Rich Fare, Hard Work
Why is it that we can sit for hours reading a novel, but 20 minutes of Psalms feels like a chore?
Why is it that I can sit for hours in front of a computer monitor, but sitting--not even standing--in prayer for ten minutes makes me fidget?
It is work to pray. The Scriptures are rich fare--so unlike the dust of most novels. Worship and prayer require concentration and energy. Television does not--not even the History Channel or the so-called "The Learning Channel" (TLC now).
And we have an enemy, lest we forget, who desires to distract us from the "one thing needful," with every pleasure, with every entertainment, even with work and labor, so that we will not pray, so that we will not worship, so that we will not love others.
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you, mercifully grant that by your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord... (Collect for Sexagesima, LSB).
2 comments :
Reading a novel is escapism - you get to sit in judgment over the novel - evaluate, think about a random point that might play on your life. Reading a Scripture lays you and your life bear - and all that it says sheds light upon your life, your approach, your desires. There is no escape, but rather introspection. It is much more intense - because we are not above the Word (as we can sit as critics above a novel), but the Word is above us and speaking to us and of us.
Well said, Pr. Brown!
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