“Church is the practice. Love is the point.” Ignatian Examen practice.

Curated by the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

March 20, 2022

The national setting of the United Church of Christ created a graphic a few years back that says “Church is the practice. Love is the point.” Isn’t that lovely? It reminds of one of the things I’ve always appreciated about yoga - and that’s that we call it “practicing yoga.” We all show up as practitioners - seeking, stretching, growing, learning. And we do it together, in community. 

Church is like that, too. We come here each week to practice being a part of Christ’s Beloved Community so that we can go back out into the world and practice some more - seeking through our persistence to be a part of God’s transformation of the world. We do this imperfectly, of course. It turns out that practice doesn’t really make perfect. But practice does make possible. 

It makes it possible for us to hold steady when hate is thrown our way. Practice makes hope possible even in the midst of great pain. Practice makes joy possible even at the most unexpected times. Practice makes it possible for us to remember who we are - humans created in God’s image, made of dust and stardust, overflowing with the Spirit’s light, invited to be agents of reconciliation and wholeness everywhere we go. 

During this season of Lent, I’ve been introducing some spiritual practices each week in the Friday email in hopes that you’ll try one or two this season. The one I shared on Friday  is the Ignatian Examen, a simple but profound method for daily prayer. St. Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th century Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuits, said the Examen was the most important fifteen minutes of his day. It helps us practice awareness of God’s presence in our daily lives and live more intentionally. 

Today we’re going to practice the Examen together here in worship, remembering that “Church is the practice. Love is the point.” We practice together so that we can live more fully into Jesus’s commandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. In a world where hate and violence are so loud, this is no small feat. And that’s why we need to come together to practice. In this way, God’s love is imprinted on our hearts and sustains our living. 

Typically you would do this practice on your own. You might sit in silence or journal while you pray. Most people choose to practice the Examen at the end of the day but you can also do it in the morning or at midday if that works better for you. There’s also a free app you can download if you’d like, which guides you through the practice each day. That app is listed in your bulletin on page 10. 

This morning, I’ll guide us through it. There are five steps to the prayer. So I’ll speak a few words to introduce each step and then give you a minute or so for silent reflection. Please take a few moments as we begin and find a prayer posture that works for you. You might want to close your eyes or find something to focus on.. You might want to journal your thoughts or find something to fidget with quietly. 

We begin with the first step: Relish. We begin the Examen by giving thanks for the opportunity to be with the Spirit in prayer. This is a time to remember who God is and to reflect on moments of joy in the past 24 hours. 

(30 seconds silence)

The second step is Request. Ask God to fill you with the Spirit so you can do the challenging work of soul-searching ahead as you seek to live more fully in the ways of Christ. Feel God’s presence with you in this time of prayer.

(30 seconds silence)

The third step is Review. This is where you go through the previous 24 hours in more detail, remembering specific moments from your day. Allow God to be your guide as you review your day. Linger in the important moments and move quickly through the less relevant ones. I’ll give you a longer period of silence for this step. 

(2 minutes silence)

The fourth step is Repent. As you continue to thank God for the gifts found in your day, allow yourself to pause at some of the unpleasant moments. Pay attention to any missed opportunities - places where you could have taken a more loving action but didn’t. Allow the Spirit to gently point out moments where you might not have been the person you are called to be. Ask God for forgiveness, allowing Christ’s healing mercy to wash over you. 

(45-60 seconds silence)

The fifth and final step is Resolve. Ask God to show you what type of person you are called to be tomorrow, resolving to seek God’s strength and wisdom as you face whatever challenges the next 24 hours might bring. Listen to the Spirit’s song, drawing you into the dance of Love and justice.

(45-60 seconds silence)

God, we thank you that practice makes possible. Renew a sense of possibility and hope in your people as we look to the future together. Strengthen us so that we might be instruments of healing, hope, peace, and justice each day. Walk with us day-by-day as we practice being servants together. Help us as we seek new ways to practice your love. We pray in the name of Jesus, the still point of the turning world. Amen. 

“Wilderness Discernment”

Luke 4:1-13

Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC, Manhattan, KS

March 6, 2022

Earlier in the service I talked with the kids about how our prayer table has changed for Lent. You may have also noticed something that looks familiar to you if you were worshiping with us back in 2020 - a wilderness centerpiece. Our theme for Lent in 2020 was “wilderness” and on Ash Wednesday that year we made wilderness centerpieces to take home to use throughout the season. Little did we know in February of 2020 that we’d be using those centerpieces in our homes as we gathered around screens to learn to worship online together. Back in March of 2020 we felt that wilderness theme on a whole new level as we tried to figure out how to make our way in those early months of uncertainty and confusion and anxiety. 

