Learn to Pray with the Church

I meet with people quite a bit, and I hear often that people struggle with anxiety and depression. I have experienced my share of anxiety over the past few years, so it’s no surprise an article in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye yesterday. Entitled “A Daily Workout for Your Brain,” by Elizabeth Bernstein, the article was an edited excerpt from an interview with psychologist Daniel Goleman, author of “Emotional Intelligence.”  And in that interview he tells of how looking at over 6,000 academic studies on meditation shows “meditation can decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety.” Tell me more, I thought.

As I read on I noticed an emphasis on focused breathing, bringing discipline to our wandering minds, focusing on one thing, and redirecting our minds to that one thing in order to strengthen our “neural circuitry” in our brains — much like 20 reps of a leg press strengthens leg muscles. 

Then it occurred to me: these are all things integral to Christian daily prayer especially as expressed in our Anglican tradition of morning and evening prayer. When I pray alone or lead our Wednesday morning Advent or Lent groups, or in our weekly staff meetings, I encourage those gathered to be still, breathe slowly and deliberately, and focus on God and his word. And as if this wasn’t coincidence enough, we prayed the following appointed psalm this morning:

“I will meditate on your commandments; and give attention to your ways.
My delight is in your statutes. I will not forget your word” (Ps 119:15-16). 

So reminding myself of these benefits of meditation in addition to the spiritual nourishment of being in the presence of Jesus with his people, I led Morning Prayer with a new peace and excitement. And, I’ve noticed what might have been a harried, frantic morning, became a space where I could see God’s providence, the serendipities of the Spirit, and the solidness of the Word, Christ Jesus, all around me.

If you struggle with anxiety and depression, come to morning prayer on Wednesdays in Advent. Learn to pray with the Church, and bring that healing rhythm into your daily life.


- Jay+

Advent is Coming

Advent is the season of preparation consisting of the four Sundays before Christmas. Advent is a countercultural time, a kind of fast that precedes the feast of Christmas. While the world around us is proclaiming that Christmas is here through decorations, songs, shopping, etc - regardless of whether Jesus is part of that Christmas or not - the Church in its liturgical observance waits and longs with expectation. Thus Advent is a season where we focus first on the second coming of our Lord in great glory and power only to draw our attention more acutely to his first coming in great humility and obscurity so long ago. 

To assist us in our advent spirituality we’ll make advent wreaths Sunday night after church. To join in our fellowship dinner and wreath making, please RSVP here. The advent wreath can be used to mark time in your home. My family lights a candle corresponding to the week of the season each night in dinner. And as we do so, we see the light grow greater and greater just as we long for the light of Christ to break in on us even now in our dark world. The light grows week by week until at Christmas Eve we light the Christ candle and light our own candles from that light. The symbolism is deep and lasting. And the hope is that the reality the symbols represent burn ever brighter in our lives.

Make plans to intentionally worship and mark time this season of Advent because Christmas is coming - as surely as our Lord Jesus. 


- Jay+

Thanksgiving to the Father of All Mercies

More than any other holiday in the civic calendar, Thanksgiving hearkens to the Christian roots of many of the colonies that would become the United States of America. Designated a federal holiday in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving has roots that date back to the 17th century in North America and even earlier in the Christian and Jewish communities worldwide. For at the heart of this annual autumnal feast is a very Christian impulse — to bless God, to give thanks for his goodness and mercy to us and to all he has made.

You can barely make it through a psalm or two without seeing an invitation to give thanks. Neither can you read an epistle in the New Testament without witnessing this praise bubbling up from the apostles. 

But when considering the act of giving thanks this Thanksgiving week, my attention is drawn to our own Anglican tradition and our rhythm of daily prayer. At the close of Morning and Evening Prayer is a prayer called the General Thanksgiving. And as I have prayed this prayer many times a week for a decade, I’ve been drawn to the simple acts of praise and thanksgiving and have aspired to shape my life accordingly.

In this prayer (seen below) we bless God, give him thanks, and ask for a holy awareness of all his mercies that we can offer our lives as a living sacrifice. 

I hope your Thanksgiving day is full of blessing, peace, and rest. And I hope you’ll pray this prayer and take the opportunity to bless God, give him thanks, and ask for awareness so that together with all of his saints we may offer ourselves, our souls, and our bodies as living sacrifices to him.

Join in me in praying this prayer this evening, then again tomorrow morning and so on. Pray it at your thanksgiving table, with friends or family. And may our lives follow the shape of this prayer throughout all ages. Amen.


- Jay+
 

“Almighty God, Father of all mercies,

we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks

for all your goodness and loving-kindness

to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation,

and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for your immeasurable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;

for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,

that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives,

by giving up our selves to your service,

and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, 

to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,

be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen."


 

Retreat

I hope you have a rhythm of rest and retreat. Maybe you take a walk at lunch or put away your smartphone for an entire day. Maybe you like to exercise or reflect quietly while thinking about your day. The staff of All Saints East Dallas just spent 24 hours in retreat. 

We were silent, we prayed, we learned about our respective personalities, the meaning of our names, the hurts and pains of the past, and our hopes for the future. Our hope was to pray and worship together, understand ourselves better, and understand where God might be taking us in the next several months as we take responsibility for our finances, governance, organizational development, and as we become our own church. I can say with confidence that these hopes were fulfilled. 

Sitting on a rocky beach on  Sandy Cay in the British Virgin Islands, I decided to take our staff on retreat, to take time to pour into the team and invest in them for their sake, and for yours. Pray for us and the leadership of All Saints East Dallas. There are many exciting days ahead, and God is leading us as he draws people to himself planting and establishing our church in East Dallas. 


