Greetings, Sisters, Brothers and Friends of the Community,
I pray that this note finds you all well!
The Jesus Prayer has been used for centuries to help unite people with their creator. It is very old, and may go back to the early centuries of Christianity: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Although today it is perhaps used more in the Eastern Church than the Western, it’s gaining in popularity here, too, as people look for ways to reconnect with God.
I have to admit I don’t use it much, and until this morning I really wasn’t sure why.
My meditations on this day included some writings of Nicholas Herman, otherwise known as Brother Lawrence of the 17th century. He, too, was very interested in reconnecting with God, and focused on practicing the Presence of God. One of the suggestions in his Spiritual Maxims included a series of short prayers that could be offered up to God frequently during the course of a day, similar to the Jesus Prayer. Some suggestions he had to offer:
“Lord, make my heart just like Yours.”
“O God of Love, I love You with all my heart.”
“My God, I am wholly yours.”
As I read these prayers, it struck me that the intent was the same, but the approach was quite different. Br. Lawrence’s approach works better for me as it focuses on the good side of me and not the bad. Yes, there are parts of me that are sinful, but there are also parts of me that are holy – the image of God in me, for example. So, which part is stronger? Does the sinful part totally taint the entire being, or does the holy part overcome the sinful? Thinking of myself as a sinner may be helpful to a point, but it can go too far. How about thinking of myself as a child of God that screws up once in a while? The goal is the same – union with God; but the positive approach works better for me. How about you?
This week try writing your own Jesus Prayer. See what you come up with.
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, may all our hearts become one.”
Your Part Holy-Part Sinful Brother,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
2 comments:
Don't you think we can delude ourselves with self-satisfaction if we are not careful. Sin in the Eastern view is our separation from God, how much God has given us being created in His image and how far we are from accepting his full love and giving it to others. This realization of how far we are removed fro God then leads to an unquenchable yearning to be with God, to be more like Him, and and outpouring of His love follows as well as our own. Don't we tend to fall back on our own idea of what God's image is for us, reducing God and enhancing our own self-created image us if we fail to emphasize how far we are from our potential. Do we not potentially lose some of the motivation to become like God and be fully united with Him?
Here is a link with more lots of information on the Jesus prayer for those who are interested in the long used approach in the Church - The Jesus Prayer
http://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Jesus%20Prayer.html
Thank you for this great perspective! I encourage the Community and other readers to explore these links to gain greater understanding. Br. D-J
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