Voices in My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 625: Lectio Divina and the Compassion of Chri

Welcome back to Voices in My Head. As always, I'm your host, Rick Lee James.

This week is again a chapel service that I recorded last week, actually, at Springfield Regional Medical Center.

I provided music and shared a reflection. It's not a long podcast, but I hope that you'll find it's one that is helpful to you on the journey. So this is our latest episode of Voices in My Head. And by the way, I hope you enjoyed Bryan San last week. And I do have some exciting news coming up, which I'm not quite ready to share, but very soon. I have a new song coming out on July 24th. I'll have some more details for you very soon. So God bless and thank you for listening to Voices in My Head.

So for those of you who are watching from your rooms today here at Springfield Regional Medical Center, We welcome you to our interdenominational chaplain service. Uh, it's actually a Christian worship service. I am Chaplain Rick Lee James. So glad that you're here with us today. We're going to sing some songs and spend a few moments in the word today, and you are so welcome to be here with us even if you're not in the room. We're grateful for you. So we're going to start by singing a song that comes from our hymnals that we have here in the chapel.

It's called "Brethren, We Have Met to Worship." Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes. Down. Reverend Drake and holy manna will be showered all around. Reverend, see poor sinners round you, shuddering on the brink of woe. Death is coming, hell is moving, can you bear to let them go? See our Father Our fathers and our mothers and our children sinking down. Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around. Sisters, will you join and help us? Moses' sister aided him. Will you help the trembling mourners Who are struggling hard with sin. Tell them all about the Savior. Tell them that He will be found. Sisters, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around. Let us love one another. Let us love our God supremely. Let us love each other too. Let us love and pray for sinners till our God makes all things new. Then he'll call us home to heaven.

At his table we'll be found.

Christ will gird himself and serve us with sweet manna. All around.

Then he'll call us home to heaven, at his table we'll be found.

Christ will gird himself and serve us with sweet manna all around.

And that was hymn number 23 from our hymnal in the chapel. Brethren— brethren, rather— we have met to worship again. I am Chaplain Rick, and I'm so glad that you're here with us today, even though there may be a few of us watching. And, and by the way, please let your nurse know if you are able to watch this service. We are trying to find out how many of our patients are participating through these services, but we don't really have a way to know, other than your feedback. So please let us know if this is a helpful time to you here in the chapel. Today I'm simply going to be reading, uh, a scripture passage and helping us to reflect on it through a spiritual practice called Lectio Divina. This week I was reading from Henri Nouwen's book, A Spirituality of Caregiving. And in that book, Nouwen writes that one of the greatest gifts we can give another person is not a solution, but our presence. He says, "Those who are ill, injured, or elderly can help us claim the wisdom not only that all human healers have to face death, the great mocker of all cures, but also that through the love of a caring friend we can make contact with the deepest cravings of this life." This wisdom not only makes us aware of the illusion of immortality but also shows us new life whenever someone says with a word or gesture, "I see your pain. I cannot take it away, but I won't leave you alone." Well, Nouwen suggests that caring for others often becomes difficult because another person's pain reminds us of our own fears, anxieties, and wounds. Today, With that in mind, we are going to listen to a simple passage from the book of Romans in the New Testament and ask God to help us who can be truly present with one another. So our first reading today, it comes from Romans chapter 12, 9 through 21, and I am going to slowly read it as I invite you into silence today as you notice If a word or phrase stands out to you, just pay attention to that. Don't analyze it, just notice what catches your attention. The passage reads like this: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low— Do not be conceited. Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. I will now read the passage a second time. This time as I read it, I invite you to think about someone you have encountered recently—a patient, a family member, a co-worker, or a friend. Who is it that comes to mind? What are they carrying? Now notice your own reaction. Is there a place where their grief touches your grief? Where their fear touches your fear? Where their uncertainty touches your uncertainty? As Nouwen reminds us that the suffering of others often reveals parts of ourselves that we would rather avoid. So here's that passage of scripture again: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, Feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Now I will read the verse one last time, and as I read it this final time, I invite you to reflect on what invitation God might be extending to you today. Perhaps it is to stop trying to fix everything. Perhaps it is to listen more deeply. Perhaps it is to allow yourself to acknowledge a fear or a sadness you've been carrying. Perhaps it is simply to be present. What if compassionate care begins not with having answers, but with being willing to stay? So this last time I read this passage: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need; practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge." "I will repay!" says the Lord. On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let's pray together. God of compassion, you never abandon us in our pain. You draw near to the brokenhearted and remain with those who suffer. Help us become people who can rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Give us the courage to face our own fears and wounds so that we may be more fully present to others. And when we do not know what to say, teach us to offer the simple gift of presence. Amen. Well, in closing today, I'm going to be leading us in a song called Trust in God. It's a very meaningful song to many people, and I have encountered many people in the hospital who have requested me to sing it at their bedside as they sing along as they are facing many different things. So we're going to close the chapel service today with this song.

Blessed assurance that Jesus is mine. He's been my fourth man in the fire time after time. Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. And what he did for me on Calvary is more than enough. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. Perfect submission, and all is at rest. I know the Author of tomorrow has ordered my steps.

So this is my story.

And this is my song, praising my risen King and Savior all the day long. 'Cause I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will He will never fail. He will never fail. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord And he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. So I trust in God.

Well, may the Lord bless you and keep you this day, and may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you peace. Amen. Well, this is the conclusion of our interdenominational chaplain's— chapel service today. Please let us know if our chaplains can be of any support to you. If you're a patient in the hospital, you simply have to just ask your nurse, say the word chaplain, and they'll get a hold of us. We are happy to come be present with you and walk with you through whatever you're facing and whatever you're being invited into. And we also would love, if you have enjoyed the service today or if you have been watching today, if you could just let your nurse know to tell us that you have been able to participate participate. We're trying to decide if we want to keep this service going in this format and at this time each week, and we want to make it as accessible as possible to our staff and to our patients in their rooms as we broadcast. So God bless you today, and thank you for worshiping with us this afternoon.