March 20, 2022: James 4:8, "From the Ashes: Contemplation"

From the Ashes: Contemplation

Prayer: “God, there are times when I feel distant from you. Help me to carve out the time necessary in my life to develop a deep and abiding relationship with you. Give me a focused desire to know you and to make you known to others around me. Please help me to add a regular time of prayer to what I do every day.”

Welcome to week 3 of our From the Ashes Sermon Series as we take our journey to the cross together and past the cross to the empty tomb at Easter.

Each week we are looking at a different aspect of Jesus’ life and ministry during His time here on earth. Each week we are getting a glimpse into the abundant life possible in and through Christ.

This week we take a look at one of Jesus’ most powerful habits; contemplation, or being still and quiet with God. Without raising your hands, how many of you struggle with being completely still and inviting God into your lives? If we’re honest, many of us do. It’s hard to be a Mary in a Martha world!

Most everyone I know wishes they had a more devoted, more powerful, and purposeful prayer life. One of the major issues we all share is the busy pace of life and constant stimulation we experience. All of this seriously impedes our ability to slow down.

To be honest, it just feels awkward to be still.

In fact, I would like to invite you to do something with me this morning.

I would like for us to take 1 minute to be completely still, to close our eyes, and try to not think a single thought in that minute. Like Ghostbusters and the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man that Ray thought of that came to life, whatever you think may come alive today! Just kidding. Okay, get ready, set, and let’s go…

PAUSE FOR 1 MINUTE

It was hard to be still, even for a minute wasn’t it? That minute of stillness felt like half an hour to some of you.

On some level, this exercise draws our attention to the challenge of stillness, contemplation, and prayer generally. And specifically that we are uncomfortable with being still and silent. Our lives are so loud, busy, and frantic, that many of us have grown accustomed to the noise and we feel out of place when it all stops.

But it will come as no surprise that the Bible has a different way for us. A more fulfilling way, and there are several principles we can put into immediate action that I would like for us to learn from today.

Let’s get started.

Let’s open our Bibles to James 4:9 and I invite you to stand for the reading and the hearing of God’s Word this morning…

James 4:8 (NIV), “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

And May glory be to God for the reading and the hearing of His Word this morning, Thank Be To God. You may be seated.

Contemplation is the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time.

When Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest whose written works have surpassed his time here on earth, went to St. Petersburg, Russia to tour the Hermitage Museum, he stood in front of a two story painting entitled “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt. He ended up writing a book about it, a book I highly recommend. I sat in front of the painting for hours just contemplating what Rembrandt meant when he painted so many years before and in turn what the implications could be for Christians in their modern day experience as they read the Prodigal Son in Luke 14.

As unique as is it is to read about this experience of Nouwen’s, it was even more unique for me when in 2004 I went to the Heritage myself and stood in front of the Rembrandt. I took an overnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and had a pretty uneventful trip as I slept on the train. When I got off the train, took the subway to the Hermitage Museum. After getting somewhat lost, I eventually arrived at the museum and stayed warm in a cafe called the Gestapo Cafe. When I went into the museum, I worked my way thru until I eventually came to a grand staircase and there on the wall was the painting. I stood there for some time until a museum curator came to me. She spoke Russian and I spoke South Georgian. We did not understand each other too well. I tried to explain about Nouwen and how standing in front of this painting was a dream come true. She left and came back a short time later with an armed soldier, AK in hand. I hurried along to the next items in the gallery and eventually back to my train which took me back to Moscow.

Coming back to the idea of contemplation, not only is it hard to put ourselves in the moments of contemplation where we move from doing to being, society as a whole does not value it. Drawing near to God can be next to impossible, and sometimes it feels like there is an armed soldier standing in the way of our time with God. And yet it is so important for us to slow down and sometimes to smell the roses, because that often is where we recognize the beauty of life and the beauty of God’s Creation and God in all that He has created. It is vital that we come near to God so that He can come near to us.

Contemplation is a behavior we see Jesus model in the Bible.

It is very present in the times when we and those in Scripture found a peaceful, silent, calm place of prayer. Mark 1:35, where we see Jesus walk off into the desert early in the morning to be alone in prayer. (Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.) Did Jesus sit in silence? Did He sing? Did He bring a laundry list of items with Him? Did He pray through His favorite Psalms? We don’t know, but when I think about contemplation, stillness, and connecting with God I think about this verse, and it moves me.

Honestly, who doesn’t want a powerful and purposeful prayer life? Who doesn’t want all the fullness and adventure a life of discipleship offers? Listen to the way Richard Foster describes prayer;

“When we pray, genuinely pray, the real condition of our heart is revealed. This is as it should be. This is when God truly begins to work with us. The adventure is just beginning.”

Prayer is an essential part of the adventure. Prayer is our most amazing avenue for connecting with the Lord. Think about this for a moment; you are invited to speak -- on a regular basis -- with the divine creator of the universe. Let that sink in…

Some of you are thinking, “But I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how to start, it seems so weird, etc.…” In the words of Richard Foster again;

“I urge you: carry on an ongoing conversation with God about the daily stuff of life… For now, don’t worry about ‘proper’ praying, just talk to God. Share your hurts, share your sorrows, share your joys --freely and openly. God listens in compassion and love, just like we do when our children come to us. He delights in our presence. When we do this, we will discover something of inestimable value. We will discover that by praying we learn to pray.”

