From Randall:
About once a month I take communion to a small flock at a
retirement home here in Santa Fe, El Castillo. Penni and her husband, Charles
are on the rota, as well. As part of the service we are supposed to have a
“discussion”. Although, for all intents and purposes it is more often, than
not, a sermon that is wanted. Normally, I start dragging out my biblical
commentaries a week before to get some idea of what scholars think a particular
gospel passage means. This time round, though, I decided to approach last
Sunday as if it was a assignment from Grace using the hermeneutical cycle. I
was actually able to parse out the world of the text, the world behind the
text, and the world in front of text. It really does help with sermon prep. Who
would have thunk it?
Pax Christi,
R.
P.S. Has anyone’s prayer life changed for better or worse
since our first weekend?
I love it!!
ReplyDeleteFrom Lynn:
ReplyDelete"Hermeneutical Cycle" - sounds like a great name for a bike shop. Or a motorcycle shop, Matt.
Do you happen to know Jan and Judy Novak, Randall? Friends from Los Alamos who moved to El Castillo. Tell them hello from me if you do!
My prayer life has not changed much but my beloved morning devotion time has shortened, though, to make way for studies.
Also, thought you all might like this link on "enclosures".
https://www.ssje.org/monasticwisdom/enclosure/
Peace,
Lynn
From David-Luke:
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, Randall! And I am not surprised: Though I am struggling with the hermeneutical cycle, I see the value. I have had the NOAB for over 10 years (3rd Ed.), and have used the notes in preaching, though the systematic organization of the hermeneutical cycle is new to me. As with Lynn, the biggest change in my prayer life has probably been negative--- though for me less about time than about focus/quality. (Hopefully, this is just a period of intense adjustment, and we will all find our rhythms with this, and incorporate them in to the rest of life. And, Sondra, I will check in with you and regard your invitation to us as an informal contract to do so. For me, Quality of prayer life = Quality of Life. So, it really does come first, and disruption in prayer life is definitely not a good thing.) Thanks, Matt, for sharing your experiences with Grace and the Bishop's School! On a positive note about my prayer life: Ya'll are in it each and every day, and often throughout the day!
I generally write both well and fast, which has been my only academic salvation with graduate work thusfar, because I often struggle with abstract thinking (hence my hermeneutical-cycle-brain-spin when I wrestled with Abraham and Isaac) and am a very SLOOOOOOOOW reader! (I actually think I may have an undiagnosed learning disorder.) The most difficult single assignment of my doctoral program was a mid-term paper in which we were given eight days to read and write responses to four integrative questions. Because they were integrative, we really had to complete all the readings first. The professor suggested reading the first four days and then writing responses to one question per day. Most of my colleagues were hard at work writing by day 5, and I was still slogging along with my reading and decompensating internally on day 7. : - O Thanks be to God, I was able to write clearly, coherently, and rapidly enough to make the deadline at the eleventh hour, but it was harrowing. I am keenly aware of the privileged position I am in now as a 'retiree'. And this forms my prayer especially for those of you juggling work, family and ministry commitments: I pray for energy, wisdom, and perseverance, and I also thank God for giving those gifts to you abundantly! Please let me know if/how I can help as we move forward.
With gratitude and in solidarity, David-Luke
I’m really enjoying seeing the various pieces of process that all of us are going through!
ReplyDeleteI’m wondering, how would you all feel about a private blog where we could have threaded conversations & share thoughts along the way, without searching back through emails?
I think I could set something up for us pretty quickly….
Jill
From David-Luke:
ReplyDeleteWhat a WONDERFUL idea, Jill! Thank you in advance for this! Peace and Blessings, DL
From Randall:
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me. Email can be a bit cumbersome, at times.
Pax Christi,
R.
Thanks for setting up the blog, Jill! Maybe we should name it The Hermeneutical Cyclists. No? Too much? Ok then.
ReplyDeleteI very much appreciate hearing about everyone's experiences thus far. It truly feels like a community.
On prayer, yes, my practice has suffered a bit. My daily prayer practice is in early morning. After some recent late nights, I've skipped. Not a good choice. I really appreciate David-Luke's "Quality of Prayer Life = Quality of LIfe" reminder. It is so very true.
My spiritual director has suggested that I spend some time in prayer before I sit to study, which I've done hit and miss. I do find myself in spontaneous prayer as I read and write; sometimes in gratitude and sometime like a raging Psalmist.
Lynn: I loved reading the enclosures piece. It made for a lovely reflection this morning. So much wisdom there.
Randall: WONDERFUL that you were able to share some of what we've learned so far with your communicates. What a gift to them!
David-Luke: was thinking about your being a slow reader. I feel like I'm a slow reader too but I've never timed myself against anyone so I don't really know! Remembering the tortoise and the hare...
Peace of the Lord to you all,
SJ