"Everywhere I am in Thy Presence"

Today marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of one of Christian history's most interesting women, Susanna Annesley Wesley.  The 25th and last child of noted Non-Conformist pastor the Rev. Samuel Annesley and wife Mary, she was reared in a Puritan household where learning and piety went hand-in-hand.  Her father let her have the run of his considerable theological library, and when she decided at around age 13 to abandon her parents' religious tradition in favor of the Church of England, he supported her freedom of conscience enough to stand by her decision, despite any inner dismay he may have felt.  Upon his death, he even made her the executor of that same theological library, a gesture of trust, indeed!

Though she is often lauded as the Mother of Methodism, people are not always aware of the depth of theological and devotional influence she had on her two Methodist sons, John and Charles.  Susanna was their first teacher, home-schooling her sons and daughters in a structured (dare we say "Methodical") manner, ensuring that her daughters no less than her sons were taught to read and write and study scripture for themselves, spending an hour a week with each child alone to discuss any concerns or problems she or he might be facing.  John's time with her was on Thursday evening, and even as a young student at Oxford, he somewhat wistfully wished it were possible for him to have the luxury of that hour with her again on a regular basis.  

She read widely, thought deeply, meditated and prayed faithfully, journaled daily, and wrote a detailed explication of the Apostles' Creed, and she exercised her faith as educator, mother, wife, worship leader (in her husband's absence), and as spiritual director, even to her Oxford-educated clergy sons and others through her letters.  Here is an excerpt from a letter she wrote in 1734 to an unknown young clergyman, freely offering him her thoughts in a forthright yet humble way:

I should not take up on me to advise those that are wiser than myself, nor to teach where I ought to learn, but I think I may without offense to any say that the clergy would do well to consider with what temper and sincerity of mind they reply when they are questioned before they enter into the sacred priesthood, whether they think they are moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon themselves that holy order. Though it is permitted to those who serve the altar to be partakers with the altar, yet that does by no means justify the entering upon the ministry only for interest without principally regarding the glory of God and the salvation of the souls committed to their cure.

Never anticipating that her words would be read by others, let alone preserved and published as a means of encouragement and challenge to generations of Christians, she left behind not only many letters and her thoughts on the Creed but also numerous prayers, some of which have been adapted and used in Methodist worship services and in private devotions for years.

May you find encouragement in her words as you seek to live into your own Christian calling, whatever your vocation may be, letting her reminder that we are constantly in God's gracious presence be a source of strength and hope in the midst of your struggles against sin and despair.

You, O Lord, have called us to watch and pray.
     Therefore, whatever may be the sin against which we pray, 
     make us careful to watch against it,
      and so have reason to expect that our prayers will be answered.
In order to perform this duty aright,
   grant us grace to preserve a sober, equal temper,
   and sincerity to pray for your assistance. Amen.

Help me, Lord, to remember 
     that religion is not to be confined to the church, or closet, 
     nor exercised only in prayer, 
     but that everywhere I am in thy presence.  
So may my every word and action have a moral content.  
     May all things instruct me and afford me an opportunity 
      of exercising some virtue and daily learning 
     and growing toward thy likeness. Amen.

Being Freed from All Maladies

We celebrated a service of death and resurrection at church today.  In other words, we had a funeral.  That is hardly earthshaking news, but what made this one different was that it was for a co-worker.  Our Publications Secretary, Jim Blaine, died unexpectedly a week ago, and this morning, we gathered as friends, family, and colleagues to witness to the Christian faith, to celebrate Jim's life, and to mourn his death but not, to paraphrase the Apostle Paul, as those who have no hope.

Among the scriptures read or alluded to today were Paul's words to the church of Corinth where he most clearly spells out the "sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ" --

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory."

     "Where, O death, is your victory? 

     "Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15: 51-55)

Paul wisely resorts to the language of mystery to talk about what happens to the Christian believer after physical death has occurred, rooting his understanding of our resurrection in the example of Christ's resurrection, and he speaks of us a very real resurrection of our earthly bodies in which we receive spiritual bodies that are no longer subject to decay or illness or death.  This lies at the very cornerstone of Christianity, appearing in the last articles of both the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds, and in it is our joy, our hope, and our comfort in the face of our enemy, death.

