Spiritual Disciplines
St. Mark’s on the Campus
“Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.” How many of you have been watching the Winter Olympics this weekend? Those athletes are astonishing to me. To precipitate yourself down an icy mountain, whether on skis or a sled, and to end up at the bottom, not only alive, but worrying about tenths of a second, is beyond anything I can imagine. Or to leap into the air, spin around three or four times, and then land on one thin steel blade- amazing! We know, we can see, that these athletes exercise extraordinary self-control in all areas of their lives- what they eat, how much they sleep, weightlifting, aerobics, plus practice, practice, practice. All that for a gold, or silver, or bronze disc.
Have you ever noticed that when reporters talk about these elite athletes, they often use terms from the realm of spirituality? “He pursues his regimen with monk-like zeal.” “She cloisters herself off from the outside world.” Why does that religious language seem to transfer so easily to the world of athletics? Well, as Paul’s analogy in the lesson this morning makes clear, the path to spiritual growth also involves self-control or discipline. In fact, from very early times the church has talked about spiritual disciplines, rules of life adopted by those who, after baptism, wanted to grow in the knowledge and love of God.
We usually associate spiritual disciplines with Lent, that season of the church year preceding Easter. From the very early period, the church used the season of Lent as a period of preparation for baptism, and as a time to reconcile penitent sinners to the church. These two groups were expected to undertake special disciplines as part of their preparation for baptism or reconciliation. Gradually that practice became widespread among all church members, and Lent became a special time for Christians to undertake new growth in the Spirit.
Today, as we approach Lent, we too start to think about undertaking a spiritual discipline. That usually takes the form of giving something up. “What are you giving up for Lent?” is the usual question. Giving something up, especially in our affluent society where abundance is all around us and advertisements urge us to consume more, more, more, is a good thing, provided you do it for the right reasons. If you decide to give up desserts in order to lose ten pounds, you’ve lost the real purpose, and the Holy Spirit won’t be able to act in you.
So what is the real purpose? The technical term for giving something up is undertaking a partial fast. Fasting is an old and honored spiritual practice in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Fasting is meant to move your focus away from the body, the appetite, to focus instead on God. So by giving something up, you are offering that pleasure to God. You’re saying, “God, my pleasure in you is greater than my pleasure in desserts, chocolate, beer, popcorn, etc.” By disciplining your appetite, you are cultivating a greater attachment to God.
Now, I mentioned a list of common foods that people give up for Lent, but a partial fast does not have to be about food and drink. It can be anything pleasurable that you decide to give up to God. I give up buying books during Lent. This hurts Barnes and Noble’s, but it is good for me, because it helps to be aware of my attachment to things and begins to loosen it a little bit. I am cultivating the virtue of simplicity.
Notice that I’ve used the word “cultivate” twice already. The purpose of spiritual disciplines is not denigration or punishment, but cultivation. When you read the Bible, either the Old or the New Testament, one of the things I hope you notice is how often agricultural metaphors occur. Digging, hoeing, planting, reaping; all the activities associated with the planting and harvesting of crops. This metaphor indicates to us that our spirits are like little garden plots, which God plants with the Word and from which He reaps the fruits of the Spirit (more on those later). Now, we can be passive recipients of the Word and just wait to see what grows. That is a real temptation, especially within the Protestant denominations, which place such a heavy emphasis on grace, not works. But remember Jesus’ parable of the Sower, who sows seed on the path, the weeds, the rocky ground, and the good soil. It is only the good soil that yields the good crop. So the early Christians realized that while the growth of the Word takes place by the mystery of God’s grace, the church and the individual believer could help prepare the soil of the spirit- make it good ground in which God’s Word can grow. This is where the spiritual disciplines come in. And this is where the athletic metaphor is helpful again. We see these athletes once every four years, and we ooh and aah and wonder how they do it. Of course, for all the four years in between the Olympics, the athletes have been training for hours every day, watching every mouthful they eat, giving up what we would call a normal life, all to pursue their sport and the glory of a win every four years. Discipline. Cultivation.
