Let me begin this morning with an announcement. I share it because it really does have everything to do with where I’m headed in the message, this basic introduction to centering ourselves. Next week, we’ll look a bit deeper. This morning, and then again this afternoon we will dedicate the new labyrinth in the New Simkins Hall. Between services we offer a dedication that will be centered on you, those who attend church here. Then, there will be second dedication service this afternoon at 2:15pm. That will be for those in the community who see this labyrinth as playing a significant role in their spiritual formation. You are invited to come to one or to both. We haven’t scheduled time this morning to walk the labyrinth but there will be time this afternoon. Now, let’s center ourselves and open with prayer… (Pray)
It’s been an interesting time of study this week, with a particular focus on the labyrinth or things like. What I found is that they have been around for hundreds, even thousands of years. As long as believers sought ways to somehow center themselves on the holy, there have been patterns and symbols, created paths that have sought to assist followers to move toward a center. Labyrinths came in a variety of forms. They shifted and changed depending on location or era. Our labyrinth is based on a medieval model, one used by pilgrims who could not afford to take pilgrimages to the holy places of their time. The Church sought ways to allow Christian followers opportunities to take a different kind of pilgrimages, a journey that would help them move closer to God without having to travel very far. The labyrinth was born out of that need and has stayed with us for hundreds of years. The path or layout of the labyrinth is also significant. There is only one way in and one way out. If one follows the path, you simply cannot get lost. There are no dead-ends, no deceptive turns, and no tricks. That’s not what this is about. It is about taking time to find the center, stopping along the way to focus and pray, and spending time in the quietness of a holy place as we take a pilgrimage that will open us to God – who will, in that still small voice, speak and move us. Walking a labyrinth helps us understand our journey toward and with God. Even the pattern moves in and out, closer and farther away from the center. Sounds a bit like life, doesn’t it? So let’s explore it this morning, the labyrinth, our faith, and how to keep God at the center of our lives.
As we begin, I simply ask the question: why walk a labyrinth? For some of the answers to that question I’d like to look at a couple of things that might help us understand. First, let’s look back at the scriptures that were read this morning. Let me highlight just a few verses to help center the discussion. Let me highlight these few: “If you love me you will keep my commandments…” “Keep your conscience clear” “Always be ready to make your defense from anyone who demands an accounting from you…” “I will not leave you orphaned but will come to you…” “I am sending another. You know him because he abides with you, even in you…” And maybe most importantly for our discussions, the author of I Peter states: “But in your hearts, sanctify (or keep holy) Christ as Lord.”
These are all statements, sections of the scriptures read this morning. We’ve heard them over and over again. They sound so easy. Then life steps in and we remember the soccer game, the deadline, the dentist appointment, the travel plans, the commute time, the traffic, the grocery shopping, the Laker game, the argument from yesterday, or what we’re facing at work over the next month. Sound familiar? Life has a way of taking over. It’s true for all of us. It is reality. Then we have to ask ourselves: now how do we follow these scriptural statements? How do we live them? Or do we even explore them? How often I hear – or say to myself – I meant to, and I know how important these are to think about. I just don’t have time. And thus the search for appropriate priorities, and the guilt follows, begins again. Anyone else go through this?
I think it’s safe to say that our lives are more like a maze of twists and turns, even dead ends, with priorities that shift every day, sometimes every moment. We seem to walk a set of meandering paths that often form certain patterns. Sometimes the patterns are healthy. Other times they are not. At times the paths we take move us toward God, and at many times we find ourselves feeling as though we’re farther away…farther away…
I was reminded last week of a story I’ve told at least once here. It was one of those points of feeling farther away. It took place in the other Malibu – Malibu, Canada. It was at that critical point in my young, spiritual life where I simply and very literally chucked it all. It was a moment where I thought I’d finally and ultimately created absolute distance from God. It was the result of hearing all I wanted or needed to hear about life in faith. I was nineteen – only a year older than the youth we heard last Sunday - was sitting on a rock and struggling with the whole faith thing. A well-meaning counselor at the camp told me that if I really, truly believed; if I really had faith, I wouldn’t have questions or struggles. If I really was a Christian I wouldn’t doubt. She could have stopped there. She didn’t and said, “There is no room for doubt or struggle in real faith.” My answer to that at nineteen was, “Okay.” I remember standing up, taking my JB Philips New Testament, and chucking it into the cold and dark waters of that Canadian bay. I then watched as it sank. I turned to the counselor whose mouth stood a bit agape, and said, “Thanks.” Then I walked away and went to play Frisbee golf believing that I had finally created the needed distance away from God. It’s funny though. It didn’t work. I walked away but God didn’t. God stayed. God wooed. God loved. God even waited. Even in that moment, God took action. Remember the scripture: “I will not leave you orphaned but will come to you…” And God did on so many occasions over so many years – in sunsets or mountain climbs, in quiet moments walking a labyrinth, in the voices of my children, in you. “I will not leave you orphaned but will come to you…” And the movement away began to change to a movement toward God. The path shifted. I believe we all have those moments when we chuck it all, move as far as we can away from God. But God then moves in and around us, creates something in us; a need, a desire, a passion, or even an opportunity when we make a decision and allow God to come to us; opportunities where we open ourselves to God’s presence, God’s voice, God’s encouragement, God’s quiet whispers. God moves even when we don’t.
