Exp. #30, Chapter 2: Prayer of Mother Teresa
This is me putting my thoughts on the M.O.N.K.E.Y. B.A.R.S. by practicing "E" for "Engage with Spiritual Teachings" and "Y" for "Yearn through Prayer"
If reading time is hard to come by or you’re interested in a more human experience, there is a “Read-to-You” version of this article.
If you’re new here, welcome! The “M.O.N.K.E.Y. B.A.R.S.” part of Monkey Bars for the Monkey Mind is my acronym for the system I use to create and maintain a happy life, which I introduce in Experiment #1.
“E” is for "Engage with Spiritual Teachings," which I introduce in Experiment #6. You can see all of my “E” experiments so far by clicking here. “Y” is for “Yearn through Prayer,” which I introduce in Experiment #7. You can see all of my “Y” experiments so far by clicking here.
If you struggle with monkey mind or negative self-talk as I did (or know someone who does), consider subscribing. This stuff works and I am living proof. Though everyone’s “M.O.N.K.E.Y. B.A.R.S.” will look a little different, I write this weekly newsletter to show how it CAN look and how this method continues to pour happiness into my life—especially when I need it most.
I didn’t necessarily intend for Chapter 2 of Experiment #30 to come so soon, but I was inspired to share it and so, here we are.
As I mentioned last week (in Experiment #30), I have been reading and reflecting on the Church Service's scripture passages prior to the service as part of my new job as Music Minister for St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church (which I introduce in Experiment #28).
This practice has made the music we sing much more vibrant and resonant for me as we sing the lyrics. It also, as I describe in Experiment #30, serves as a way of practicing “E” for “Engage with Spiritual Teachings” on the M.O.N.K.E.Y. B.A.R.S., which I introduced in Experiment #6, because it puts my attention on spiritual teachings.
The lyrics for the anthem we are singing this Sunday are based on a prayer from Mother Teresa, most commonly known as Prayer of Mother Teresa. So, the “ear worm” quality of having these songs loop in my head this week also has the benefit of helping me practice “Y” for “Yearn Through Prayer” on the M.O.N.K.E.Y. B.A.R.S., which I introduce in Experiment #7.
So without further ado…
Sharing this week’s readings, lyric poem, and reflection
Again, if you want the full context of this experiment, check out Experiment #30: Reading and Reflecting on the Church Service's Scripture Passages Prior to the Service.
Two things bear repeating.
The first is that part of this practice is also about incorporating Experiment #12: Sharing Things That I Love with Others More Often.
The second thing is that these scripture readings use the language of Christianity, but as I’ve written about in other articles, we are invited to use words and pronouns for the Source—God—that resonate with us.
For more on that see:
Experiment #19: Trying to Answer the Question, "What is God?"
Experiment #28: Serving as the Music Minister at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church (where I describe how I started to see the “yoga” or nondualism or universality of Jesus’s teachings and really began to understand on a deeper level the yogic teaching, “Truth is one, we call it by various names”).
These readings are pulled from The Lectionary Page website from September 29. If you visit the site, you’ll see two tracks available. St. Thomas’ uses track 1.
The Collect
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
The king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me-- that is my petition-- and the lives of my people-- that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.
[Just a side note here: I did a little reading and learned that Esther was Jewish. The king did not know that. And so, this is the moment that Esther tells the king she’s Jewish. Being Jewish is a death sentence in this particular culture because, as we’ll see, someone later (Haman) is trying to kill all of the Jews at this time in this culture. So, it takes a lot of courage for Esther to say what she’s saying right now.]
If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?” Esther said, “A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman's house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.
Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.
The Psalm
Psalm 124
1 If the Lord had not been on our side,
let Israel now say;
2 If the Lord had not been on our side,
when enemies rose up against us;
3 Then would they have swallowed us up alive
in their fierce anger toward us;
4 Then would the waters have overwhelmed us
and the torrent gone over us;
5 Then would the raging waters
have gone right over us.
