And Jesus was Praying Alone - May 10
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 80; PM Psalm 77, [79]; Deut. 8:1-10; James 1:1-15; Luke 9:18-27
One of my favorite places to visit is a little Episcopal monastery on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the middle of a busy hub of commerce, education, and life, reside a group of monks who are a part of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE). Their mission is to provide hospitality and retreat and every year people journey to their residence in Cambridge to pray. People who visit can meet with the brothers for spiritual direction, but the time on retreat is meant to spend in silence or in worship.
The SSJE movement started in 1866 in Oxford, England, and in 1870, a group of brothers came to the United States and founded their house in Cambridge. The order has an interesting history. The guest house in Cambridge was built in memory of Isabella Steward Gardener, whose adult home is now a famous art museum and the site of one of the more notable art thefts. At the brothers’ residence in London, C.S. Lewis would make regular trips for much of his Christian life to meet with one of the brothers for spiritual direction and confession. Lewis’s time on retreat with the members of SSJE, and a priest named Father Walter Adams, was critical for his growth and faith.
When visiting the monastery in Cambridge, there are two ways to enter the grounds of SSJE. You can either enter through the nave which usually has a wrought iron fence separating the community gathered for retreat (and the brothers) from the general public gathered for worship. The other entrance is through the cloister providing a beautiful garden setting for those who want to be on the grounds of the monastery and yet outside. Everything is designed to protect those visiting and provide a sense of quiet, calm, and solitude. Silence is required on the grounds, which is in stark contrast to the bustle just outside the walls.
Thousands of people have a relationship with SSJE and many find it critical for their lives to spend time annually in silence and on retreat to nurture their faith. Women and men, lay and ordained, from all over the world visit, but the one thing in common is they all come to set aside time to pray. The brothers even close the retreat center on Mondays for their own day of rest and solitude.
In today’s Gospel, we hear once again about Jesus stepping away in silence to pray. It is there that he begins to wrestle with the question of his spiritual identity. This is not a unique pattern in Scripture as Jesus can often be found retreating after incidents of healing to go and pray. This is especially common in the Gospels of Luke and Mark.
We live in a busy world. Our lives are filled with constant streams of information. Our phones can too easily become another one of our appendages. In this age of information (or disinformation), we often are seeking answers through our friends, family, and the sources of information we trust must. A question worth considering: how often do we set aside intentional time in order to trust our own sense of discernment and nurture the still small voice of God within our own lives?
John+
Question for Self-Reflection: How do you discern God’s call in your life? How do you nurture your prayer life? Do you spend time intentionally alone for prayer?
Daily Challenge: The brothers of SSJE have a “rule” of life that governs how they live. You can find a copy here. Read or listen to a few of the rules and consider some practices you might want to adopt too.