Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Rest also in me

Friday, March 31, 2017

From John 7
"Look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that Jesus is the Christ?

This realization finally came about, but not now, not here in Jerusalem. It happened in what eventually would be called Anno Domini 312. Praying to a pagan god for victory, Roman emperor Constantine "saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross above the sun and an inscription, 'Conquer By This' attached to it."

Constantine made a banner carrying the cross. He won the battle and issued the Edict of Milan, decreeing that Christians would no longer be persecuted.

This most glorious moment in Christian military history legitimized the church, which came out from underground. And gradually, Pax Romana and Pax Domini blended their various triumphal, authoritarian tendencies to become the institution that dominated what we've come to call the Dark and Middle Ages.

But some of Jesus' ragtag followers, swept away by his call to self-sacrifice, peace, and mystic communion with God, did not take kindly to this new institution lording it over them or teaching them to be lords over others.

Henri Nouwen wrote in The Way of the Heart, "If the world was no longer the enemy of the Christian, then the Christian had to become the enemy of the dark world." Many fled to the desert and discovered the difficult but satisfying disciplines of solitude and silence. Often, these days of self-imposed exile became the richest times of their lives.

They became known as the desert fathers and mothers. One man, St. Anthony, lived more than a hundred years, mostly alone in the desert. Sometimes these monks gathered in one place after being hermits for many years. They wrote down their thoughts and stories.

"Abba Anthony said to his visitor, 'You often come here to see me, but you never ask me anything.' And the other replied, 'It is enough to see you, Father.'" With no surplice or golden crown to see around, perhaps God becomes more visible.

Solitude and silence nurture what Nouwen calls the prayer of the heart. He points out the literal meaning of Paul's word hesychia, in Thessalonians. Paul's famous call for us to "pray without ceasing" literally means, "Come to rest."

"When we have found our rest in God, God's rest will be visible wherever we go. Before we speak any words, the Spirit of God, praying in us, will make his presence known."

Lord, you tell us, "Come and see," and we do see, and our ears are filled with your soft singing. "In the quiet of the shadow, in the corner of a room, don't forget to breathe. Your whole life is here." No longer need to be afraid, no longer run so hard away. Come and see, you say, and so we do. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You are good and your mercy endures forever.

Devotions Archive

Rest also in me

Friday, March 31, 2017