Originally posted Friday, February 29, 2008 at 1:26am
I’ve seen people who prayed in many different ways: Christians who pray spontaneously in loud, triumphant voices, with shouts of “Amen!” and “O Lord Jesus!” punctuating their prayers in an almost chant-like fashion, Christians who memorize repetitive liturgical prayers written hundreds of years ago, Christians who begin every prayer with the words “Lord, I just pray you would . . .” and end every prayer with “In Jesus’ name, amen.” I’ve been thinking a bit about what it means to live a prayerful life recently.
The other day, I read this about a Russian monk named St. Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833):
“In 1804, Seraphim was attacked by robbers and almost beaten to death. Permanent injuries sustained from this attack caused him to always be bent over and the need of a staff to walk. After this event, the Saint began more fervent prayers, incessant for a thousand days and a thousand nights; spending the better part of his time kneeling on a stone near his cell crying out, ‘Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Then he spent three years in absolute silent seclusion. Obeying the request of the elders of the monastery, Seraphim returned to the monastery in 1810, but continued to live in prayer, and silent seclusion for another ten years. In obedience to a heavenly vision, Seraphim ended his silence and began to speak for the benefit of others. The Saint greeted all who came to him with a prostration, a kiss, and the words of the Pascha greeting: ‘Christ is Risen!’ He called everyone, ‘my joy.’ In 1825, he returned to his forest cell, where he received thousands of pilgrims from across Russia. Granted the gift of clairvoyance, the wonder-working Saint Seraphim of Sarov gave consolation and guidance to all.”
Now just for the sake of argument let’s take this account at face value and not worry about whether St. Seraphim really saw a heavenly vision or any of that. Maybe we are meant to be inspired by the life of so holy a man as St. Seraphim, but one of my first reactions is puzzlement. To me, spending night and day kneeling on a stone crying out to God doesn’t even begin to sound like the way anyone should live, let anyone something for other believers to aspire to. Surely God in His infinite wisdom can use a person like St. Seraphim, but surely the numbers He calls to such a life are very few indeed.
Of course, Luke 2:36-38 tells us of a prophetess named Anna who “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”
In life there are many who are poor, weak, afflicted, and helpless. Perhaps such people teach us that all of life is sacred, not only that of the rich and powerful and those with high-powered careers. I honestly wonder what people like Anna and St. Seraphim are meant to teach us.
Interestingly the New Testament gives us instructions not only on what we should pray for, but on how we should pray, and it tells us both to pray without ceasing, and to avoid long prayers. These passages are probably already familiar to most of you, but I will reproduce some of them here:
1Th 5:16 Rejoice always,
1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing,
1Th 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Mar 12:38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
Mar 12:39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
Mar 12:40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
Mat 6:5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Mat 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread,
Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Mat 6:14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
Mat 6:15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Luke 18:1-14 also contains two interesting parables which relate to this topic, but I will not reproduce them here, for length considerations. You should all go read them though. Anyway, I think the basic idea of these passages can be summed up with two basic principles:
- we should be in a constant state of repentance, thanksgiving, humility, and dependence before God
- we should not pray as though we were trying to impress God or man (of course, I don’t think this means long prayers are inherently bad; it just depends upon our attitude)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: amen.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Of whom the world was not worthy
Originally published Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 2:06am
Well, it’s time for another semester at OU, and I’m very hopeful but also apprehensive. The truth is that although a lot of good things happened this winter break, on the whole it was lacking. I am unhappy with myself for not accomplishing all the things I set out to accomplish. In addition I was hoping to find answers to some questions that have been dogging me for a while, but none are forthcoming.
The good news is, I learned from a fortune cookie I ate today that “things are turning for the bright side.”
I learned from another fortune cookie that “all happiness is in the mind,” and I really believe it. I become very sad thinking of all the suffering there is in this world, but with the right attitude, a person can endure almost anything. With the wrong attitude, all the riches of the world can’t make a person happy.
Apparently people in America are ten times more likely to be depressed than they were sixty years ago, and people in some primitive societies in New Guinea almost never get depressed. Lifestyle is obviously a huge factor in this. If we all spent just a little more time hunting and gathering to stay in shape, socializing with our in-laws, and staring at our light boxes, we’d all be much happier.
Another thing I learned last semester is that if you put enough pizza in your refrigerator for long enough, your milk will eventually start to smell like pizza.