- Jay+

Defend Your Servant

This past Sunday we celebrated All Saints’ day, five baptisms, and two years of weekly worship at All Saints East Dallas. This Sunday we’ll welcome our Bishop Philip Jones to confirm new members of All Saints East Dallas and the global Anglican Communion.

This week in preparation, Chris and I will pray together for each confirmand asking God for words of knowledge for their upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation (1 Corinthians 14:3; 12:8). Then as Bishop Philip lays his hands on these, he will share those words and any others the Spirit may utter. It is always a powerful moment in the life of the Church and the confirmands. Then he’ll pray the prayer below. Pray it with me this week and meditate on it as we prepare to welcome these into the life of All Saints East Dallas.

“Defend, O Lord, your servant with you heavenly grace, that she may continue yours for ever, and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more, until she comes to your everlasting kingdom. Amen.”


- Jay+

For All the Saints

Today is All Saints' Day, and we’ll celebrate the feast - and two years of weekly worship - with baptisms and worship this Sunday. We will remember those saints who have gone to be with the Lord over the past year, giving thanks to God for their lives of faithfulness.

This All Saints’ Day is particularly poignant having just returned from Israel. Walking the streets and hills where so many saints have prayed in public and private, praying at the Lion Gate where it is believed St. Stephen - the first Christian martyr - was dragged and stoned, and listening to the voices of prayers and songs from pilgrims all over the holy land, cultivated in me a view of God’s Church and his people that transcends my own little sphere of influence. It gave me pause and made me consider my own love for Jesus.

Saints, by definition, are those through whom God’s light shines. The New Testament writers refer to those who are in Christ as “saints.” And yet throughout history there have been men and women of heroic faith who gave witness to their love for Jesus in unique ways, some by the shedding of their own blood in martyrdom.  The Church has seen fit to honor and celebrate these saints, and we do well not only to celebrate them but emulate them and draw strength and courage from their life in Christ. 

We celebrate and emulate these saints especially as we partner with God to build his Church in East Dallas. As the risen Christ draws men and women to himself causing the light of the glory of God to shine through more and more people, he endows us with strength and courage in the cloud of witnesses who surround us even now. 

We have a big and exciting year ahead of us at All Saints East Dallas. As we take ownership of our finances, governance, organizational development and become our own church, we will be called by God to new heights and depths of heroic faith. He will call us to witness to his love and faithfulness in obedience and sacrifice. And he will do this so he can call more saints, drawing more dear ones into his kingdom, and shining his light through you and me so that those living in darkness can be brought to his marvelous light. 

- Jay+

Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5 ESV)

Last Sunday I asked us all to imagine what it would be like if we were a church known for its wisdom. There are many things the world needs that God's people can give. Faith. Hope. Love. The fruit of the Spirit. But the gift of wisdom is truly in short supply. But we need wise people. We need to be wise people. 

In the contemporary classic, The Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says, “The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” I couldn't agree more, and would only add that deep people are wise people. It is impossible to grow deep without wisdom. It is impossible for our gifts or intelligence to be truly fruitful without wisdom. I have met gifted people who lacked wisdom and have ended up destroying their lives. I have met intelligent people who have lacked wisdom and have ended up miserable. But people with depth and wisdom are generally joyful people, and joy is another of those great gifts the world desperately needs right now. 

Wisdom, Proverbs tells us, is to be sought above gold, silver, riches, power, prestige, about everything that most people spend their time seeking after. Wisdom, Proverbs tells us, is more valuable than all of these things. What if we believed that and sought to be people of wisdom? 

Wisdom gives us a way of navigating the world. Wisdom tells us that we shouldn't be surprised that we live in a world of conflict and misunderstanding. Jesus told his disciples, and so tells us, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves," but that is not a statement of despair because he goes on to say "so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 ESV) Christ's disciples are meant to be known by their wisdom and innocence. What if we asked him to make us wise? After all, James says we simply must ask for wisdom. Would you join me in praying for wisdom? Ask God for wisdom as you navigate your day to day lives, your family, your job, your relationships. Ask God for wisdom, and let's see what happens.


- Chris+

Hearing Hard Words

Reading the gospel lessons over the past few Sundays, I've been struck
 by some of the difficult things Jesus has to say. Just this summer
Jay has preached about Jesus' insistence that we forgive those who
wrong us, and I preached a sermon about the scandal of grace from a
passage where the master asks, "Is your eye evil because I am good?"
And in the reading from this past Sunday, Jesus says, "Many are called
but few are chosen." These are not the words of a smooth and easy
Jesus. These words are hard and angular, like an outcropping of rocks
we find ourselves crashing against. What do we make of words like
this? Can we imagine the Jesus we say we love and worship saying such
things, demanding such things from us? There are some of the questions
I've been left with as I have pondered these "hard words".

This week we will spend some time pondering another set of difficult
words. In response to a trick question about taxes, Jesus says,
"Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God
the things that are God’s" (Matt. 22:21).  We can marvel at the way in
which his answer cuts through the intentions of his questioners and
instead springs a trap on them, but his answer is more than a clever
evasion of a political trap. These words are meant to challenge our
conceptions of obligation. What do we owe the reigning power of the
day? And what do we owe God? To render something is to give something
that is owed, something that we are obliged to give. And so we must
ask, do we have the order right? Are we rendering what we ought to
whom it is properly owed?

But these words do not simply present a challenge to us. They also
present an opportunity. Jesus lived in a charged and deeply divided
political moment, a moment reminiscent of our own time. There is
difficulty in what Jesus says, but there is also so much hope in it,
because it indicates to me that Jesus wants to point us beyond the
political. He isn't saying these questions aren't important, but he is
challenging us to reframe their importance in light of what we truly
owe to God. And my prayer is that we as God's people can bear witness
to that.


- Chris+