aware of our smallness and our humble place in the universe. But in order to see him, we must give up our addiction to electronic media. Once we have seen the God of Yosemite and the Everglades, we will be better able to celebrate his awesome reality and our hearts will overflow with praise. Cognizant of God’s majesty, we will subsequently and spontaneously confess our need. (pp. 104-105)

It’s easy for me to say, up here in Washington where Mt. Rainier reminds of God’s greatness whenever the sky is clear (come to think of it, maybe not that easy!), but take some time – even in looking at the details of creation in your garden – to be reminded of God’s greatness through His creation. Go to the beach. Or the mountains.

And think on some awe-inspiring texts as well. Start with Job 38-39.

Sabbatical #23: The Taste of Sin

I’ve started reading The Confessions by St. Augustine. He talks about stealing some pears as an adolescent simply for the rush of stealing. He didn’t want to eat the pears. He didn’t need them. He just wanted to steal. He had a taste for sin. His discussion on motives is a good reminder that we need to resist sin and be with God in prayer, fasting, Scripture, and the rest of the disciplines that we might cultivate a taste for godliness rather than sin, particularly when good things are used to lead us into the corruption of that good thing, ending in sin. Here’s what Augustine has to say…

Sin gains entrance through these and similar good things when we turn to them with immoderate desire, since they are the lowest kind of goods and we thereby turn away from the better and higher: from you yourself, O Lord our God, and your truth and your law. These lowest goods hold delights for us indeed, but no such delights as does my God, who made all things; for in him the just man finds delight, and for upright souls he himself is joy (31).

It is a reminder of the oft-quoted words that Augustine shares near the beginning of his work, “…you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you” (3).

Sabbatical #22: Wandering Prayer (Path of Celtic Prayer #4)

I should be better at wandering prayer. I’ve been walking around Lake Wilderness out here in Maple Valley, WA. Believe me, I’m not fast so wandering may be the most apt description of what I do.

The Celts had guys that were called perigrini, wanderers. They would start walking or riding in their boat, trusting Jesus as their guide. They had no destination. Their joy was being on the journey with Jesus, led by Jesus. This helps to keep us constantly in prayer. This is a lifestyle we’re called to embrace.

Whatever our apparent earthly destinations, our life itself is a
pilgrimage. Once we understand we will never “arrive,” we can remain in a
continual state of prayer. This doesn’t mean we are always talking to
God. The fullest definition of long, wandering prayer is journeying in the
presence of the triune God. And even when our hearts are not wrapped (or
rapt) in conversation with the Almighty, we are yet in his presence (p. 79).

Miller talks much about life as a journey. I agree, but this has been helpful for me in a practical day-to-day sense, too. This “journeying” prayer reminds me to shut the radio off in the car. To pray while I walk. There’s some who do a good job of this, like my wife. Not me, though. This is a good, helpful reminder.

Sabbatical #21: Don’t Forget Elizabeth!

I was just reading Luke 1.39-56. What a rich passage! The thing that swept me up in the story (perhaps another post on Eugene Peterson’s Eat This Book) was Elizabeth’s response when Mary arrived.

Think about Elizabeth for a minute. She’s pregnant with a miracle baby of her own and her husband saw an angel in the process. But when Mary walks through the door, she becomes totally self-forgetful. She doesn’t swap stories with Mary. No. Instead she, and John in her womb, delight at the presence of the King – still in the womb of his teenage mother.

What a picture of worship. I’m trying to connect more deeply with God during this sabbatical, but I find that a lot of my time is focused on me getting connected with Him rather than just losing myself in Him, delighting in Him, worshiping Him. That’s the union that God wants for our lives. Thanks, Elizabeth, for the picture that I exist to delight in Him and everything else revolves around that.

My purpose is to worship Him, to be come self-forgetful in His presence. When I do that, potential idols are put in their place. And I’m not just talking about money and that stuff, though that’s true, too. I’m talking about the idolatry of self, or of being a great husband, or worshiping my kids in the sense that our family’s life revolves around them. It doesn’t. It revolves around God – when everything’s working as it should. A worship-centered life isn’t one that is irresponsible. Everything will be taken care of, but in its proper place.

Sabbatical #20: Praying Scripture (Path of Celtic Prayer #3)

One key element of Celtic prayer was praying God’s Word back to God. Their goal was not to ask God for stuff so much as union with Christ. Scripture was seen as “literature born on the high ledges between this world and the next” (54). What better way to strengthen our union with God than by communicating to Him in His language?

What are the strengths of praying Scripture? First, it helps us listen to God’s Word – it moves from the eyes to our ears (via our own mouths). Next, it reminds us that prayer isn’t about us only, but about union with the Triune God. Finally, it can unite the church as we pray together God’s Word corporately.

Miller goes on to talk about the spiritual power in Scripture in several ways. In the struggle with sin, go to Rom. 7.25-8.1. When going through difficult times, read/pray Psalm 23. When grieving, read/pray 1 Cor. 15.51-58. For those who are facing their final days, reading/praying 2 Tim. 4 can be of great comfort.

I actually tried this the other day. I’m working through Luke (this passage is 1.26-38). Here’s what it looked like for me. Maybe it will be of help to you. Maybe not.

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Lord, may I receive Your Word – through Scripture, prayer, whatever – with the same gravity as Mary. May I not take you lightly, but cultivate an awe for You and the fact that You would communicate with me.

30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Thank You for Jesus and the wonderful Savior He is. Thank you that there will never be anyone like Him, nor has there ever been. Help me enjoy His greatness and become increasingly conformed to His image.

34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy- the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

Lord, I praise your infinite greatness. Help me live in the reality that nothing is impossible with you and to live and pray like I believe it.

38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

God, help me become the kind of person who, regardless of what You ask, will say "let it be to me according to your word.”

This was a profitable experience that has helped bring my Bible reading to life, even if just for a couple days at this point.

Sabbatical #19: Be Our Guest?

I miss my family. Suzanne, Eliana, and Vivian will be here tomorrow evening, and I can’t wait. But I also miss my church family. Being immersed in church life, it’s been almost 10 years since we’ve looked for a new church. I’ve visited a couple mega-churches where anonymity is expected, but over the last couple weeks I’ve tried to visit smaller churches. I couldn’t find the church I was looking for in Milwaukee, but it was my discomfort with Plan B that I wanted to post about.

I was in the neighborhood, I presume, of the church I was looking for but couldn’t find (I’m becoming increasingly disenchanted with Mapquest) and I saw a Lutheran church. I’ve never been to a Lutheran church. I thought about going, but I worried that I wasn’t dressed nicely enough. I wasn’t sure where to park. So I didn’t. I went and read my Bible at a coffee shop.

Now the Lutherans are our brothers and sisters, as far as I understand Lutheranism. And still I was not comfortable going there. It put me in the position of the guests who come to Cypress Church. It can be awkward, intimidating to go to church, particularly when you aren’t a believer.

But what if you actually get in the door and make it to church? I did that yesterday (Father’s Day) and I was greeted at the door and someone shook my hand when I left. The senior pastor did, too. It was nice, but nobody else talked to me. I felt alone (reason #587 that I can’t wait for my family to get here!), which didn’t trouble me to a great degree. But what about the person who was dying for someone to reach out to them, to show them the love of Christ?

To be fair, this is one of the bigger churches in my hometown and I was really impressed with the church in many other ways. I’d probably go back and I’d have to make the effort to get plugged in to their community.

I’m thankful for the great ministries that welcome people, like the Greeters and the Connection Center, but there’s no substitute for the person sitting in the row behind you tapping you on the shoulder, welcoming you to the church, and maybe even inviting you to lunch.