June Week 2 — Mission Cleveland Parish

Virtue: Intentionality
Resolution: I choose to be mindful and responsive to God’s presence and the needs of others.

Human Story: Brother Lawrence (1614 - 1691)

In today’s increasingly fast-paced and demanding culture, few people live every moment in God’s loving presence with the consistent intentionality as that of Brother Lawrence. Lawrence was a seventeenth-century Carmelite monk known among his peers for his deep yet simple spirituality. He is famously quoted for praying things such as, “Lord of all pots and pans and things…, make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates!”, and “It is not the greatness of the work which matters to God but the love with which it is done.” His life was driven by a singular motivation - to commune with God in every moment and in everything.

How did he get this way? No doubt with a special measure of God’s grace. Brother Lawrence possessed a holy internal compass that pointed directly at the love of God. Because of his heart's understanding of this truth, he cultivated what he called "The Practice of the Presence of God," which was posthumously transposed into a book of the same title, containing his writings and conversations with others. Here are a few notable quotes from his book:

Men invent means and methods of coming at God's love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God's presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?

Do not be discouraged by the resistance you will encounter from your human nature; you must go against your human inclinations. Often, in the beginning, you will think that you are wasting time, but you must go on, be determined and persevere in it until death, despite all the difficulties.

Brother Lawrence found God everywhere. He chose to take the most menial and mundane tasks and turn them into opportunities to find God's love. Lawrence's life points to a path that leads to deeper communion with the Father, and he fervently assures that "there is no spot where we cannot draw near to Him, and hear Him speaking in our heart, with a little love, just a very little, we shall not find it hard".

Reference: The Practice of the Presence of God, and The Spiritual Maxims

Lesson: Isaiah 58: 1-9a (NIV)

Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high... Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Movies, television shows, and other media often portray religious people as hypocrites, those who do not practice what they preach. Religious people are stereotyped as hypocrites. In the United States, this is especially true of how Christians are portrayed. When tragedy strikes, Christians offer you their “thoughts and prayers,” but not much beyond this. They pray, preach, attend church, go to Bible studies, read books, memorize scripture verses, and quote scripture. Many Christians block hours out of their days for silence or solitude, and some study church history to learn more about their faith. If they are really serious, they may also fast. One could go on and on with examples of what Christians do that may be personally enriching but don’t necessarily produce virtues that manifest in relationships with others. All of these things should produce virtue and result in a more Christ-like person engaged in the world, but each of us can admit areas in our own lives and in others where, despite these practices, we are as far away from the character of Jesus as a person who doesn’t know Him at all.

The Jewish people had been forcibly removed from their homeland due to centuries of disobedience to God, and now in Isaiah 58 the exile had passed. However, the disobedience still remained, rebellion persisted, and prosperity was far from reach. The Israelites had many practices that were supposed to lead to virtuous living and a love for God and neighbor. The truth is, they performed the religious practices, but their lives did not reflect the discipline they practiced. Fasting is pointless if you take advantage of people and are manipulative. Praying doesn’t do much if you’re a mean and violent person, lacking compassion for human life. Bible study is vanity if you gossip about others. One’s inward disposition is naturally reflected in one’s outward practices, but it is obvious from our text that if there is no outward effort, all of our internal work is merely ceremony that produces hypocrisy. Virtuous character, defined as an increase in love for God and neighbor, only comes about through intentionality. So mindfully allow your religious practices to refine and shape you as it will direct you to the deeper concerns of God’s heart, as One who loves the burdened and oppressed and who actively seeks justice on their behalf.

Remembrance

by Frederick Buechner in Celtic Daily Prayer, Book Two, p.900.

Listen to your life.
See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.
In the boredom and pain of it
no less than in the excitement and gladness:
touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it
because in the last analysis all moments are key moments
and life itself is grace.

Challenge

In the spirit of Brother Lawrence’s life mission, find one menial task this week (e.g. washing dishes, mowing the yard, changing a diaper, taking out the trash), and do it in love. Practice intentionality by joyfully performing this menial task, reminding yourself of God’s presence in it and give Him thanks for such a gift.

Reflection

Christians are very good at practicing personal enrichment activities that may feed the soul but are less attentive to the needs of others. What cultural dynamics are at play that cause us to focus more on ourselves and less on the needs of others? What are the reasons you think this happens? What habits can you change that will help you focus more on others?

Further Growth

Virtue: IntentionalityResolution: I choose to be mindful and responsive to God’s presence and the needs of others.