Rest according to the Word
by Dawn Fung

Rest is a many splendoured word: when we 'rest' at home, we are often substituting our work with hobbies, a form of 'restful leisure' ; 'rest' is also a stop along the way to the loo, or a fag break. In Christian circles, we ask, 'Did you get a good rest?', meaning enough sleep or a Christian retreat. At best in our spirituality, we may think Jesus' withdrawal to the olive groves is akin to a healthy time of solitude, from reading a book by ourselves or quiet time with God alone - both are necessary at different times of the day - but they fall short of what 'rest' in the bible is.

The word for rest in Hebrews is shabbat. I'm no scholar but I did read that shabbat means the end of something, like a full stop, or 'case closed'. That helps us to understand that God doesn't need 'rest' on the seventh day of creation - he finished it, case closed, finito. If we come to a straight and narrow agreement on rest as defined by the bible, then honestly, that tour package is a terrible bargain. Monastic fans may have gotten closer to the definition but solitude and silence is still not the biblical 'rest', although many will quote "Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God." (Psalms 46:10 , Amplified Bible) Yes, the history of the church has veered very closely to a kind of 'rest' that really is a retreat, sometimes with stringent rules to ensure no distractions come close. Still, that's not shabbat.

Let's read again the verse in Psalms :
Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God,
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!
(Psalms 46:10 , Amplified Bible)

In the second half of the verse, being still before God results in the fear of the Lord, who shows himself to be huge and magnificent, and exalted among the nations and on earth. There is a link between a Psalmist's quiet, reverent posture to know God and His reply, which shows that meditating on the Lord will bear fruit : You will hear something of God that will glorify Him. That's wonderful but let's go one step further. Imagine now that you know very well why that happens - meaning you know exactly what is meant by "I will be exalted among the nations..." and your answer happens to be more than 'because God is all powerful'.

Shabbat leads to revelation, not a cool, understated interrogation of the self, because it is the finished - finito, end of statement, 'case closed' - work of God; in New Testament language, it is the finished work of Christ on the cross, death and resurrection and the power of God for the salvation for all who believe (Romans : 16). Shabbat - in context of Christ - gives the reader/meditator enlightenment in Psalms 46 :10 : 'God will be exalted among the nations because the good news will be spread to the nations and reveal Jesus as Lord!' This reading is different from the 'God is all powerful and fear him, quake etc'. It is more like ' God is all powerful, so much that He gave his life as man to redeem us, and we now celebrate because of what He has done!'. Shabbat aka 'rest' of that kind is what we are talking about, and that frame of mind helps us to read Scripture with much wisdom. (The rest of Psalms 46 should read nicely with regards to Revelations.)

Let's refer to a New Testament portion of the bible,

Again He sets a definite day, [a new] Today, [and gives another opportunity of securing that rest] saying through David after so long a time in the words already quoted, Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts. [This mention of a rest was not a reference to their entering into Canaan.] For if Joshua had given them rest, He [God] would not speak afterward about another day. (Hebrew 4 : 7-8, Amplified Bible)

The 'rest' in Hebrews also refers to the shabbat, and not anything else that we think we know of 'rest'. The promised land of Canaan was not the end, but Jesus' finished work on the cross is, if we bring forward the idea of the promised land to its fulfilment in the new Jerusalem in heaven, not Middle East. And if this rest/shabbat is what mankind is looking for, the fight over earthly territory will not be worth its blood ; in retrospect, Jesus' blood has enabled the 'rest', (the final dot on the line) for the new covenant to be enforced forever ; the price required of the final resting place is of divine nature. Therefore when we look for 'rest' in our Christian lives, we are going back to the cross where - it is finished (John 19:30) - our minds are renewed (Romans 12 :1-2) against the grain of worldly definition to fully embrace 'rest'.

Shabbat in the New Covenant is a core theological point to confront because it changes our answer. We can say it in a number of ways :
a) Yes we have rested because we remember who we are in Christ.
b) Everything that I am worried for in life has been nailed to the cross and I live as Christ lives because of the rest He has given.
c) My artistry is inspired by the rest that God has given me and reminds me in my quiet time with Him.

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Lectio Divina
by Aaron Lee

It's probably been ages since CreateLeVoyage last had a retreat! We were so blessed to be able to take a Saturday off recently to fellowship and learn together. We began with a marvellous times of worship to the Lord, led by Annabelle and Daniel. Then we had a workshop facilitated by our two guest workshop leaders, Jonathan and Tina Bailey. The Baileys came in specially from Indonesia to spend time with us. They are pastors, artists and teachers, and make a truly wonderful and effective ministry team. They shared with us about lectio divina, an ancient discipline of prayer and reading God's Word. We then had the opportunity to apply it in our contemplation of scripture as well as works of art such as paintings and poetry. We rounded off the day with dinner, worship and prayer ministry. (Aaron Lee, 2008)

Lectio divina is the spiritual practice of "holy listening", an ancient discipline that has been kept alive in the Christian monastic tradition. Recently this art has found a resurgence all over the world. It is essentially sacred reading as a way of prayer; a kind of "feasting on the Word". This practice begins with the cultivated ability to listen deeply, to "hear with the eyes of our hearts" as Saint Benedict said.