In his sermon "On the Resurrection of the Dead," John Wesley seeks to make it very clear that resurrection is not the mere resuscitation of a dead body.  Following Paul's lead, he proclaims in the strongest words possible that our resurrection selves are something quite different indeed:

The body that we shall have at the resurrection shall be immortal and incorruptible: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Now, these words, immortal and incorruptible, not only signify that we shall die no more, (for in that sense the damned are immortal and incorruptible) but that we shall be perfectly free from all the bodily evils which sin brought into the world; that our bodies shall not be subject to sickness, or pain, or any other inconveniences we are daily exposed to. This the Scripture calls "the redemption of our bodies," -- the freeing them from all their maladies. Were we to receive them again, subject to all the frailties and miseries which we are forced to wrestle with, I much doubt whether a wise man, were he left to his choice, would willingly take his again; -- whether he would not choose to let his still lie rotting in the grave, rather than to be again chained to such a cumbersome clod of earth. Such a resurrection would be, as a wise Heathen calls it, "a resurrection to another sheep." It would look more like a redemption to death again, than a resurrection to life.

And so today, through tears and laughter, with hearts saddened by the loss of our friend, we celebrate that Jim is no longer subject to the chronic pulmonary and respiratory illnesses that plagued him and ultimately led to his death, and we rejoice that one day, our own pains and sorrows and weaknesses will be lifted from us, as well.  Among other things, we shall be freed from all our maladies and frailties, released into Life that is beyond our comprehension with the One who is the Author of that Life, the Pioneer and Finisher of our faith.  Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!

The Powerhouse of Methodism

This meditative little space connected to John Wesley’s bedroom in his London home has been called the “powerhouse of Methodism” because of the hours Wesley spent on his knees here before God in prayer.  He regarded prayer as one of the chief means of grace in the life of a Christian, and it was indeed the energy behind Wesley’s life and ministry and behind the Methodist revival itself.  As a child, he was instructed in the things of God by his mother Susanna and his father Samuel, and his practice of steeping each day in time set apart with God, first nurtured in the Epworth rectory, lasted his whole long life.

In 1733 while a fellow at Lincoln College, he published A Collection of Forms of Prayer for Every Day in the Week.  Much of the content came from an earlier manual of prayer called The True Church of England Man's Companion in the Closet; or, A Complete Manual of Private Devotion.  Compiled by the Rev. Nathaniel Spinckes, this earlier collection assigned prayers for every day of the week, morning and evening, and Wesley included prayers of his own creation, while editing and shifting material around.

Wesley believed that a regular practice of praying with words hallowed by long use in the Church would enable his students to develop their own rhythm of prayer, surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses. He also added a list of questions for self-examination somewhat similar to the “examen” of Ignatius of Loyola, but I do not know whether or not he had studied the Ignatian method or whether his inspiration came from elsewhere. That would be fascinating to discover!  At any rate, it is interesting that he omitted these questions in the 1740 printing, while restoring them in later editions, and it will come as no surprise to hear that, as new versions of the book were published, hymns reflecting Methodism’s particular theological emphases were added and other adjustments were made so it could be used more generally, particularly for family devotions.

But Wesley's understanding of prayer was broader than time spent at these specified hours, important though they were.  He was convinced of the necessity of praying as an ongoing activity, comparing it to the very breath we take, without which life itself cannot continue.  In his notes on Ephesians 6:18, Wesley speaks of inwardly praying without ceasing through the influence of the Holy Spirit, by means of public AND private prayer, mental AND vocal.  He goes on to say that

Some are careful in respect of one kind of prayer, and negligent in others. If we would have the petitions we ask, let us use all. Some there are who use only mental prayer or ejaculations, and think they are in a state of grace, and use a way of worship, far superior to any other: but such only fancy themselves to be above what is really above them; it requiring far more grace to be enabled to pour out a fervent and continued prayer, than to offer up mental aspirations. 

He also urges perseverance in prayer, comparing it to Christ's intense supplications in the Garden of Gethsemane and stresses the importance of "wrestling in fervent, continued intercession for others, especially for the faithful, that they may do all the will of God, and be steadfast to the end. Perhaps we receive few answers to prayer, because we do not intercede enough for others."