I’m pretty sure I heard the best radio advertisement ever today, and I’m sure you will all find it every bit as reassuring as I did. It was about the top 8 mistakes that investors make, and it began like this: “Maybe you don’t consider yourself affluent. Maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a high-net-worth investor. But it doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive or what kind of home you live in; if you have over $500,000 in investments, you’re a high-net-worth investor.”
I also realized today how out-of-touch I’ve become when I saw the commercial for the new Kidz Bop 13 CD and only recognized about half of the songs. Clearly this is a product I need, so that I can groove to the sound of an ungainly mob of pre-teens singing “Party Like a Rock Star.”
I leave you with one final thought which kind of ties into the enduring-almost-anything-thing. The eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews is a beautifully poetic treatise on faith and those who have it, and I am especially fond of verses 37-38, where the persecuted saints living before the time of Christ are described in these stirring words:
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Well, it’s time for another semester at OU, and I’m very hopeful but also apprehensive. The truth is that although a lot of good things happened this winter break, on the whole it was lacking. I am unhappy with myself for not accomplishing all the things I set out to accomplish. In addition I was hoping to find answers to some questions that have been dogging me for a while, but none are forthcoming.
The good news is, I learned from a fortune cookie I ate today that “things are turning for the bright side.”
I learned from another fortune cookie that “all happiness is in the mind,” and I really believe it. I become very sad thinking of all the suffering there is in this world, but with the right attitude, a person can endure almost anything. With the wrong attitude, all the riches of the world can’t make a person happy.
Apparently people in America are ten times more likely to be depressed than they were sixty years ago, and people in some primitive societies in New Guinea almost never get depressed. Lifestyle is obviously a huge factor in this. If we all spent just a little more time hunting and gathering to stay in shape, socializing with our in-laws, and staring at our light boxes, we’d all be much happier.
Another thing I learned last semester is that if you put enough pizza in your refrigerator for long enough, your milk will eventually start to smell like pizza.
I’m pretty sure I heard the best radio advertisement ever today, and I’m sure you will all find it every bit as reassuring as I did. It was about the top 8 mistakes that investors make, and it began like this: “Maybe you don’t consider yourself affluent. Maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a high-net-worth investor. But it doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive or what kind of home you live in; if you have over $500,000 in investments, you’re a high-net-worth investor.”
I also realized today how out-of-touch I’ve become when I saw the commercial for the new Kidz Bop 13 CD and only recognized about half of the songs. Clearly this is a product I need, so that I can groove to the sound of an ungainly mob of pre-teens singing “Party Like a Rock Star.”
I leave you with one final thought which kind of ties into the enduring-almost-anything-thing. The eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews is a beautifully poetic treatise on faith and those who have it, and I am especially fond of verses 37-38, where the persecuted saints living before the time of Christ are described in these stirring words:
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Once upon a time in India
Originally posted Sunday, February 11, 2007 at 7:31pm
So when I came back to OU one of the fun things I was hoping to do with some of you guys is watch one of my favorite movies, “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India,” with you. It’s one of the most popular and expensive Bollywood film of all time, and it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2002.
(If you’re not familiar with Bollywood movies, they all are about 4 hours long and have elaborate song-and-dance numbers with the actors lip-synching. Lagaan has four songs in it which I really like.)
Last semester I tried buying a copy at Blockbuster, but it rang up as over $30, so then I asked if I could rent it instead, but I couldn’t, because the clerk had already taken it out of inventory so that I could buy it. Then I bought a copy at Borders, but I returned it so that I could buy a cheaper copy off Amazon. The first copy I bought off Amazon didn’t work, so I got a refund and had another copy off Amazon mailed to Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, this copy seems to be some kind of crazy bootleg from India or Pakistan, and the subtitles don’t work. On one DVD player they appeared with words misspelled and spaces missing between some of the words, and on another player the subtitles wouldn’t play at all. (If you get a REAL copy of this movie the subtitles are actually quite good, and are available in 6 or 7 languages.) So basically we’re never going to watch this movie together, which is fine with me because you’d probably just hate it anyway. But I just have to share with you the ridiculous promotional text on the back cover of my copy:
LAGAAN, one of the fervently anticipated flicks of the year, has ultimately released. And yes, it does meet the sky-high expectations, although it falls short of being a masterpiece.
Champaner. A small village in Central India.
Like thousands of villages across the country, the farmers of Champaner depend on agriculture as the main source of livelihood. Hard working and fun loving, they have small dreams – rain for the crops and food for the families.