How much more valuable is the imperishable wreath that Paul promises- the imperishable wreath of a life lived in intimacy and relationship with God. And how much more attainable! Let’s face it, if I started right now, today, and trained and practiced figure skating for the next four years with complete dedication, I would get better, but Michelle Kwan wouldn’t shake in her boots when I took to the ice. But if we start right now cultivating the grounds of our spirits, the Holy Spirit is right there, ready to bring forth her fruits. What are the fruits of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are a whole lot better than any gold, silver, or bronze disc. They are, as Paul says, imperishable.
So, how do we start? Let’s get our trainers on and begin. The disciplines of the church are meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance and celebration. By practicing them, we begin to root out those sins, those blockages that keep the Holy Spirit from doing her work in us. The seven deadly sins make a pretty good list of all the different ways we can block the Holy Spirit: pride, lust, avarice, sloth, gluttony, envy and anger. Somewhere in that list, if we are honest, we will all find our sins and ourselves. The spiritual disciplines, especially that of confession, help us to overcome them, root them out and allow the fruits of the Spirit to grow.
Now, I don’t want to imply this is easy, any more than what Bode Miller does is easy. It’s not. Some of those blockages are old and deeply rooted, and we think of them as integral parts of ourselves. We don’t want to dig them out. The only way we can get rid of them is to allow God to root them out. And that is painful. Usually, we need an experienced guide- a spiritual director, a therapist, to help us through the process. Mystics call this “the dark night of the soul.” And sometimes it is more than we can handle at the moment, and we back off. That’s okay, too. The Holy Spirit is patient and loving, and has our whole lives and beyond to work with us.
Sometimes the disciplines themselves can become roadblocks. This is the tricky and dangerous part of the spiritual life. We can make the spiritual life, or our spiritual practice, an object in and of itself, rather than paths to the goal of a life lived in intimacy with God. That is idolatry. Or the spiritual disciplines can reveal a dark side, leading us into evil when we think we are pursuing good. Those who are Tolkien fans will remember Saruman. Or you Star Wars aficionados, remember Darth Vader. Pride is a particularly tricky sin. If you are good at something, it’s hard not to be proud. A healthy self-esteem, and awareness of our gifts, and pleasure in using them, are all good. Pride for the Christian is the excessive belief in our own abilities, which interferes with the workings of God’s grace. We all have to watch out for pride- it is very sneaky.
So, after the warnings, how should you go about cultivating your spiritual soil during Lent? Some of the disciplines are apt to draw you more than others. We all have gifts from God, and we are called to develop them. Prayer and meditation are similar, and there are ways to cultivate those gifts, such as contemplative prayer or lectio divina, holy reading. Study is the immersion in any subject to discern in it God’s purpose for the world. Fasting we’ve already discussed. Simplicity seeks to renounce the attachment to material goods- difficult but important in our consumer driven society. Solitude, the ability to be alone with God, enables us to listen for the “still, small voice” of God amid the babble of the world. Submission is the call to take up our cross, to walk on the path of radical servanthood. Service of others enables God to act through us in the world. Confession, worship, guidance and celebration are all corporate disciplines we follow within the context of the body of Christ. Work on what you are drawn to, but try those that you are not. If you are not drawn to a particular discipline, the first question to ask is, “why not?” The answer may reveal a big blockage to the Holy Spirit.
Whatever you choose to do, that becomes your spiritual practice. And the key word is practice. You’re not expected to win the gold the first time you step out on the ice. Practice, and the Lord will be there, helping you to be better. The important thing to remember is that God always meets us where we are. Practice, practice, and God will be with you, walking with you every step of the way. And the reward is that imperishable wreath of a life lived in full communion with God, with none of the blockages we throw up to keep God away.
As we prayerfully consider our Lenten disciplines, may the Holy Spirit guide you to the proper cultivation of your spiritual soil, so that the fruits of the Spirit, and the blessings of God, may be yours, this day and always. Amen.