In her book, The Whispered Word, Theologian Marjorie Suchocki talks of God’s Spirit as being like water; a water that will, if allowed, fill every nook and cranny of our being. It continually seeks to find those thirsty places in our souls and quench them, find those muddy or murky places and clean them, find those lonely places, distant places, orphaned places and provide both comfort and companionship. God’s force moves in and through all things at all times and in all places. She asserts that we are the ones who try and prevent the movement, or even choose not to recognize the movement of God. Us. God’s movements in and through us are prevented, ignored, or go unrecognized if don’t open ourselves to them. And I say again, in as much as we may walk away, God stays, waits and woos. On the other hand there are times, as Suchocki states, that we can more readily open ourselves to the flow of God’s Spirit in us. Those are the centering times; specific times of stopping and allowing God to recreate us to more closely match the desires of God in our lives.
Over the years, and particularly now as a pastor I continue to be surprised at how little time we spend on centering ourselves in God. We pray for ourselves and others, we do the work of the church; we attend Bible studies and classes, and meet in committees. We often hear of the need to listen, but seldom do we take the time to do it. I have to tell you that I believe until we corporately decide that centering is as important as any Bible study, and we come to terms with the fact that listening to God is more important than talking to God, the church will continue to struggle. Why? Because we’re simply spending too much time talking and too little time listening, and even less time hearing. If we are to know where God wants us to go, we have to first hear that voice. Again, we need look no further than the scriptures for this morning.
I find it very interesting that the scriptures we have for today do any number of things. First, they challenge us to keep Christ’s teaching foremost in our minds. Second, they ask us to stay ready, prepared for whatever may happen. And third they assure us that we are not in this alone. But if we are too busy to take time and if we talk more than we listen, then how do we keep Christ’s teaching foremost in our minds, or stay prepared for whatever may happen, or know that we are not in this alone. The answer is simple. The implementation is not. We do it by making sure that we have time to center ourselves. We prioritize and set aside a time that allows God to move in and through us, a time to listen without speaking. A time to stop, breathe, listen and hear. I know it does not necessarily come easy in our active and all too busy lives. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s unusual. But if we do it, if we set aside our priorities, our objections, our nervousness, and our disbelief, God will go to work in us and allow us to hear and experience things we never thought of, or even thought possible. One shining example: last week.
I close with letting you know how proud I was of the youth last Sunday. We were reminded that nervousness can be overcome, our own self perceptions can be put aside, and powerful messages can be delivered if we take the time to listen to that still small voice. We were reminded that, no matter our age, we have something to learn; and, no matter our age, we have something to share. We also found out that we are not all the same nor are we alone in this journey – but within our diversity there is the potential for power. We learned that spiritual coaches, teachers, and even pilgrims come in all different shapes, ages and sizes. We were reminded that faith can be heard, shared, experienced or understood in a variety of ways – and a wide array of lives can be touched as diverse speakers share their stories. We learned so much more, but let me again say, thank you to our youth. I am so proud to be in this church with you. You helped me center last week. On our paths of life, you brought us closer to God. Thank you!
You see, friends, life really is very much like a labyrinth, moving sometimes gently and at other times abruptly from the outside to the inside, back to the outside and then in again; back and forth, in and out, up and down, and then, finally, as we are able to slow, stop, breathe, and focus...we find our true home, the center, and God is there waiting for us and moving through us. And now, as we move into this time of prayer, I’m going to ask Christoph to give us just a little more time in quiet reflection – not a lot more, just a little. And as we sing, allow your hearts to prepare for the time of silence that will follow, and listen for that still small voice. What is God saying to you this morning? Are you listening? Are you hearing? Amen.
© Brad Beeman, 2008. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution.
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"Centering - An Introduction"