I've had a couple of things on my mind lately.
First of all I have been pondering the following question. In the Garden of Gethsemane, do you ever wonder who was the last to fall asleep? I do. I wonder what it felt like to try to stay awake while one by one those around you dropped off. I wonder if the last one to sucumb did so just because everyone else had, or because maybe it was just too dang lonely to still be the only one awake all by themselves in such an ominous atmosphere. The Bible doesn't tell us who it was, but it does say that the people that Christ singled out and rebuked by name were leaders. I wonder if He knew it was their example that made it all the easier for others to give in? I wonder if the other disciples looked around and said to themselves, "Well, Peter is asleep. And John is snoring! It must be okay."
I also ask myself the question, "Is the measure of our faith how well we love our enemies?" Christ washed everyone's feet - even Judas', and if I know my Saviour, I would be willing to bet especially Judas'. I have to ask myself when was the last time I washed the feet of my enemy? And I'm not talking about making magnanimous gestures designed to demonstrate that we are the bigger person. Those lack sincerity and in the end are motivated by a desire to make the other person appear small and us superior. When was the last time I did something kind for someone who had hurt me - anonymously . . . How do I talk about them behind their back? What do I secretly wish for them and their lives? Do I pray for them - sincerely?
It kind of reminds me of an old song, Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.
In my heart.
3 comments:
Have you ever heard the Taize chant, "Stay Here"?
No, but I will look for it.
This particular chant is hard as hell to find. I have a cd that my daughters often fall asleep to at night and the first chant is "Stay Here." It's not a "popular" or "famous" Taize chant. The one that many have heard is "Jesus Remember Me." My guess is that you've heard this one, too. I've taught it as a prayer to my daughters. The whole chant, taken from the "good" thief on the cross, is all of nine words. As you might remember from some of our past chats, I'm not all that much into extemporaneous prayer :), but I do find the short, repetitious prayers helpful for me. The Taize chants repeat the same phrase over and over in a meditative lull.
Try going here for a 30 second mp3 clip of “Stay Here”:
http://credencecommunications.com/cat/product_info.php?cPath=26_40&products_id=81&osCsid=58832e9390e044238ebeb9e379ff2d15
"Stay Here" is the first chant on the playlist. If you hear the first 30 seconds, you know the whole prayer by definition because it just repeats itself for 10 minutes. If you're curious about "Jesus Remember Me," take a listen to the second track clip.
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