On the outskirts of the village stands a British cantonment, commanded by Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne), an arrogant and capricious man.
Last year, there was rain, but very little. And this year, two months of the monsoon season have gone by… but there are no rains yet. All eyes are skywards as the villagers wait tensely for the life-giving drops from the heavens. They know that if the monsoon Gods evade them this year,
their children will starve.
And then comes a bolt from the blue. The Raja’s (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) emissaries thunder through the province announcing double tax – ‘dugna lagaan’.
A battle begins, which is fought without bloodshed. It is fought by a group of unlikely heroes led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan). Helped by Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), the beautiful English girl, and Gauri (Gracy Singh), the young and perky village girl.
Faith and courage come face to face with arrogance and ruthlessness.
It requires grit and determination to attempt a film of this magnitude. It requires guts to defy the norms and parameters of commercial cinema and devote the entire film to a cricket match. It also requires valour and money in abundance to recreate an era which none from the present generation have witnessed (the film is set in the year 1893).
The film exposes the games the Britishers played with the Indians when they set foot on Indian soil.
To cite, two instances, when Captain Russell forces the Raja, a vegetarian, to eat meat or when Russell challenges Bhuvan for a game of cricket, keep the viewer awestruck.
Even the post-challenge sequences that show Aamir gradually making his team of eleven, have been handled proficiently. But the highlight of the film is, without doubt, the cricket match, which dominates the second half completely.
But the film has its share of flaws as well.
So when I came back to OU one of the fun things I was hoping to do with some of you guys is watch one of my favorite movies, “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India,” with you. It’s one of the most popular and expensive Bollywood film of all time, and it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2002.
(If you’re not familiar with Bollywood movies, they all are about 4 hours long and have elaborate song-and-dance numbers with the actors lip-synching. Lagaan has four songs in it which I really like.)
Last semester I tried buying a copy at Blockbuster, but it rang up as over $30, so then I asked if I could rent it instead, but I couldn’t, because the clerk had already taken it out of inventory so that I could buy it. Then I bought a copy at Borders, but I returned it so that I could buy a cheaper copy off Amazon. The first copy I bought off Amazon didn’t work, so I got a refund and had another copy off Amazon mailed to Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, this copy seems to be some kind of crazy bootleg from India or Pakistan, and the subtitles don’t work. On one DVD player they appeared with words misspelled and spaces missing between some of the words, and on another player the subtitles wouldn’t play at all. (If you get a REAL copy of this movie the subtitles are actually quite good, and are available in 6 or 7 languages.) So basically we’re never going to watch this movie together, which is fine with me because you’d probably just hate it anyway. But I just have to share with you the ridiculous promotional text on the back cover of my copy:
LAGAAN, one of the fervently anticipated flicks of the year, has ultimately released. And yes, it does meet the sky-high expectations, although it falls short of being a masterpiece.
Champaner. A small village in Central India.
Like thousands of villages across the country, the farmers of Champaner depend on agriculture as the main source of livelihood. Hard working and fun loving, they have small dreams – rain for the crops and food for the families.
On the outskirts of the village stands a British cantonment, commanded by Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne), an arrogant and capricious man.
Last year, there was rain, but very little. And this year, two months of the monsoon season have gone by… but there are no rains yet. All eyes are skywards as the villagers wait tensely for the life-giving drops from the heavens. They know that if the monsoon Gods evade them this year,
their children will starve.
And then comes a bolt from the blue. The Raja’s (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) emissaries thunder through the province announcing double tax – ‘dugna lagaan’.
A battle begins, which is fought without bloodshed. It is fought by a group of unlikely heroes led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan). Helped by Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), the beautiful English girl, and Gauri (Gracy Singh), the young and perky village girl.
Faith and courage come face to face with arrogance and ruthlessness.
It requires grit and determination to attempt a film of this magnitude. It requires guts to defy the norms and parameters of commercial cinema and devote the entire film to a cricket match. It also requires valour and money in abundance to recreate an era which none from the present generation have witnessed (the film is set in the year 1893).
The film exposes the games the Britishers played with the Indians when they set foot on Indian soil.
To cite, two instances, when Captain Russell forces the Raja, a vegetarian, to eat meat or when Russell challenges Bhuvan for a game of cricket, keep the viewer awestruck.
Even the post-challenge sequences that show Aamir gradually making his team of eleven, have been handled proficiently. But the highlight of the film is, without doubt, the cricket match, which dominates the second half completely.
But the film has its share of flaws as well.
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