He said: Why not become fire?

A story from the desert fathers: Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and, according as I am able, I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not become fire?

It has been said by preacher types that preaching needs to be more "practical" and action oriented. Preachers are supposed to give people something to do when they leave the place of worship so they can put their "faith in action".

The intent behind this advice is well intended, we want to give people something to do in order to keep from people a people focused on personal holiness to the detriment of social holiness. However, there are a couple of unintended consequences that may come with giving people something to "do". 

First, it implies that the "doing" is the "real point" of the sermon. Put another way, it implies that "doing" is more important than "being". It is like when people tell a story and you check out while listening only to check back in when they tell you the moral of the story. It is the moral of the story that really matters, because it tells us what to do.

Secondly, and more of my concern, is that it diminishes the imagination of the gathered community. If the preacher is the one that comes up with the things to do that put your faith in action, then there is little reason for you to imagine what you could do to put your faith in action. It lessens the chance that someone in the community will come up with something new because they are focused on doing what the preacher said to do. Trust me when I say, preachers are not always the most imaginative people.

Preachers can teach you how to do your little fast, prayer, meditation and other "action" items, but worship may be one of the few places where we are "set on fire". The inspiration of the Spirit is what sets us on fire. People come to worship and are trying to do all that we can to grow closer to God, and perhaps what we need is less "here is what you can do" sermons and more "here is how you become fire" sermons. 

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. 

I have toxins that a celery/prune juice cleanse cannot purge

In our culture's endless pursuit of immortality and illusion of control over the things of our world I have experienced a detox cleanse. For one week I attempted the Master Cleanse. It was okay. I am not adverse to these sorts of cleanses, but I have to admit that I have toxins that even the Master Cleanse cannot purge. 

We all have toxins that cannot be purged through a bodily cleanse. I know that we all are convinced that if it is not material than it is not "real". The grip of Aristotle's understanding of forms married with materialism and the supremacy of the scientific world, we are willing to talk about and even entertain a cleanse of our material body but resist (or discount as less important or less "real") a cleanse of our Spirit. Again, I confess that I have toxins that require a different detox. 

Enter the spiritual disciplines. 

I have the toxin of anger. I have the toxin of envy and pride. I have the toxin of lust and the toxin of idolatry. I have the toxin of violence. And no amount of lemon juice can detox my Spirit. 

Buy organic, great. Drink celery and prune juice, awesome. Workout and sweat our the toxins, super. But let us not fall into the trap that the way to the healthy life is just to be free from bodily injury and illness. Cancer can form on areas that cannot be measured on the PET scan. Our hearts can be beating normally but be hard as stone. Our vision can be 20/20 and still be blind. Our teeth may be perfectly clean and inline but our tongue can be full of venom. We may be slim but carry crushing weight. We may able to hold complex yoga poses but still remain inflexible. The healthy life is more than the body.

We all have toxins that a celery/prune juice cleanse cannot purge.

“For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”

— Jesus in Luke 12:23