Unpretentious Spirituality

Devotional Reflection, Thursday,  February 22, 2024

The week of the first Sunday after Lent

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.

You will find the full text of today’s epistle reading at the end of this reflection.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 953)

AM Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 19, 46

Gen. 39:1-23; 1 Cor. 2:14-3:15; Mark 2:1-12

David’s Reflections

The opening lines of one of Milosz’s poems came to mind as my eyes roamed over today’s reading:

Come, Holy Spirit,

bending or not bending the grasses,

appearing or not above our heads in a tongue of flame,

at hay harvest or when they plough in the orchards or when snow

covers crippled firs in the Sierra Nevada.

I am only a man:  I need visible signs.

I tire easily, building the stairway of abstraction. *

Paul uses terms in this text like “spiritual” and “people of the flesh.”  Talk about the stairway of abstraction; the reader can tire of it as did the poet.  According to Paul in today’s reading, some of the tendencies of “people of the flesh” are immaturity, jealousy, quarreling, and competitiveness.  Earlier, Paul had taken those same people to task for engaging in the cult of personality, or a form of hero worship (1 Corinthians 1).

Should one really want to be spiritual?  After all, some of the worst behavior, some of the most intolerant and aggressive, characterizes some of those who have conceived of themselves as closer to God than others.  Do I want to look like a human glowworm, burning too brightly?

Some of the most spiritual people I have known have been quiet, unassuming;  they did not talk any differently or conceive of themselves as privy to God’s special presence and blessing.  They simply went about their daily lives with a heart commitment to their faith and with a genuine openness to God.  Their intent distinguished them, the intent to allow God to love them and to love through them.

The prayer of a spiritual person could be rather simple.  “Dear God, this is your day, and I am your child.  Please release your presence in me and strengthen my intent to love you and love others by every word and action today.  Guide me with your wisdom.  Let my heart be more fully yours, and let me not fear to be, do, and say what pleases you, even if it stretches me or makes another uncomfortable.  Let it be for love of you and others that I live.”

Milosz’s prayer is even simpler, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

The invocation of the Holy Spirit that I learned in Cursillo forms a part of my daily prayer offerings.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love.

V - Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created

R - And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray:

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Or, you could pray the well-known prayer of Thomas Merton that you will find below. Obviously, you cannot be spiritual just by saying the right words. When we set our hearts on God and live into the intent to be open to and directed by God, we allow God’s Spirit to express God’s love and life through us. Any prayers that prove meaningful will assist us inadequately to express what we really can’t verbalize, the desire to live in a vital relationship with God.

* From “Veni Creator” by Czeslaw Milosz, The Collected Poems:  1931-1987,  (New York:  HarperCollins, 1988), p. 194.

Collect of the Day, The First Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (BCP, 218)

Collect for Thursday in the first week of Lent

Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, p. 35)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Eric Liddell, missionary to China (died 21 Feb 1945 CE).

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/eric_liddell.htm

Collect of the Feast of Eric Liddell

God whose strength bears us up as on mighty wings: We rejoice in remembering your athlete and missionary, Eric Liddell, to whom you gave courage and resolution in contest and in captivity; and we pray that we also may run with endurance the race set before us and persevere in patient witness, until we wear that crown of victory won for us by Jesus our Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect of Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.  therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.  I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Aman.

[Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude (Boston: Shambahala, 1983), p. 89.]

A Collect for Grace

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)

For Guidance

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you

would  have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (BCP, 832)

In the Order of Worship for Evening

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of

our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen.  (BCP, 113)

A Collect for Mission

Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (BCP, 280)

Daily Office Epistle Lesson, 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15

14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.

3:1And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I belong to Apollos,’ are you not merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.

11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer

Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer

Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.

You will find the full text of today’s epistle reading at the end of this reflection.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 953)

AM Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 19, 46

Gen. 39:1-23; 1 Cor. 2:14-3:15; Mark 2:1-12

David’s Reflections

The opening lines of one of Milosz’s poems came to mind as my eyes roamed over today’s reading:

Come, Holy Spirit,

bending or not bending the grasses,

appearing or not above our heads in a tongue of flame,

at hay harvest or when they plough in the orchards or when snow

covers crippled firs in the Sierra Nevada.

I am only a man:  I need visible signs.

I tire easily, building the stairway of abstraction. *

Paul uses terms in this text like “spiritual” and “people of the flesh.”  Talk about the stairway of abstraction; the reader can tire of it as did the poet.  According to Paul in today’s reading, some of the tendencies of “people of the flesh” are immaturity, jealousy, quarreling, and competitiveness.  Earlier, Paul had taken those same people to task for engaging in the cult of personality, or a form of hero worship (1 Corinthians 1).

hould one really want to be spiritual?  After all, some of the worst behavior, some of the most intolerant and aggressive, characterizes some of those who have conceived of themselves as closer to God than others.  Do I want to look like a human glowworm, burning too brightly?

Some of the most spiritual people I have known have been quiet, unassuming;  they did not talk any differently or conceive of themselves as privy to God’s special presence and blessing. They simply went about their daily lives with a heart commitment to their faith and with a genuine openness to God.  Their intent distinguished them, the intent to allow God to love them and to love through them.

The prayer of a spiritual person could be rather simple.  “Dear God, this is your day, and I am your child.  Please release your presence in me and strengthen my intent to love you and love others by every word and action today.  Guide me with your wisdom.  Let my heart be more fully yours, and let me not fear to be, do, and say what pleases you, even if it stretches me or makes another uncomfortable.  Let it be for love of you and others that I live.”

Milosz’s prayer is even simpler, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

The invocation of the Holy Spirit that I learned in Cursillo forms a part of my daily prayer offerings.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love.

V - Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created

R - And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray:

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Or, you could pray the well-known prayer of Thomas Merton that you will find below. Obviously, you cannot be spiritual just by saying the right words. When we set our hearts on God and live into the intent to be open to and directed by God, we allow God’s Spirit to express God’s love and life through us. Any prayers that prove meaningful will assist us inadequately to express what we really can’t verbalize, the desire to live in a vital relationship with God.

* From “Veni Creator” by Czeslaw Milosz, The Collected Poems:  1931-1987,  (New York:  HarperCollins, 1988), p. 194.

Collect of the Day, The First Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (BCP, 218)

Collect for Thursday in the first week of Lent

Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, p. 35)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Eric Liddell, missionary to China (died 21 Feb 1945 CE).

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/eric_liddell.htm

Collect of the Feast of Eric Liddell

God whose strength bears us up as on mighty wings: We rejoice in remembering your athlete and missionary, Eric Liddell, to whom you gave courage and resolution in contest and in captivity; and we pray that we also may run with endurance the race set before us and persevere in patient witness, until we wear that crown of victory won for us by Jesus our

Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect of Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.  therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.  I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Aman.

[Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude (Boston: Shambahala, 1983), p. 89.]

A Collect for Grace

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)

For Guidance

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you

would  have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (BCP, 832)

In the Order of Worship for Evening

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen.  (BCP, 113)

A Collect for Mission

Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (BCP, 280)

Daily Office Epistle Lesson, 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15

14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.

3:1And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I belong to Apollos,’ are you not merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.

11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer

Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer

Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer