Did you ever wonder from where church bells came (or maybe even where they have gone)?
They did, at one point, serve a purpose in the life of the church. Perhaps there
are still churches that use them to signal something other than what time it is
by playing a song followed by the number of chimes to match the hour. Church bells would sound with joy at the
birth of a new child to alert the community of the new life among them. They would offer the deep, somber ringing to
announce the death of one in the community. And they would toll to call people to prayer.
They would ring in the morning. They would ring at
noon. They would ring in the evening calling people to prayer wherever they
were. Some would come to the church. Others would stop what they were doing – in the fields, or in their
homes, or wherever they were – to join in prayer wherever they were: morning,
noon, and evening.
It was a way of patterning the lives of the faithful
around prayer.
I remember a song I was taught as a child that
reflected this pattern:
God answers prayer in
the morning
God answers prayer at
noon
God answers prayer in
the evening
To keep your heart in
tune.
My tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), and other so-called “free church” traditions have often dismissed the
pattern of daily offices as being rote. That is, the criticism goes, they are
often done mechanically and without feeling or meaning. (Please note, this is
not my criticism, but often what people say about such things as liturgy, prayer
books, and patterned prayer.) Many times, however, the folk that I hear
criticize such things as daily offices don’t really replace them with anything.
I used to be one of those people.
Then I read these words; I don’t even remember who
wrote them – funny thing as they changed not only my perspective, but my
behavior as well, “What patterns your life? What sets the rhythm of your day?
Is it your schedule? Your job? Your children’s activities? Your to do list? Or
is it God?”
Sure, these prayers can become rote and mechanical.
There is no doubt that things we do over and over again can get tired and less
than fulfilling. Yet, think about the way our days are patterned. There are
many things we do that we don’t really think about doing. We just do them.
Often we do them in the same order. Now, think about the ways that those things
shape our lives. What they say about what is important to us. What they make
important to us.
I decided that I would make prayers a part of what
shaped me throughout the day.
Now, I confess there are days when it seems like
more of an obligation than a joy. There are times when it becomes tired and
mechanical. At the same time it is an opportunity for me to pray for my
friends, my congregation, people who are struggling, strangers I have seen the
day before, even myself, and about the tragedies and violence and vitriol in the world as
well as the beauty, order, and wonder I find. More often than not I find peace
in my prayers and in the silence, however brief, take solace in the Psalm, experience
challenge in the scripture, and receive life from the practice. I miss it when
I neglect it for a while. It is seldom irrelevant – most of the time I hear or
read or ponder something I need. Ultimately, I credit the practice with rooting
me in something much stronger and grander and more permanent than me.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace. You alone,
O Lord, are holy. Come and fill our hearts with your peace. Be with us today, O
God.
Shalom Y’all,
Owen
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