6 Blessed be the Lord!
he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler;
the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the Name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
[Another side note: I tend to replace in my head “Lord” or “God” with the word “Love” (see Experiment #19: Trying to Answer the Question, "What is God?"). So when it says, “If the Lord had not been on our side,” I say, “If love had not been on our side, let Israel now say…” And then, “If the Lord had not been on our side, when enemies rose up against us…” I would say, “If love had not been on our side, when enemies rose up against us…” It helps me depersonalize those very gendered words like “Lord” and “He” and “Him” (see Experiment #20: Meditating on Whether God is Beyond Gender).]
The Epistle
James 5:13-20
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
The Gospel
Mark 9:38-50
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Friday Lyric Poem
The piece we rehearsed on Thursday with the choir is a lush setting of Mother Teresa’s prayer by Craig Courtney, aptly called “Prayer of Mother Teresa.”
Do yourself a favor and give it a listen:
Here are the lyrics as a poem:
Lord, help me spread Your fragrance
Lord, help me spread Your fragrance
wherever I go,
where'er I go.Lord, help me spread Your fragrance
Lord, help me spread Your fragrance
wherever I go,
where'er I go.Flood my soul with Your Spirit
Flood my soul with Your Spirit
and life,
and life,
and life.Penetrate and possess my whole being
Penetrate and possess my whole being
so utterly that my life may be only—
my life may be only a radiance of Yours
a radiance of Yours
Shine through me, shine through me
and be so in me—be so in me
that every soul I know will feel Your presence
in my soul.Lord, help me spread Your fragrance
Lord, help me spread Your fragrance
wherever I go,
where'er I go.Let them look up and see no longer me
but only You,
but only You.Amen.
Friday Lyric Poem Reflection
Here’s the brief reflection I shared with the choir on Friday about how I felt these lyrics were helping the scripture readings resonate for me.
Side note: When I’m engaging with people in the Episcopal Church, I’m trying to use the language of Christianity. Again, as the yogis teach, “Truth is one, we call it by various names.”
Here’s what I wrote:
In the Psalm, we see the effect of the “raging waters”—of “fierce anger”—and how it can lead to tension, fear, hatred, violence, and the creation of "enemies." In the Epistle, we hear James’s advice on how to keep our attention on the Lord (love) in any situation: When we’re suffering, pray like Elijah who "prayed fervently." When we’re cheerful, express gratitude through songs of praise. Connecting it together with the Psalm, James seems to be saying that anyone who has committed sins—which the Book of Common Prayer describes as “seeking our own will instead of the will of God (love)”—will be forgiven and they can escape the raging waters of anger, fear, and hatred that can create conflict and violence in the world externally and internally. It’s the unquenchable fire that Jesus describes when he says “hell.”
In the Gospel, my understanding is that Jesus is encouraging us that it is better to practice his teachings of love and not do it exactly “right” than to not try at all. It is better to take a step towards love as best we can at that moment than to allow our obstacles to grow and become more formidable. “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Or, as we might say in modern times: Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. By choosing love "in my [Jesus's] name"—by following Jesus's example—we help cast out the “demons” of fear, hatred, and violence, no matter what our skill level is at any given time.
Woven through this week's readings, to me, is a balance between reminding us of infinite mercy and forgiveness that is always available to us and a realistic acknowledgment that feelings of anger, fear, and hatred exist in the world (and also from time to time in us because it's part of the human experience). But, we always have the ability to choose love. Choosing love in as many situations as possible is us helping to spread God's fragrance wherever we go. Mother Teresa gives us the words for our prayer so that we can follow James's advice and Craig Courtney gives us the melody so that we can make that prayer fervent. How many times do we need to choose love? What's the goal? "Let them look up and see no longer me, but only You (love), only You."
May these readings, this choir, and this piece bring us closer to love in our own hearts this week always. This will allow love—the "heavenly treasure" we pray for in our Collect—to be more visible in the world because we will bring it wherever we go and spread that fragrance.
Have you ever read or prayed with the Prayer of Mother Teresa? Have you ever heard Craig Courtney’s music before? How do you interpret these scriptures? I’d love to hear your thoughts. You’re, of course, also invited to check out the live broadcast on Sunday to hear the anthem live or join us in at St. Thomas’ at 232 St. Thomas Lane, Owings Mills, MD 21117.
As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a very happy day.
With love,
Jonathan