Prayer is communing with God. It is more than just talking. It is stopping to hear His reply. I believe that the principle of contemplation can help us to understand when the Scriptures tell us to pray continually. It doesn’t mean that we are always doing more. It means that we are devoted to a life of contemplation, prayer, and stillness.

Lift your eyes up

Psalm 121:1-2 says;

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.”

The principle here is that there are times, each and every day, when we need to stop what we’re doing and look up. We can get so laser focused on the thing in front of us, or the thing monopolizing our attention, and we forget about our relationship with the maker of heaven and earth. We can forget about His compassionate care over every detail of our lives.

“Looking up” causes us to change our perspective and focus on something else. Or in this case someone else…

Even Pastors are not immune to the need to stop and look up from time to time. Sometimes we all are guilty of going so hard that we forget to invite God to be in what we are doing from the beginning. We invite God to join us in what we’ve already created instead of inviting God to show us what He wants us to do or not do… to be or not be.

As you take time to stop what you’re doing and look to God, you’re reminded He cares for you, He is watching over you, and;

Psalm 121: 7-8 says, “The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.”

I don’t know about you, but I find this reality to be incredibly comforting. Here are a couple simple ideas most anyone can do to practice looking up;

If you’re feeling anxious or stressed, or if you need a little space to process a difficult situation, just simply take a walk. Get up, get out, and get moving. As you’re walking tell the Lord about the situation, pray over it, and invite Him into it.

Schedule a daily time to stop whatever you’re doing, put away distractions, and sit in silent prayer. Put it on your calendar or add an alarm to your phone just to make sure you follow through.

These are just my ideas, but where do you feel at peace? Are there spaces in your life where you regularly get yourself refocused? Are there people in your life who can help you stay accountable to this principle?

Practice Stillness

Regular times of stillness and quiet are incredibly powerful for our overall health. This makes sense as most of us live very busy, very full lives.

Doctors recommend at night that the last hour before we go to sleep, we cut off our devices to allow our bodies to unwind. They are so cued up from the goings on of the day that falling to sleep from our phone or computer or tv may cause us to sleep, but not find restful sleep. Isn’t that interesting?! I confess that this is a goal for me to aspire to as well.

Let’s look at a couple verses from the Psalms on this point;

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10 NIV

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” Psalm 62:1 ESV

What is it about stillness and silence that helps us get reacquainted with the Lord?

Why does our soul… our inmost being… feel at rest there in the quiet?

Why is silence sacred?

Mary stopped before the Lord and simply allowed Jesus to talk. The woman whom Jesus said about her to the crowd, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” He then said to her, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” She simply answered, “No my Lord!” You have to believe that after that she didn’t talk a whole lot and she listened a ton to what Jesus had to say. We don’t know what she thought about it all because the Scripture doesn’t tell us. But we do know that talking less and listening more to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a very beneficial thing indeed!

Why is silence sacred? Why does our soul… our inmost being… feel at rest there in the quiet?

I could ask dozens of more questions like this, but instead let’s look at the story of Elijah and his encounter with the Lord in the book of 1 Kings.

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” -1 Kings 19:11-13

The Lord wasn’t in the wind.

He wasn’t in the earthquake,

And he couldn’t be found in the fire.

The Lord was there, in the gentle whisper.

Many of us lead such tumultuous and chaotic lives that it’s few and far between when we actually have the space to entertain the “gentle whisper” of the Lord. But this is exactly why it’s so important to make time for silence, prayer, and contemplation. We may think that all the millions of things we’re doing everyday are what’s most important and valuable, but stillness tells a different story.

He’s there waiting, are you willing to wait on Him?

In the song Take Courage, a few lines of the lyrics say,

Slow down, take time

Breathe in, he said

He’d reveal what’s to come

The thoughts in his mind

Always higher than mine

He’ll reveal all to come

Take courage my heart

Stay steadfast my soul

He’s in the waiting

He’s in the waiting

Conclusion/Application

As we finish up today, let’s take a moment to be brutally honest about something.

Is all your striving and all your hustle, all your appointments, activities, and action… Are they making you a more peaceful person?

Is the grind of life giving you the kind of grounded faith you long for?

Are you sitting in an ash heap of unmet expectations, broken resolutions, and message notifications that you never have time to answer?

As you think about those questions I want to read you one of the most powerful and important passages in the New Testament;

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

It takes intentional effort in our culture to carve out sacred time and space to connect with the Lord. But wow, when you hear the words of Christ from Matthew 11:28-30 and you realize there is a space for your burdens, your exhaustion, and your chaos. What an amazing feeling, what a savior.

So set a reminder on your phone.

Carve out a weekend in the mountains.

Turn off all the electronic devices every night at 8pm.

Do whatever you need to do this week to make space for contemplation.

It’s worth it, He’s there in the stillness and the waiting as a gentle whisper.

SALVATION POEM

Let’s pray together.

As Russell comes back up for our closing hymn, the altar is open for your prayers. I invite you to join me as we stop doing more and simply start the process of being in the presence of the Almighty as we join together in the closing hymn today.