Daily Nourishment
One of the challenges of having teenagers is giving unappreciated guidance to their nutrition. Often, they will run out of the house toward a day packed with school, sports and other activities, without anything more than a cup of coffee with some sugar in it. As parents, we understand the need for their bodies to have some real sustenance to help them learn and perform at their best. But their mysterious teenage brains are telling them otherwise. And I can relate, because when I was their age, my eating habits were haphazard as well. May God have mercy to help their brains and bodies develop despite the dregs their put in their bodies. Amen.
I mention the challenge, because the nutrition of the body is a close analogue to the nourishment of the soul. The bible makes this analogy explicit when
Moses said, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut 8:3). As the body needs calories, nutrients and activity to stay healthy, so a healthy soul needs God’s words, prayed, and put into practice.
But this can be difficult. How do we avoid the spiritual equivalent of running out the door with just sugary coffee in our system? I was fortunate in my spiritual journey to have youth leaders that gave me some direction in this regard.
One principle that has always stuck with me is the adage that ‘God spells love, T-I-M-E.’ If we want to grow in our spiritual vitality and connection with our Maker, it takes time. The first step is to carve out time for weekly worship. And the next step is to carve out time for daily prayer and study of God’s word. I was told to have a daily ‘quiet time.’ This is a time each day, without the television on, or the newspaper open, when I could read a chapter of Scripture, say some spontaneous prayers, and maybe journal a bit. And the practice served me well, allowing my soul to grow and strengthen for many years. I didn’t do it perfectly, and some of my times were crammed short, but God was faithful to draw close to me as I took steps toward him.
My spiritual nourishment continued to strengthen as I discovered more of the resources that the church has for daily worship. At the end of college, I picked up a Book of Common Prayer that was being thrown out. A few years later, my wife and I, not knowing how to use the resource, would open it up to the middle and read some of the prayers together. We were especially struck by the Great Litany. After praying the litany, I felt like I had prayed for just about everything in the world that needed prayer! It helped me realize that my spontaneous prayers could be diversified and strengthened by learning the prayers of the historic church.
This eventually led me to the Daily Office, which is the Anglican form of daily prayer. It includes a couple of chapters of Scripture, that are being read by millions of other Christians around the world on the same day. It includes the Lord’s prayer, selections from the psalms and a number of ‘collect’ prayers around the themes of mission, thanksgiving and growth in virtue. When I pray the daily office, I feel like I’ve started my day with the spiritual equivalent of a grand slam breakfast of eggs, potatoes, fruit and toast. My spirit has been nourished.
And while the Book of Common Prayer used to be like trying read Chinese furniture instructions, today’s world has all sorts of user-friendly options. I’ve been using the “Daily Office” app on my tablet, which puts all the readings and prayers together for you each day. There are email, or printed copies available as ‘Daily Office Booklets’ at www.anglicancompass.com. And for those that want a shorter, more meditative style, I recommend the ‘Lectio
365’ app, which can be listened to as well as read. That is my wife’s favorite. And there is the old-fashioned hard copy of a Book of Common Prayer, which can be ordered online. I recommend the 2019 edition, and some patience, to learn which pages to flip back and forth to. Lent, the 40 days before Easter, is a wonderful time to renew your practices of nourishing your soul. There are so many wonderful resources available to us in today’s world.
May God give us grace to avoid the spiritual famishment of our days, and to spend some time to enjoy the feast.
Together in the
Journey,
Fr. Cam Lemons
(Father Cam Lemons serves at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. Service is at 9 a.m. on Sunday at 700 Hobson St. in Bishop. He also serves at Trinity Memorial Anglican Church in Lone Pine. The service there is at noon at 220 N. Lakeview Road. For more information, go to StTimothysBishop.com.)