Watch Your Hurry, January 26, 2014

Watch Your Hurry!

Psalm 46, Luke 10:38-42

January 26, 2014

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

Silent Time Years ago, Wellesley College, an all girls school in Massachusetts, had morning and evening ''silent time" where for a brief period, marked by the strokes of a bell, the entire campus was completely silent. Every pupil was in her room. There was no conversation. No steps were heard in the corridors. The entire college with its thronging life was quiet as if all its hundreds of students were sleeping. There was no prescribed way of spending these silent minutes in the rooms, but it was understood that all whose hearts were so inclined would devote the time to devotional reading, meditation, and prayer. This period of quiet as part of the daily life of school, gave opportunity for devotional exercises, and by its solemn hush suggested to all the helpfulness and the need of such periods of communion with God.

They believed that every true Christian life needed its daily "silent times," when all shall be still, when the busy activity of other hours shall cease, and when the heart, in holy hush, shall commune with God.

Do you agree? Do you feel that every true Christian life needs daily “silent times”? If so, it would answer part of last week’s question “What are you going to do with the time you have left to live on this earth?” And it also agrees with the Apostle Paul’s statement that we should spend time in prayer.

This morning I would like to focus on the concept of taking time to pray - of communing with God by setting aside your own silent times. As I do this, I would remind us all that prayer is a two-way street - that is to say, we speak to God and God speaks to us. Most of us are pretty good at speaking to God - telling God what we need, asking God to heal the sick, comfort the lonely, and strengthen the weak.

We thank God for blessings, ask him for forgiveness, seek strength to withstand temptations, seek guidance to help us make a decision. But we need to give God a chance to speak to us. We need to open our hearts and minds and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. By so doing, we allow God to set the agenda.

If we are ever going to listen to God, we need to slow down. We need to “Watch Your Hurry.” Slowing down our daily activities can be hard to do in the fast-paced world in which we live. Many retired folk have said they are busier now than when they were employed. But whatever age we might be, it’s easy to find ourselves hurrying as fast as we can just to keep up with the demands made upon our time. As one person said, “If God lets me live long enough to do everything I want to do, I’ll live forever.” Many of us find ourselves moving double time so we won’t be late and so we can do everything on our “to-do” list.

We end up scurrying around like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland who said, “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say ‘Hello’: Goodbye, I’m late, I’m Late, I’m late.” [“Lewis Carroll, “Alice In Wonderland,” 1865]  Of course a certain amount of hurrying in life is inevitable and even necessary.

However, if our lives consist only of noise, hurrying, and crowds, then it is possible that they are empty of significant spiritual meaning. As Socrates said, "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." Another wrote, “Hurry is not of the devil; it is the devil.” [Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline , p. 13].

Be Still and Know  So this morning, in the midst of our fast-paced, frenzied life, let us turn to our morning psalm. It was written during the reign of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah about 860 years before Jesus was born. His nation was embroiled in a war with the neighboring Moabites and Ammonites. Because of the fighting, the lives of the Israelites were in turmoil. And so the psalmist says to them that in the midst of their strife, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Then God says,“Be still and know that I am God.” [Psalm 46:10] Be still. In order for God to be our refuge and strength in times of trouble we must be still before God and simply listen.

We must be quiet. To be intentionally still and quiet for any length of time is hard. Yet if God is to be a very present help in trouble, that’s exactly what we must learn to do.

Mary and Martha  Our morning scripture from Luke is the story of Jesus and the sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus made a surprise visit to them. Since they weren’t prepared for company, Martha began scurrying around preparing food and lodging for Jesus. As she was trying to do five things at once, she noticed her sister, Mary, wasn’t lifting a finger to help her. Instead, she was quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to everything he said. This upset Martha greatly. I think all of us can identify with Martha, can’t we? If we see something that needs to be done, we don’t wait to be asked. We pitch in and do it. But if no one volunteers to pitch in and help us, we get upset. 

