The Rhythm of Faith

You may have heard this about me already, but one of the things I enjoy in life is swimming, biking, and running. Sometimes, I enjoy these things so much that I decide to do them all on the same day in an event called a triathlon. Normally, however, I opt for one or two of them in a given day. Well, this week I finally had enough space in my life to get up early and go for a run around Lake Dallas. It’s the sort of thing I wish I had done earlier, partly because I’ve been a little lax in my training schedule, but also because you see a town very differently when you’re on foot (or on bike). It forces you to pass landmarks more slowly, and gives you access to areas that are unavailable to cars. On that first run, I made my way from our home, past the church, and across the middle school lot to turn toward Willow Grove Park. 

Once at the park, I had to decide whether to turn and follow the path into the park itself, or continue straight on a path that traveled south out of the park. I decided to head south, and quickly found myself on a gravel trail that snaked along the edge of the lake toward Westlake Park on the south side of town. This packed gravel forced me to slow down a bit, which gave me an opportunity to change my perspective. I began to notice the world around me a bit more than I had before – I heard the birds, saw an armadillo scrounging for breakfast, and even caught a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise over the lake. 

I said in my sermon last Sunday that I think much of scripture is about re-orienting our perceptions. Truthfully, I think this is the goal of Christianity as a whole. The journey of discipleship, the path of faith, the way of Jesus – all are pointed toward widening our perception, and changing how we understand the world around us. To put it differently, faith is all about shifting our perspective so that we come to see Creation the way God does. We looked at the story of Noah last week, and talked about how faith begins with God, who covenants to love Creation radically and unendingly, a covenant assured by a bow hanging in the clouds.

This Sunday, we’ll be continuing our Back to Basics series with the story of Abraham. You have probably heard of this character before, as most of Genesis is about his journey with God. There is a lot we can draw out of the many stories about Abraham, but what I want to draw on this week is how Abraham repeatedly perceives God’s presence and responds to it. Because this is the rhythm of faith – perception, response, perception, response. Each moment of perceiving God’s presence and love offers us the opportunity to respond in love and, when we faithfully respond, our perception is deepened once again so that we are able to perceive more deeply in the next moment.

We’ll dig into this more on Sunday, so I hope you’ll join me for worship. Until then, I offer you this simple practice: Slow Down. Take ten minutes. Take five minutes if you don’t have ten. In those minutes, simply sit and let your mind be soft. Ask God to take up space around you, and open the sense of your soul to the grace that is always present, just waiting to be seen. And then, just sit. After those few minutes, you can get up and go on with your day. It seems small, but that simple act of slowing down can be the beginning of a widening of our perception that creates a deep internal life and an active, vital faith.

See you Sunday, friends. 

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Tim.