Traditionally there are four parts, or "moments", in lectio. First you "take a bite" (Lectio), reading a chosen passage of Scripture and being alert to a word or phrase that God wants to point out to you. The next part is "chewing" (Meditatio) - the opportunity to savour the essence of it, letting the word or phrase seep into your heart, and considering where it intersects your life. Sometimes images are brought to mind during this phase. Here God's Word becomes a word for you, as it touches you in a profound way. Next comes the response (Oratio), where you offer the word or phrase back to God in prayer. You may simply adore God with that phrase, or perhaps ask questions about what it means for your life. Here you are not merely listening, but entering into consecrated dialogue with God. Finally, you simply rest in the Word (Contemplatio), being still and perhaps entering into a time of centred prayer to enjoy God's presence. In this moment, what He says is made a part of your life.

The four phases of lectio do not necessarily progress in a set order. One may move between different phases of lectio very freely as the Holy Spirit guides, letting Him determine the rhythm of transitions between them. Before entering into lectio proper (whether individually or in a group), it is important to engage in a transitional activity, bringing ourselves into a contemplative and prayerful state. A few moments of deep, regular breathing and a short prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to guide the prayer time will help to set the tone and improve the effectiveness of the lectio.

In its strictest and most ancient sense, lectio always begins with the Word, which of course has unique status as God's revealed message to us. As someone once said, the Bible is the only book anyone and everyone can read with its Author present! Some modern practitioners have expanded the definition to include life incidents - encounters with people, art, situations, and so on - as possible fodder for lectio. Because of its more personal, individualised basis, this kind of "life lectio" is perhaps more appropriate for private prayer.

During the CLV retreat we engaged in lectio with a portrait from the "Parables" series by Singapore painter Namiko Chan Takahashi, and then with a poem titled "Infirmities" by Scott Cairns. Both experiences were most enriching, and as the group members shared their thoughts and feelings afterwards, it was evident that the Spirit was leading and speaking clearly to all, and even moving some of us with a call to action.

Lectio is both an art and a discipline and as such it requires cultivation and practice. In our frantic modern lives it is not our habit to constantly listen in a spirit of silence and awe. For Christ followers in the creative arts, lectio helps us to consume and apprehend artistic experiences in a new way, one that is centred in God's perspective. As we are reminded that the "imagination is the heart of the mind", lectio is a rediscovered, powerful tool to help us "cause every thought to come under the authority of Christ" (2 Cor 10:5); but more than a tool, it is a discipline that reorients every aspect of our lives into submission to God, allowing Him to correct, instruct, refine, and edify us.

"The nature of water is soft, that of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung above above the stone, allowing the water to fall drop by drop, it wears away the stone. So it is with the Word of God; it is soft and our heart is hard, but the man who hears the word of God often, opens his heart to the fear of God."(2)

Taize I
by Chris Tan

Christian meditation, being a filling of the mind with the Word (in any of His forms) rather than an emptying of the mind as in other faiths, is difficult for us moderns. We tend to be preoccupied with many small things (emails, errands, Blackberries, did I leave the iron on), and are often less sensitive to the larger rhythms of life : of community, of family, of weather and light and of ageing that shaped the Church in its infancy.

The taize community began as a shelter for refugees fleeing the hazards of World War II, set up in France by Brother Roger, a theological student who felt called to provide sanctuary to the disadvantaged. Over the years, it has evolved into an ecumenical, multidenominational community with branches all over the world, monastic in core but visited by Christians of every stripe, devoted to social work and living out Christian principles of reconciliation, service and obedience. It is distinguished perhaps most famously by its unique style of liturgical worship and prayer.

Taize songs are built from short musical and text phrases, much like the Eastern Christian tradition of 'breath prayer' - simple prayers that can be spoken aloud in a single breath, such as the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner). Each song typically has a single central thought or theme. During worship, the refrain of each song is repeated several times, with harmonies, and sometimes antiphonal responses.

Taize worship can be considered a type of 'musical lectio divina', harnessing music in the service of chewing on a nutritious fragment of the Word so that our spirits, minds and hearts can digest its truth. In this sense, it has an effect not unlike those mnemonics that set words to a meter or to a simple tune - the added pitch and rhythm act as anchors within our minds and memories.

In Singapore, I have attended a few of the regular taize worship and prayer sessions held every other month at the Armenian church. In the taize style, the musicians sit in the front pews, facing the front like everyone else. At the front are candles, flowers, and the Armenian Church's icon.

When the singing begins, those who know the song begin strongly to help everyone pick up the tune or harmonies, and subsequently drop back into the overall sound. The prayers are in English, and so are the songs, but the latter may also include Spanish, Russian, Polish or Latin lyrics, which are translated on the service sheets handed out.

For me, a good taize song helps me to focus, to confine my 'creaturely activity' to the simple compass of its melody and the posture of spirit in its text. The repetition is not vain, but serves to call my mind away from distractions and fix it on the subject at hand. The Taize website describes the songs thus: "Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God, without having to fix the length of time too exactly."

The other wonderful thing for me about Taize worship is the unity sponsored by everyone singing the same words, the same melody, thinking the same text, with no one voice leading or standing out. This is true concert, not in the 'rock concert' sense espoused by so much modern worship these days, but in the sense of togetherness; everyone looking in the same direction, that is, towards God. Even when the mood is hushed and quiet, thrumming beneath it is the active, vibrant feeling of being the Body.

Taize II
by Zhang Rui He