In this new year, how might you grow in your understanding and practice of prayer?  If you don't usually set time aside for study of scripture and formal prayer, perhaps now is a good time to start.  If you only use written forms of prayer and never pray in your own words, you may wish to acquaint yourself with this way of being with God. Try reading prayers aloud or speaking your thoughts aloud.  Notice the silence or the birdsong or your own breathing and let it remind you that there is nowhere we can be where God is not.  And expand your petitions and thoughts beyond your own desires so that you may entreat God on behalf of others, trusting that as you spend time simply breathing in God's presence and breathing out God's love, you are indeed praying without ceasing.  I will leave you with one final thought.  From a letter written by John Wesley to Mary Bosanquet, hear these comforting words of grace when you think you can't pray, when you don't want to pray, or you don't know how to pray --

It is certainly right to pray whether we can pray or no. God hears, even when we hardly hear ourselves. ~ John Wesley (March 26, 1770)

"Let it be ratified in heaven"

(photo at left of the Covenant Prayer, Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford)

Small, hard-working, and energetic, John Wesley was a lot like a bee; he selectively sampled different theological "flowers" to extract the best nectar which he then combined to produce his own brand of golden theological honey. (If anyone reading this is an expert on beekeeping, please excuse any errors in apiculture and just go with my metaphor. Likewise, if you are of a different theological bent, if you think Wesley's efforts were pure dross, keep that to yourself.)

In 1753, as one of the volumes of his Christian Library, Wesley re-published Richard Alleine's Vindiciae Pietatis, aka A Vindication of Godliness in the Greater Strictness and Spirituality of It. Alleine was a Puritan whose Vindiciae was first published in 1660 without the permission of the archbishop which therefore led to it being ordered destroyed or "bisked" with a brush liberally dipped in ink.  Needless to say, this censorship would have insured its popularity even if it had not been a book of great spiritual power, as did Wesley's re-publication of it and his appropriation of Alleine's Covenant Prayer for his renewal services.  On Monday, August 11, 1755, Wesley used one chapter of Alleine's book during what appears to have been the first celebration of the Covenant Service at a chapel in Spitalfields, London.

Finding great meaning in the service, Wesley celebrated it almost everywhere he traveled, necessarily meaning that its observance fell at different times of the year. In London, however, these services were usually held on New Year's Day since the holiday occurred during the time when Wesley was nearly always in residence there.  These came to be known as Watch Night Services, typically lasting three or more hours with scripture and singing interspersed, marking a commitment to deeper faith during the coming year by means of prayer and repentance. Wesley's spiritual descendants continue to celebrate these Watch Night/Covenant Services, especially in the UK, while his adaptation of Alleine's Covenant Prayer is perhaps more widely used for personal devotions in the US as in Steven Manskar's A Disciple's Journal.

The order for the Covenant Service in the United Methodist Book of Worship utilizes the words of Wesley's original liturgy, slightly updated, and calls upon worshipers to commit themselves to Christ as his servants, recognizing that some types of service are "more easy and honorable" while others are "more difficult and disgraceful."  Because, Wesley says, sometimes we can only please Christ by denying ourselves, we will find that some of those services are "suitable to our inclinations and interests" and that "others are contrary to both."  Uncompromisingly, Wesley states that "Christ will have no servants except by consent; Christ will not accept anything except full consent to all that he requires.  Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing."

The traditional form of the prayer that has come to be known as the Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition is as follows:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

At this time of year, maybe you are accustomed to making some sort of resolution to lose weight, stop smoking, start exercising, or spend less time on your smartphone.  That's not a bad start; however,  this year, I invite you to spend some time deep in meditation and prayer, asking yourself how you can give more of yourself to Christ.  What might you need to give up/deny yourself in order to follow him more nearly?  What might you need to begin to practice as a way of being formed more in his image of holiness?  Praying the Covenant Prayer is a part of my daily devotional life at least once a day, and while I am by no means as holy as I one day hope to be by the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe that its words are making a home within my heart, guiding me to examine my inner and outer life more closely as I recommit myself to the Christ whose birth we now celebrate and whose walk we claim to emulate.  Will you do the same?

"O Holy Child, Still Let Thy Birth Bring Peace ..."

It's the second day of Christmastide, and for many people, things have gone back to the way they were before.  There is work to be done, wrapping paper to be recycled, dishes to be washed, and so forth.  The radio stations have stopped playing their version of Christmas tunes 24/7, and for most of the world, the holiday is over.  Yet the Church has seen this holy time differently for centuries, celebrating the nativity of Christ for 12 or 13 days (depending on how you count.)  December 25 rolls around every year, marking the day the Western Church calls to mind the birth of Jesus, but what difference does it really make in our daily lives?  Many great thinkers have pondered that question, including the 13th century German mystic and theologian Meister Eckhart.  Using birth imagery he reflected: 

We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of Man is begotten in us. 

