Are you arrogant enough to dismiss the voice of the dead?

It has been said that tradition is the voice or the vote of the dead. And, one might add, it is of the greatest arrogance to believe that your opinion is most important just because you happen to be living at that moment. 

The Christian faith speaks of the "great cloud of witnesses that surround us". That we stand on the shoulders of the martyrs. That we are part of a past, present and future Universal Church that is not bound to space-time. 

When we observe and honor tradition we are willing to admit that the opinions of our time are not the only opinions and that our opinions may not be the best opinions on the matter (gasp!).

It might be one of the reasons why one of the most common verbs in the Bible is "remember". Remember the voices the people of the past. Remember that your time is not the only time. Remember that there were sinners and saints before you and me and they were just as important to the conversation as anyone.

Remember the voice of the dead, know your voice will soon join their ranks.

The one superpower of pastors

Don't tell anyone I told you this, but pastors have a superpower. When we are ordained there is a whole "pastor's code" we have to sign that demands we not tell anyone about this superpower so few pastors will talk about what I am about to tell you as their superpower. But do not be fooled. Pastors have one superpower and it is our bread and butter. 

Listening. 

Were you expecting something cooler? Water to wine? Walking on water? Ability to find quarters behind people's ears? Sorry, nothing like that. But that does not mean that listening is not one of the most super of superpowers. 

Everyone needs someone to listen to them. Everyone. Even the hermits of our day talk to themselves or to God or to a volleyball (as science shows). 

Which is why when you come into contact with someone who will listen, you are drawn to them. You find something about them that is "warm" or "helpful" or "holy".  The power of listening is a very powerful power. Do not underestimate it. 

Recently I heard this TED Talk by Julian Treasure about listening. At the end he gives an acronym to remind people how to listen. I tweaked his acronym a bit because I think that listening is like exploring, which is why when I listen to others I work like NASA.

Nod, Affirm, Summarize and Ask.

Nodding your head goes a long way. Not like a bobble head. Just nod.

Affirm. Just say 'yes'.

Summarize what you have just heard - "so what I hear you saying is..."

Ask - Ask a question. Even if it is just in the ballpark of the conversation is good enough.

Being conquered by the disciplines

The other day I heard Rev. Nancy Allen mention that the disciplines that one may take on for Lent are not to be seen as something to conquer. For instance, if you are fasting from chocolate and "power through" the season without eating chocolate, it may seem like an acceptable way to talk about your success in "conquering" the temptation to eat chocolate. 

However, from a spiritual formation stand point the spiritual disciplines are not for us to "conquer". The spiritual disciplines are designed to "conquer" us. 

The disciplines are called disciplines because they "discipline" our mind, spirit, body and heart. They work on us over time to wear us down in order to remake us. They conquer us, in a sense, in order that we may be transformed. 

Even the non-religious disciplines break us down in order to transform us. 

Franklin-Covey and the calendaring systems they have are disciplines designed to force us to behave in a way so that our habits are different - that we are transformed into a more organized person (or so the promise goes). 

“We enter the land of silence by the silence of surrender, and there is no map of the silence that is surrender…. The practice of silence…cannot be reduced to a spiritual technique. Techniques are all the rage today. They suggest a certain control that aims to determine a certain outcome. They clearly have their place. But this is not what contemplative practice does…. A spiritual practice simply disposes us to allow something to take place. For example, a gardener does not actually grow plants. A gardener practices certain gardening skills that facilitate growth that is beyond the gardener’s direct control.”

— Martin Laird - Into the Silent Land

So may we be conquered by the disciplines of the season.