Welcome to the ninth episode of Christian Meditation with Anita Mathias.
Let's begin to detach from the world,
To retreat into the inner sanctuary of the self,
And to begin to breathe,
Resting in the presence of the God who gives us breath.
In this world of words and busyness,
It's time to retreat and have a brief experience of God.
Whatever has happened so far in your day and in your life,
Place it in God's hands.
Lord,
Bring good out of even the blackest seeds,
Make them flower,
We leave them in your hands.
Whatever is to come,
Place it in God's hands.
Protect us,
Lord,
Deliver us from evil.
For now,
All we have is the present,
This moment,
You here,
You,
Beloved creation of God,
Resting with God.
Close your eyes,
Sit straight or cross-legged,
If that's comfortable for you,
And breathe.
A deep breath in and out,
Breathe in deeply,
Breathe out fully.
Take another deep and slow breath in and out.
As you relax,
Let the love of God,
Who is your maker,
Who loves you,
Slowly flow through your body with your breath.
Flow to all the tense,
Tired,
Sad places,
To places of discomfort.
Stretch your arms upwards,
Then cactus them,
I.
E.
Lift them at right angles to your shoulders,
And stretch them slightly backwards.
Raise your shoulders to your ears,
Slowly roll them clockwise,
Anti-clockwise,
Repeat.
Ball your fists,
Tense your fingers,
Wriggle them outwards like a starburst,
Send your breath towards your belly.
Place your hand there as you breathe deeply,
Feel your stomach rise and fall.
Continue breathing deeply,
Through to your hips and down to your toes.
Clench them,
Wriggle them.
Try another couple of whole-body inhales and exhales,
From your nose to your toes.
The most ancient breath prayer in the Christian tradition is the two-clause Jesus Pray.
The long clauses demand a very deep breath.
Try saying it when you need to calm down,
Inhaling and exhaling on each clause.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Have mercy on me,
A sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Have mercy on me,
A sinner,
And your beloved friend.
So,
Jesus advises his listeners,
Fishermen who had worked all night and caught nothing,
Unemployed labourers,
And those without food for their guests,
Not to worry about what they were going to eat.
And when Jesus speaks,
That man who visited from a world beyond our world to share the deep secrets of life and the universe,
We would be wise to listen up.
Jesus tells his original listeners that by an effort of will,
They must quit wasting time and energy fretting about what they would eat,
Must quit worrying about money,
And instead trust the God who sustains singing birds who never save a single worm.
They must ask,
Seek,
And knock on God's door for wisdom and good ideas to meet their daily needs.
Of course,
Today,
With an obesogenic food environment and an obesity epidemic,
We worry just as much about the sugary,
Fatty,
Ultra-processed foods everywhere which lead to weight gain,
Society's condemnation,
And our self-condemnation,
Pressure which leads to further overeating.
Having lost 82 pounds,
I know the difficulty of shedding weight and the fear of regaining it.
But we,
Like Jesus' listeners,
Must refuse to worry about fattening food,
Weight loss,
Weight regain,
But instead live as God's beloved children,
Eating what our host set before us without fuss,
As Jesus advised his disciples,
And trusting our health to God.
Of course,
Jesus does want us to reflect his endless energy,
Boundless strength,
In Eugene Peterson's phrase,
And being kind and practical,
He gives us strategies.
Jesus recommends fasting,
Which brings the reward from God,
And gives us power over oppressive forces of evil.
Fasting is sheer Jesus' genius,
Skipping a meal,
Saving time and money,
While burning up metabolically active inflammatory toxins storing fat,
Which overweight bodies don't need.
Hunger pangs,
Which are temporary waves,
Rising,
Receding,
Passing,
Are an internal bodily reminder,
A trigger,
An alarm clock,
To pray about our worries.
And the force and power of persistent prayer slowly changes our lives.
Do not worry,
Jesus says,
But seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness,
And all the things the pagans run after will be added to you.
How does that work in the area of weight and health?
Well,
The greatest commandment,
Jesus said,
Is to love God with all one's strength.
I have been incorporating movement into my spiritual life,
Praying and listening to the Bible and the book for my Christian book group on my morning walk.
And when my body buzzes with endorphins,
My mind and emotions work better,
And my spirit soars.
And,
Since Jesus says the second commandment is like the first,
Love your neighbour as yourself.
I'm trying to use movement to bless others too,
Decluttering my house of unnecessary acquisitions from 33 years of marriage,
Working in my large garden to make it a place of joy and hospitality,
Hanging out with friends during long walks rather than over meals,
And getting my body a little stronger and fitter for life through exercise snacks,
Several daily mini-sessions of yoga or weights,
HIIT or dance or rebounding.
The Father feeds the birds,
Which,
Like all wild creatures,
Instinctively only eat what is a blessing to their little bodies.
Seeking the kingdom,
Acting as if Jesus were our visible,
Beloved King,
Is refusing to eat a curse on ourselves by eating food we know will not bless our bodies,
But instead slow them down by weight gain.
For me,
These foods are sugar,
Wheat,
Rice,
Grains,
Potatoes.
But we each have a unique metabolism created by genetics,
Our biography and our psychological make-up,
And so must ask the Spirit to guide our minds and intuitions to a way of eating which blesses our bodies.
Seeking to establish God's micro-kingdom in our own lives also means getting our bodies fit enough to do the work God has given us to do.
Losing weight,
Getting fit,
Is like a conversion experience,
Completely life-changing.
As we bear this micro-cross of self-discipline,
Without which,
Jesus said,
We are not worthy of Him,
Let's pray we experience the paradox Jesus spoke of,
That the yoke of following Him is oddly easy and light.
May it be so.
Amen.
And here are a few brief concluding breath prayers.
Lord God,
Thank you for creating this world abundant in foods which bless our bodies.
Guide us to a way of eating that is right for our metabolism.
Sharpen our intuitions about the foods which will bless our bodies.
Lord God,
Thank you for creating our good bodies.
Help us to increasingly experience the joy of moving them for strength and endorphins.
Thank you for the gift of breath which calms and focuses us.
Spirit,
Who brings to our remembrance all good things,
Remind us to take frequent brief breaks to breathe and rest with you.
We trust you,
Lord Jesus,
Increase our trust.
We love you,
Increase our love.
Amen.
