Devotion

Or.... A Long Obedience in Different Directions with apologies to Eugene Peterson

The weakness of secular or inter-faith approaches

Devotion (definition) 1. profound dedication; consecration. 2. earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc. 3. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.: - Dictionary.com

Experiment Volunteers?

Devoted to... God – the One who calls you in the direction of Goodness/Compassion Living Sources (somehow in relation to God?) that call you in the direction of Goodness/Compassion Has to be “big,” “living,” and “unknowable” – so as not to be an idol, not a reduction that turns devotion into evil (but still particular)

How does devotion work for you? (What feeds your devotion?) Rituals and practices that feed your devotion (communion, singing, liturgy, silence, walking in nature) Voices of the wise, past/present (models/examples, authors, artists) Flexible signposts: justice, compassion, beauty, honesty, vulnerability Submission/trust, courage and endurance

“My sheep know my voice” 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. – John 10.3-4

love not certainty or “belief” Always mystery obscuring the Voice that calls us So we love the Voice - passionately, gratefully dedicated to the Voice – but listening takes effort and commitment NOT “signed on” to any reduction of the Voice (rules, statements, doctrines) because these reductions will usually be in OUR image – and they kill love Love, devotion (Trust) – NOT success

Isaiah 40.27-31 27 Why do you say, O Jacob,     and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord,     and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary;     his understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless 29 He gives power to the faint,     and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary,     and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,     they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,     they shall walk and not faint.