Pastor Greg’s Meditations

AUGUST 2021

A few weeks ago when I shared about the spiritual discipline of Lectio Divina, I opened with an illustration about how I only read the first chapter of a book in college and ended up not doing very well on a test. Throughout most of my life, I have never been much of a regular reader. This year, I’ve tried to challenge myself to be a more regular reader and throw in more fiction books to balance out my theological reading. Over the summer I’ve decided to pick up The Fellowship of the Ring, which is the first book in the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkein. The movies are a favorite in our household and we have watched them many times. Reading through The Fellowship of the Ring has been an interesting experience after having seen the movies multiple times. So far, I have already come across elements in the books that the movies chose not to address along with elements in the movies that are not mentioned in the books.
I was beginning to think about my experience with reading the Fellowship of the Ring and our current Off Road Spiritual Disciplines series. The spiritual disciplines that we have been talking about are all different ways for us to grow in our discipleship and relationship with God. Sure, they all look a little different. However, they are all pointing in the same direction. It’s like watching the Fellowship of the Ring movie and reading the book. There may be differences in presentation and focus, but they are both guiding us through the same story and leading us to the same end. We may come across different elements on different pages or in different scenes on the screen, but those should lead us to a greater understanding of the story being presented. The same can be said for the spiritual disciplines that we have been learning about.
Through a contemplative reading of Scripture, Lectio Divina helps us grow closer to God.
Through relationships and honoring the big moments of others around us, Celebration helps us all grow closer to God.
Through aligning our desires with Christ in Submission, we grow closer to God together.
Through listening to the voice of God in our work and purpose, we grow closer to God by responding to God’s calling.
Each discipline has a different focus and different presentation. We may prefer one discipline over the other, but we should realize that practicing them always has the same goal and opens us up to the same story.
Early in the Fellowship of the Ring, the main characters realize they need to go on a great quest. They are not completely sure of the path they need to take and what the journey will look like. All they know is that they need to step out. One of the characters, Samewise Gamgee, says the following quote upon realizing what they need to do:
“I seem to see ahead, in a kind of way. I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can’t turn back. It isn’t to see Elves now, nor dragons, nor mountains, that I want – I don’t rightly know what I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire.”
The same is true when practicing Spiritual Disciplines. Most of them invite us to step into the practice as unfamiliar territory, without a specific goal in mind other than getting closer to God. We know where we might start, we know which direction we are aiming, but the path ahead is not always clear. What we may discover along the way might not be what we expected or wanted. Like Paul writes to the Philippians, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).
When we step into these spiritual disciplines in faith, they may be difficult and we may not, like Samwise, “rightly know what I want.” But, the hope is always that God will meet us when we step out and open ourselves up in faith to what lies ahead.



May the peace of Christ be with you,

Pastor Greg