As we left our sanctuary, we found that God moved with us. Just as the pillars of fire and cloud in the book of Exodus guided the Israelites during their time in the wilderness, God showed up in our lives in the wilderness of 2020. We discovered that the Spirit could indeed move through Zoom, that cinnamon rolls and coffee make a fine Holy Communion, and we all had an opportunity to be acolytes as we lit our candles in our own homes on Sunday morning, welcoming the Spirit’s presence. Many of us continue to worship this way each week and that feels utterly unremarkable these days. We adapted and stretched in the ways we connect with God on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. 

Are we still in the wilderness? Well, that’s hard to say. My guess we sometimes still feel that wilderness unease in our guts and other times feel adapted to a “new normal.” Perhaps the wilderness time of 2020 didn’t come and go as much as it made us more keenly aware that to be human is to always live in the in-between. And to always be wandering, searching, journeying towards a destination of one kind or another. When we tap into that wilderness feeling, we enter a space of vulnerability and humility as we remember that our lives often take twists and turns we weren’t anticipating. And when we tap into that wilderness feeling, that space of vulnerability and humility, we are able to recognize our very real need for God. We are able to hold onto the promises of Jesus more tightly, trusting that the Spirit meets and sustains us in our wilderness times. 

When we’re in the wilderness we have a lot of questions. The ground underneath our feet can feel like shifting sands. We can’t quite see the path in front of us and sometimes we aren’t even really sure where we’re headed. The season of Lent begins with a story of one of Jesus’s own wilderness times. 

Often, when we look at this passage we focus on the temptation aspect of the story: the ways that the Accuser tempts Jesus to save himself, make himself great, prematurely entering his glory. With each test, Jesus rises to the occasion, choosing the right path. He is rooted deeply in his sacred texts but he doesn’t just parrot them. He engages the scriptures, showing wisdom and a discerning spirit. 

We need a spirit of discernment if we are to make it through the wilderness. We have to learn how to filter. We have to focus on what really matters. And we do all of this in partnership with the Holy - listening to the Great Song of Love that is background music for all creation. Discernment is not just about making big decisions. It’s also about the ways we tune our heart to that Great Song each and every day, dancing alongside Love and Justice as we weave Christ’s Beloved Community together. 

Lent is an excellent time to cultivate a spirit of discernment in our own selves as individuals and as a community together. 

One of the versions of the Bible that I like to read regularly is the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament. In that translation, they call this story about Jesus’s time in the wilderness “Vision Quest.” Author Kaitlin Curtice, who is a member of the Potawatomi Citizen Band has also explored the connections between this story and the practice of the vision quest that is common in several Indigenous cultures. Each culture has its own name for a similar ritual, whereby a young person goes into the wilderness for a period of several days, typically alone, typically without any food or water. It’s a coming of age ritual and the Lakota call it Hanbleceya (say: hahn-BLAY-chah), which, in English, could be translated “crying for a vision.” [2] 

Crying for a vision. Craving that spirit of discernment that comes with being deeply rooted in the Spirit’s loving presence. 

Curtice says that in Indigenous cultures, young people “enter the wilderness because they know that on the other side they will come out a new version of themselves.”

Whether or not we realize it, we live in the wilderness in so many ways. And we are all being born anew each day - little shifts in our individual selves, and giant heaves in a rapidly changing world. When we embrace the wilderness - when we, like Jesus, call upon God to bless us with a spirit of discernment in our wilderness times - we do so knowing that we are always creating new versions of ourselves and creating a new world together, too. 

In the wilderness, Jesus is discerning enough to resist the temptation of taking the easy route. He is grounded firmly in the truth of who he is and he is ready and willing to walk in the strength of that truth. 

It’s no accident that Jesus’s baptism and genealogy come just before this wilderness wandering. When Jesus is baptized, he is reminded who he is at a deep, cellular level. As he emerges from the waters, he hears the voice of the Spirit from the heavens: “You are my son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased!” 

Immediately after these words, the author of Luke shifts gears into a long genealogy of Jesus, going back some 75 generations. At the very end, the last words we hear just before Jesus goes into the wilderness are these, “son of God.”

“You are my child,” God says. I am within you, a part of your very essence. You are of me and I am of you. We can never be separated. 

Armed with that foundational knowledge resounding deep in his body, Jesus walks into the wilderness - alone but never alone - crying for a vision. Cultivating a discerning spirit. Ready to be reminded of who he is and what work is his to do. 

Jesus gets lost on purpose so he can avoid getting lost on accident. In letting go of familiar comforts and safety, he grows in wisdom and strength. May we follow in his footsteps, confident God goes with us every step of the way. 

NOTES:

[1] https://www.patheos.com/blogs/kaitlinbcurtice/2017/05/08/jesus-us-a-shared-wilderness/

[2] http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/indigenoustraditions/6-%E2%80%A2-independent-projects/inikagapi-hanblecheyapi/