You already know that Charles Wesley crafted dozens of hymns expressing the wonder of the incarnation, the mystery of the virgin birth, and the change wrought in the human heart as a result, so it comes as no surprise that I am showcasing another one. In this particular hymn, like Eckhart, he calls for God to appear in him -- "In my weak sinful flesh appear, O God, be manifested here."  Wesley rejoices that in Jesus Christ the divine and the human are joined so that we, too might be one with God, crying out for the Word to be incarnate in him, in his flesh, in his heart.  Charles Wesley paints no sentimental picture of the sweetly sleeping infant; he instead creates a theological act of praise that seeks nothing less than the very fullness of God to come to him and to all people because of that child's life and eventual death and resurrection.  

He concludes his hymn with a plea for Christ to come quickly so that he can be a true witness to the Lord, made holy and perfect in love, in order that he may cry aloud with joy,  'Come in my flesh is Christ, the Word, And I can sin no more!'  And so my Christmas prayer for you is that your post-Christmas Day life is not simply a return to the same old, same old.  I hope that you may be so filled with longing for the life divine to enter into your heart that Christ will be born there again and again.  I pray that you, too will be a witness to the Lord whose kingdom is set up in our hearts, bringing peace to all people upon the earth.  This is what it is to be filled with grace, even as Mary was filled with grace.  This is what it is to be filled with the fullness of the life of Christ.  This is the gift of Christmas.

All-wise, all-good, Almighty Lord,

Jesus, by highest heaven ador’d,
Ere time its course began,
How did thy glorious mercy stoop
To take the fallen nature up,
When thou thyself wert man?

Th’ eternal God from heav’n came down,
The King of Glory dropp’d his crown,
And veil’d his majesty,
Empty’d of all but love he came;
Jesus, I call thee by the name
Thy pity bore for me.

O holy child, still let thy birth
Bring peace to us poor worms on earth,
And praise to God on high!
Come, thou who didst my flesh assume,
Now to the abject sinner come,
And in a manger lie.

Didst thou not in thy person join
The natures human and divine,
That God and man might be
Henceforth inseparably one?
Haste then, and make thy nature known
Incarnated in me.

In my weak sinful flesh appear,
O God, be manifested here,
Peace, righteousness, and joy,
Thy kingdom, Lord, set up within
My faithful heart, and all my sin,
The devil’s works destroy.

I long thy coming to confess
The mystic power of godliness,
The life divine to prove,
The fulness of thy life to know,
Redeem’d from all my sins below,
And perfected in love.

O Christ, my hope, make known in me
The great, the glorious mystery,
The hidden life impart:
Come, thou desire of nations, come,
Form’d in a spotless virgin’s womb,
A pure believing heart.

Come quickly, dearest Lord, that I
May own, tho’ antichrist deny,
Thy incarnation’s power,
May cry, a witness to my Lord,
“Come in my flesh is Christ, the Word,
And I can sin no more!” ~ Charles Wesley

"And the Word became flesh"

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1: 14)

When I was a child, I remember hearing -- and saying -- "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  The intent behind the expression is to toughen us up, to keep our feelings from being hurt whenever someone calls us a name or says something unkind, but the truth is, words CAN hurt, and words matter far more than we'd sometimes like to admit.

The biblical writers knew how important words are and refrained from speaking or writing the "Tetragrammaton," the 4 letter name of God, in order not to commit blasphemy, and in the gospel of John, we are reminded that everything that has come into being was created by the Word of God; as John Wesley writes in his Notes on John 1, "the Word by whom the Father speaking, makes all things." This means that creation itself is an oral act, and moreover, the very same Word that spoke the world into being has entered into human existence, taking on our frail human flesh, or as Wesley so beautifully says, "tabernacled among us."

