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June 15, 2008

Complete service


READINGS
Jesus Teaches About Prayer:  Matthew VI  NCV
5 "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. 6 When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
7 "And when you pray, don't be like those people who don't know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing, thinking that God will hear them because of their many words. 8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. 9 So when you pray, you should pray like this:
'Our Father in heaven,
may your name always be kept holy.
10 May your kingdom come
and what you want be done,
here on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need for each day.
12 Forgive us for our sins,
just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.
13 And do not cause us to be tempted,
but save us from the Evil One.' [The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.][a]
14 Yes, if you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins. 15 But if you don't forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.

SWEDENBORG
The true divine essence is love and wisdom. If you gather together everything you know, focus your mind’s insight on it, and look through it carefully from some spiritual height to discover what is common to everything, the only conclusion you can draw is that it is love and wisdom. These two are essential to every aspect of our life. DLW #28


MESSAGE

DEEPENING THE RELATIONSHIP -- Getting  To Know God Better
Do you want to find God, or get to know God better?  Probably most of us do.  Our theme for June is developing a personal relationship with God.

God and Me on June 1st  was about some of the things that can get in the way of a real relationship with the Divine.
God in Community last week was how our communities can help us relate to God.

Today we'll consider how you can find the kind of relationship with God that works best for you, and allow that relationship to deepen every day.

It can seem like an overwhelming task to stay connected with God.   Yet, psychologist and Swedenborgian Wilson Van Dusen wrote that it is actually quite simple, once you find the way that works best for you.
…the process of the individual approaching God and finding God is profoundly simple. All the varied methods that have been described, both East and West, have certain basic elements. The individual may choose an approach that comes right out of their culture, or they may develop their own. I have done both, experimenting for decades. I believe we are different enough that each person will likely do better in one approach than another. … Swedenborg followed several ways, including dream interpretation. But when he read the Bible as though God were present in it and speaking to him, this approach must have suited him best, because he abandoned every other way and kept to this way the rest of his life.
There is no one right way for everyone to relate to God, Van Dusen assures us. I would add that what is right for you today may not be right tomorrow.
How do you find a way that is right for now?    Van Dusen offers this list -
 
Looking at your tradition
Praying for guidance
Experimenting
Following your intuition
Looking for a certain sense of peace and elevation as though something may be there

Looking at your tradition
What tradition were you raised in?  Did it have forms of prayer, worship, meditation that were meaningful for you?  Do they call to you now?  If you were raised Swedenborgian, what parts of our tradition were meaningful for you?  The writings of Swedenborg?  Swedenborg's own life of seeking and meditating?  His dream journal?  His concept of all life being worship?

Praying for guidance
Do you have some way of talking to God, of asking for guidance, of expressing your concerns?  Do you, in your own way, pray something like -- Uh, God, do you have any suggestions on the best way I can connect with you so that I can get to know you better?  For many people, just formulating the question is transformational. Putting into words what it is we want God's help with can be an amazing experience.  Once we know the question we have, it's easier to look for God's answers in our daily lives.  A few weeks ago, we looked at dreams as one way that God responds to prayer.

Experimenting and following your intuition
Sometimes by trying new forms of worship or prayer, you can  find a pathway to Divine connection that really works for you. This is one reason we often introduce new worship modalities in our services.  Spiritual director and psychiatrist Gerald May referred often to the writings of St. John of the Cross.  John said that it can be a sign of spiritual growth when one's usual form of prayer no longer feels right.  Jerry May describes it this way

  ...the effort and forceful focusing of meditation are gradually eased, and the more willing receptivity of contemplation grows. 

The old forms of meditation and prayer become dry and empty, but Dr. May says -- By letting yourself be subtly guided, you can move towards a trusting freedom and openness to God and the real situations of life. 

Let your intuition guide you in exploring new forms of prayer, meditation, and contemplation.

Looking for a certain sense of peace and elevation as though something may be there
Don't start out with a big goal of encountering the Divine.  Just look for experiences that give you peace and hope.

Dr. Van Dusen suggests that to approach mystery requires little shifts of attitude. One is to slow down, as though we have all the time in the world. Another is to become fully invested in whatever is before us. ...

We are embedded in a mystery that is ready to enter a relationship with us. It isn’t talkative as we are. It rests in pure experience.  
How do you/can you find the experience that helps you feel connected with the Divine?
Do you use a particular spiritual discipline?  What is your experience of it?

Do you sometimes find God in the beauty of nature?  The Sufi Jami said -

When you see beauty and perfection in this world, it is nothing but a sign of Him. A beautiful creature is merely a single blossom from the vast garden of God. But remember that a picture fades, a flower dies, and the reflection in the mirror is eclipsed by the real Light. It is God who is real and remains so forever. So, why waste your time over something that is here today and gone tomorrow? Go directly to the Source without delay.


Some people encounter the Divine most easily through the arts. The experience of God and the experience of art were  the same to Wilson Van Dusen. Both are a time when the earth’s false dualisms fade away, and we feel the joy of being united with the Divine. Many religious traditions honor the prayer in art.  

One artist writes:  God is the ultimate artist. His creativity and limitless imagination is reflected in the earth and in all people. 

If your intuition is inviting you to explore some new ways of relating to God, then you may have an adventure ahead of you.

Have a blessed day with the Divine.