Friday, June 24, 2005
Keeping and Talking the Word 3
Today we welcomed Steven Chase from Western Theological Seminary, who led us through the lectio divina and helped us experience Scripture more richly and deeply.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?”
Tim opened our morning with some excerpts from Calvin’s Institutes: “[Scripture] only affects us when it is sealed upon our hearts by the Spirit… we affirm with utter certainty that it flowed to us from the very mouth of God from the ministry of humankind.” It is “crammed with thoughts that could not be humanly conceived.”
“Only when its proper reverence and dignity are given to the Word, does the Holy Spirit show forth his power.”
Commenting on Calvin, Tim said, “It’s unlike anything else, and it opens itself to us through the Spirit.” He continued, “God is under no obligation whatsoever to reveal the meaning of Scripture to you. All your best tools, apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, will not release it. Thy is a mystical and spiritual activity at its core.”
Closing our discussion of Calvin, Tim noted that “a piece of the interpretive process – the proclamative process – is the heart preparation of the one who preaches.”
“Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully. They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation. Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
Soon after we began, Rick Plantinga from the seminar across the hall (Musical Theology) opened the door and invited us to the room adjacent to ours. We were instructed to enter quietly and find a seat. As we sat on the fourth floor of Heiminga Hall on a warm summer morning, images flashed on the screen. We sang simple, repetitive, and contemplative songs. We prayed short prayers. The repetition, the stillness, and the simplicity moved me to a sense of awe of God like I had never before experienced, in that the entire liturgy happened on the screen through images.
“Be still, and know that I am God…”
Later that morning, we welcomed to our class Steven Chase, professor of spiritual theology at Western Theological Seminary. Steve talked about memory, and how all time is eternally present in that we experience the past through remembrance and experience the future through anticipation. “It looks back,” Steve said, “but it also looks forward, because it has an eternal quality. It’s not just memory as past, but memory as now, and imagining into the future.”
Christina interjected, reminding us that “memory is in the sacrament.” The past, the present, the future – our entire identity – is present as we eat the bread and drink the cup. In the same way, we “call to mind” as we eat and drink, and this gives us hope. The sacrament, I think, exists in the liturgy as a kind of eternal present, through remembrance and hope.
We learned about lectio divini and the meditation of Scripture, and we practiced it in the afternoon. We sat in a circle in quiet prayer and meditation as Steve read Psalm 24 multiple times. After closing with the Lord’s prayer, Steve asked us to converse with each other about how the text had changed us and the kind of people – “the company of those who seek him” – we would be because of it.
“Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24)
Earlier: Keeping and Talking 2