And just as the tabernacle in the Old Testament was an easily movable tent where God's glorious presence dwelt among the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness, so too did Jesus pitch his tent of flesh to live awhile among us,"displaying his glory in a more eminent manner, than even of old in the tabernacle of Moses." In wonder and in a spirit of praise, Wesley writes in his notes on John 1: 14 that human beings are by nature "liars and children of wrath, to whom both grace and truth are unknown," yet we partake of them "when we are accepted through the Beloved."  He goes on to say that this verse might be paraphrased in this way:

And in order to raise us to this dignity and happiness, the eternal Word, by a most amazing condescension, was made flesh, united himself to our miserable nature, with all its innocent infirmities. And he did not make us a transient visit, but tabernacled among us on earth, displaying his glory in a more eminent manner, than even of old in the tabernacle of Moses. And we who are now recording these things beheld his glory with so strict an attention, that we can testify, it was in every respect such a glory as became the only begotten of the Father ....  In all he appeared full of grace and truth ... and really exhibited the most substantial blessings, whereas that was but a shadow of good things to come.

Wesley's reflections upon the richness of this one verse in John's gospel shine a light onto the extent of God's love for us as displayed in the Incarnation.  The Word took on flesh and became completely human in order to bless us richly, yet even these wonderful earthly blessings are "but a shadow of good things to come."  What lengths our Lord goes to in order to be in relationship with us, to reorder our lives and remold us by the Spirit into the daughters and sons of God we were created to be!  How much we are loved and cherished and valued by the One who stopped at nothing so that we might be reconciled to each other!  And so, with John Wesley and with Charles Wesley and all the company of heaven, let us join in this exultant hymn of Advent hope and yearning for his return in glory --

Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory,
Claim the kingdom for Thine own;
Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Everlasting God, come down!

Interruption, Incarnation

image found at https://www.passionistnuns.org/passionist-calendar/2018/5/31/feast-of-the-visitation-of-mary-to-elizabeth

Whence is it that my Lord
    Himself should visit me,
Should stoop to such a wretch abhorr'd,
    And claim my misery?
    He leaves His throne above
    For His own mercy sake,
He comes constrain'd by pitying love,
    And doth my nature take.

    The mystery of Thy grace
    What angel can conceive?
Thou wouldst to all our ransom'd race
    Faith and salvation give,
    Thou dost the grace reveal,
    Thou dost the faith impart,
And thus Thou com'st again to dwell
    For ever in my heart. ~ Charles Wesley

We are deep in the season of Advent, and we have once again read the story of the Angel Gabriel's appearance to Zechariah with an unexpected birth announcement for him and Elizabeth, and we have heard again the Virgin Mary's "yes" to God's interruption by way of incarnation into her life and body. Only Luke tells us this particular story that places two seemingly ordinary women at the very center of salvation history.  Again and again in his gospel, Luke, himself an outsider, seeks to draw our attention to the oft-overlooked participants in the drama -- to women, to the poor, to the stranger.

In this icon and in the hymn we see the juxtaposition of the joy at Elizabeth's surprising conception with the exultation at Mary's even more astounding news of her own pregnancy.  The two women hold each other tenderly as their unborn infants shift, as John the forerunner salutes his greater cousin Jesus by literally leaping for joy. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, greets Mary by asking in wonderment why the mother of her Lord is coming to her, honoring Mary (and perhaps herself) for trusting that the promise spoken by God would indeed be fulfilled, while Mary responds with a song praising God for what may seem "upside down" reasons. But this is of course, an upside down kind of God who trades immortality for mortality, stooping down, becoming flesh like us so that we might be filled with all the fullness of God.  The Christ who interrupted his own life above interrupts the cycle of sin and death below by becoming incarnate in the lives of those whose lives he enters into.

Interestingly, in Charles Wesley's hymn, he takes upon himself the role of Elizabeth AND of Mary and invites us to do the same.  In the first verse, he shifts Elizabeth's words of salutation to Mary into a cry of bewildered joy that the Incarnate Lord has set aside the grandeur of heaven to embrace human nature and flesh, while the second verse is a reverie that calls to mind Luke's later words about Mary pondering all these things in her heart.  The coming of the One who lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things is a mystery beyond the eloquence of angels, and his advent is not simply a never-to-be-repeated virginal conception but an ongoing gift of grace as he makes his home in the hearts of all who accept his offer of salvation and faith. His coming not only interrupts the predictable, ordinary life that Mary probably expected for herself; his coming also interrupts the dominance of sin in the life of the world and breaks its power forever.

These are themes that Charles Wesley returns to repeatedly.  He cannot exhaust the praise of a God whose nature and name are Love; if he had one thousand tongues and as many years, he could not begin to describe the grace of such a gift.   But in his attempts to sound the depths of this divine grace, he continues to give us words to sing and pray as we celebrate the coming of the Lord, this Jesus who dwells forever in our hearts.