Spirituality is . . . Beginning

            “Because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka, we have traditions for everything... How to sleep, how to eat... how to work... how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered, and always wear a little prayer shawl that shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, "How did this tradition get started?" I'll tell you! [pause]….I don't know. But it's a tradition... and because of our traditions... Every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.”   Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof.

            I remember one year at 7^th and 8^th grade church camp we had changed the names of morning and evening prayer times from “MORNING PRAYER” and “EVENING PRAYER” to “LAUDS” and “VESPERS” to bring a more spiritual tone to the schedule (sadly there were no monastic words to cover such things as dorm clean up, swimming, and canteen/snack time). I felt pretty super duper spiritual about the whole thing until I had the following conversation:

            8^th grade girl:  What’s Lords?

            Kellie:  Lauds

            8^th grade girl:  (blank stare)

            Kellie:  That’s our time when we sing choruses and have prayer before breakfast.

            8^th grade girl:   Oh!  Morning Prayer!

            Kellie: Exactly – only now it’s called Lauds.

            8^th grade girl:  Why don’t you just call it “Morning prayer”?

            Kellie: Well, Lauds is what they call it in monasteries when people pray in the morning hour of the day. It’s an ancient tradition of the church and by doing it we are a part of the great spiritual tradition.

            8^th grade girl: So, what time does Morning Prayer start?

            Kellie:  Lauds.

            8^th grade girl:  Whatever! I need at least 2 hours to blow dry my hair…how early do I have to get up?

I suppose I shouldn’t have taken her commentary too much to heart. After all, this was the same girl whose morning prayer largely involved being thankful for Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  But there was a ring of truth in her linguistic apathy.  Spirituality isn’t found in something just because you do it repeatedly, ritually, or rationally. Spirituality is found in meaning. While tradition has a place in our spiritual tool-box, we should also make sure to leave room for the other side of the coin – beginning.

We live in a “It’s not how you start, but if you finish” kind of world. Think about it. How many pictures do you see of runners leaving the starting gate, as opposed to pictures of them crossing the finish line? Are you more likely to judge someone based on what they have started or what they have done?  We hang our college diplomas on the wall, not our kindergarten graduation photo- even though it was the lessons we learned there that all the others were built upon.  Everyday we walk by beginnings in our lives and the lives of others with a minimum of attention. Yet, there is a great spiritual power in their midst.

The Bible, that amazing story of God With Us, is full of the power of beginning.

• It starts at the beginning (Genesis) about the beginning.
• Soon after the beginning, Cain kills Abel and Adam & Eve must begin again (Seth).
• The story of Noah and the Ark isn’t simply the story of an end, but of a new beginning.
• The Abrahamic Covenant shows the beginning of our claim to God.
• The Davidic Covenant shows the beginning of God’s reclaiming us.
• The Psalms speak of morning much more than evening.
• Christ comes as a baby – at the beginning of life.
• Christ begins a new way, a new covenant, and a new hope.
• A church begins with its spoken intent to make us new creations.
• At the climax of the book of Revelation the God who made the heavens and the earth makes a new heaven and earth - triumphantly proclaiming, “I am making all things new!”

Is there any way we can deny that the spirit of God is found in the willingness to begin?

Beginning is a blank chalk board. It allows us new options, amazing possibilities, and the best opportunities of all – to reach, to stretch, to change and to become.   As surely as traditions help us understand who we are and what God expects, beginnings open us to who we can be, and what God has made possible. 

Reflecting on the new – I am reminded of another church camp experience. This one much sweeter; it is a song we used to sing with Junior Campers and at vacation bible school.  As a child, it is an achievement just to get these words out. But now, as adults, it’s an achievement to live these words out.

“I am a Promise

I am a possibility

I am a promise

With a capital “P”

I am a great big bundle of

Potentiality!

And if I listen to hear God’s voice

and I keep tryin’ to make the right choice

then I’m a promise to be

everything God wants me to be.”

Are you ready for 2011?  Let’s begin.