Early this morning I was feeling down because I was stuck in this thought that... I have no ability to relate to normal people. By that I mean I have lost touch with the reality of having a job, working with people, dealing with the normalcies of life. As a full-time pastor on a one-person staff I spend great amounts of time in isolation and silence. There are many times when I think I should get a 'regular' job - at least part-time - so I can better relate to people. And that may be something I should do. But... then I read Tippen's chapter 10 in "Pilgrim Heart" -- 'Listening: Within the Deep Stream of Silence.' What a privilege I am afforded to be able to spend lengths of time in prayer, study, and solitude before God. It could be that (for me anyhow) getting a part-time job would jeopardize the very thing I need most - time spent with God. So, anywayyyy, here are some great quotes from the chapter:
(p.126) Soren Kierkegaard once observed that people commonly suppose that the most important thing in prayer is to concentrate upon what one is praying for: "Yet in the true, eternal sense it is just the reverse: the true relation in prayer is not when God hears what is prayed for, but when the person praying continues to pray until he is the one who hears, who hears what God wills" ...It may well be that the deepest form of prayer begins when we run out of things to say.
(p.128) Thomas Merton Explains: "Without an element of solitude there can be no compassion because when a man is lost in the wheels of a social machine he is no longer aware of human needs as a matter of personal responsibility."
(p.129) "In the silence between us, [we] hear the world crying." Chaim Potok (oh man!)
(p.129) "To pray is to listen to the One who calls you 'my beloved daughter,' 'my beloved son,' 'my beloved child.' To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice resound in your whole being. Who am I? I am the beloved..." Henri Nouwen
Early this morning I was feeling down because I was stuck in this thought that... I have no ability to relate to normal people. By that I mean I have lost touch with the reality of having a job, working with people, dealing with the normalcies of life. As a full-time pastor on a one-person staff I spend great amounts of time in isolation and silence. There are many times when I think I should get a 'regular' job - at least part-time - so I can better relate to people. And that may be something I should do. But... then I read Tippen's chapter 10 in "Pilgrim Heart" -- 'Listening: Within the Deep Stream of Silence.' What a privilege I am afforded to be able to spend lengths of time in prayer, study, and solitude before God. It could be that (for me anyhow) getting a part-time job would jeopardize the very thing I need most - time spent with God. So, anywayyyy, here are some great quotes from the chapter:
2 comments:
You could compromise and get a job at the main library; like the monks. Lots of different people and the homeless hang out there.
Nice idea, but man... I would NEVER get anything done with all those books around. I would like to check out the new building though. I hear it's pretty cool.
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