lee abbey talk #2
When it rains on Exmoor there is nothing better than a wooded valley walk, especially if it leads to a cream tea cottage …
The path to Watersmeet lodge up the beautiful and sheltered Lyn valley is a time honoured favourite, without which no visit to Lee Abbey is complete.
(Of course it is also necessary to make a careful consumer comparison with the community’s own wonderful tea cottage, which came later in the week)
Meanwhile talk #2 on the Beauty of Holiness explored the Christian’s path of joyful obedience …
From Psalm 19 we saw how delight in God’s way is like that of a walker leaving behind slippery paths. No more false short cuts through mud & brambles, at last this is our firm & glorious path to freedom :
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous …
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward
Click to download Talk 2 : Bow down before Him, his glory proclaim
To sum up talk #2 :
Biblical writers don’t see obedience to God’s law as intrusive, or cramping our style
Instead it is something sweet and delightful - indeed for our own rich benefit we are wise to “stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you” (Jude v.21)
I introduced the key question “Yes but how?” … and commended a choice of 6 spiritual classics, with great practical advice & inspiration for those who truly seek after the Beauty of Holiness
The 6 highly recommended works are as follows - please borrow them from me if you would like!
The first 3 are older writings (from the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries respectively) and so have a precious ability to expose our 21st century spiritual blind-spots :
• Francis de Sales “Introduction to the Devout Life”
De Sales was born in the C16th, became Bishop of Geneva and is honoured as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the “Introduction to the Devout Life” – which summarises the teaching he passed on to his people (certain content may be a touch more Roman Catholic in style than some of us are used to). The writing is picturesque & accessible, and there are many helpful and challenging suggestions on the path to holiness.
• Jeremy Taylor “The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living”
Taylor was an Anglican cleric on the Royalist side during the civil war & in the time of Cromwell, eventually becoming Bishop in the Church of Ireland after the Restoration. “The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living” (1650) & “The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying” (1651) are manuals of Christian practice, especially designed to resource Christians on the path to holiness during the civil war (when many had no access to their Parish Church or priest). Taylor deals with the means and instruments of obtaining a wide range of virtues, and remedies against every vice and temptation – again many helpful suggestions, especially for those who like clear systems and methods to follow – and don’t mind a rather prescriptive approach.
• William Law “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”
Law was an C18th Anglican priest whose “Serious Call” (1728) deeply influenced folk like John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, Samuel Johnson, Edward Gibbon & William Wilberforce. He teaches that if God is indeed “our greatest good,” then the wisest way to live is to arrange our lives around that greatest good, and not just pay lip service to doing so. He too is very practical if a touch prescriptive for some tastes (“Law by name, law by nature”) - personally I find it easy to extract the gems and leave the rest!
Finally here are 3 more recent and well known sources of inspiration :
• Richard Foster “Celebration of Discipline”
This 1978 work by Foster, an American Quaker, was very popular just as I was coming to faith, and was one of the first Christian books I read. It sparked a late C20th flurry of works from the evangelical wing of the Church, seeking to recover ancient spiritual disciplines that had become neglected in their tradition. Foster argues that Christians must learn & put into regular practise the means of grace that enable our spiritual wellbeing. He has very helpful chapters on the 12 disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting & study (inward); simplicity, solitude, submission & service (outward); confession, worship, guidance & celebration (corporate)
• Dallas Willard “The Spirit of the Disciplines”
This 1988 work from a much respected American pastor builds on Foster, and gives greater theological depth to his teaching. Willard focuses on a similar, overlapping set of disciplines that can be incorporated into a personal Rule of Life : solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, sacrifice (disciplines of abstinence); study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession, submission (disciplines of engagement)
• John Ortberg “The Life you always Wanted”
This is one of Ortberg’s earliest works (published 1997), who has gone on to be a hugely successful author on the practicalities of the Christian life. He is a high profile US pastor and (after allowing for translation into UK culture) I find all his writing immensely helpful, as well as easily digestible & amusing at many points … indeed I once gave a series of conference talks based just on this book! He is an acolyte and populariser of Willard above, but has much wisdom in his own right; here he has chapters on the disciplines of celebration, slowing, prayer, servanthood, confession, receiving guidance, secrecy, reflection on Scripture, rule of life, and endurance in suffering