Martha was so upset that she said to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

In response to Martha’s complaint, Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” [Luke 10:40-42 NRSV]

Listening to Jesus  When we’re worried and distracted by many things, only one thing is needed. And that one thing is to listen to Jesus. What Mary heard Jesus say strengthened her relationship with Jesus and that could never be taken away from her. Mary knew how to slow down, be still and listen. To slow down, be still and listen is one of the great spiritual practices of the Christian faith. It involves listening to the small still voice of God, and allowing God’s Spirit to enter our hearts. Taking time to do this on a daily basis enables us to have a steady, purposeful and meaningful existence even in the midst of a busy life. Listening to God helps us enter into a one-on-one relationship with God. It enables us to have a sense of balance and inward peace in the midst of the hectic activities of the day. It keeps our lives centered in God. It keeps us connected to God. God is the one who calls us into his presence to listen. When we respond to his call, we enter into the recreating silences of communion with him.

Meditation in Scripture  The practice of meditation is not new. In fact, for thousands of years, it has existed as a way for people to commune with God. The psalmists wrote about God, “I think of thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the watches of the night.” [Psalm 63:6]  “Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” [Psalm 1:1:2]  “My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate upon thy promise.” [Psalm 119:148] And in Isaiah, we read, “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” [Isaiah 30:15]

Jesus  Through the three years of his ministry, Jesus went off by himself to meditate many, many times. Dr. Richard Morgan, a Presbyterian pastor, wrote, “In all of his life journey, Jesus would withdraw to be alone, to seek the presence of his father, to be renewed in spirit.”

Testimonial  A heart surgeon once observed: "For me, the solitude of early morning is the most precious time of day. There is a quiet serenity that disappears a few hours later with the hustle and bustle of the multitude. Early morning hours symbolize for me a rebirth; the anxieties, frustrations, and woes of the preceding day seem to have been washed away during the night. God has granted another day of life, another chance to do something worthwhile for humanity." Michael E. Debakey,

Meditation and Prayer  I look at it this way. I know that the rest of my time I have on this earth will have times of stress, times of sorrow, times that will keep me awake at night. Thus it makes sense to be firmly grounded in God so that God can be my refuge and strength in times of trouble. The only way I can do this is by being quiet before God and listening. It’s a time when we wait upon God to move in our lives. And when we are done listening, we don’t walk away wondering if our meditation will be answered as we might do with prayer. Instead, we have simply taken time out from our busy days, and opened ourselves to whatever God would say to us at that time. It is a process by which we give ourselves to God for whatever purposes he has in mind.

As Scriptures tell us, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” [Psalm 27:14] Final Thoughts  I know there are times when we cannot and should not avoid the winds, earthquakes and fires that often disturb our lives. Sometimes hectic schedules and sudden crises cannot be avoided. However, Dag Hammarskjold once wrote, “How can you expect to keep your powers of hearing when you never want to listen? That God should have time for you, you seem to take as much for granted as that you cannot have time for him.” [ Markings , p. 12].

And as John G. Whittier put it in his beautiful hymn, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind,” [1872] “Drop thy still dews of quietness till all our striving cease. Take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the hearts of our desire thy coolness and thy balm. Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire, speak through the earthquake, wind and fire, O still, small voice of calm!” [Dear Lord and Father of Mankind]  

What would happen to you and to your family if you had “silent times” every day. When everyone went to a place in the house to be alone and for five minutes listened for the still small voice of God? Wouldn’t it be great to find out? It could very well transform you and your family. Amen.

Psalm 46 NRSV

God is our refuge and strength,

   a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

   though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

though its waters roar and foam,

   though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

   the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

   God will help it when the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

   he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come, behold the works of the Lord;

   see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

   he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;

   he burns the shields with fire.

‘Be still, and know that I am God!

   I am exalted among the nations,

   I am exalted in the earth.’

The Lord of hosts is with us;

   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

 
Luke 10:38-42 NRSV

Now as they went on their way, [Jesus] entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’