Every Step a Prayer. Thomas R. Hawkins

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СКАЧАТЬ of everyday life to proclaim God’s activity in our lives. In worship, we rehearse in a distilled, concentrated way the gestures—the practices—through which we grow in the love, knowledge, and service of God. We stand when we recite the creed, for example, as a rehearsal for all the occasions when we will stand up for our beliefs and values in our workplaces, homes, and neighborhoods. We share our tithes and offerings in worship to practice living generously with others.

      The times that we take to our feet in worship are not merely incidental, random movements. When we take to our feet in weekly worship, we rehearse the dance steps with which we move to the music of God’s grace throughout the week. Recognition of how walking is woven into the fabric of Christian worship acknowledges it as a Christian practice in which every step is a prayer. When we take to our feet in worship, we rehearse together how God desires us to live as God’s pilgrim people in the world.

      Just as athletes and musicians need regular opportunities to rehearse their skills and hone their techniques, we need rehearsal time for Christian practices. Worship etches into our habits and muscles the movements of mind and spirit that enable us to participate in God’s project of redeeming a broken world. Walking in worship prepares us for walking to alleviate hunger or to oppose violence against women. It gives us cues for how to walk the corridors of power where people make decisions that affect the lives of many.

      Without such opportunities, we can wander off the path and find ourselves in some cul-de-sac of existence. Our frantic schedules can throw us off balance. Cable news and social media distract us with an endless tsunami of information and images that encourage us to skim along the surface of life. Living in the shallows of being, we never “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8). Speed limits our ability to live mindfully in God’s moment-by-moment care. Christian practices such as walking, eating, or washing help us stay on the path that leads to a life of fullness and spiritual depth.

      When we take to our feet in worship, we are being invited to place before God all those men and women with whom and for whom we walk during the week: the elderly parents whose arms we hold as they walk from the bedroom to the kitchen or the child whose hand we take as we walk across a busy street. Our walking in worship reminds us of our daily call to solidarity with the refugee who has walked to safety across a desolate war zone. It becomes an act of confession and penitence for all the people we have walked away from because we were too afraid, too busy, or too self-absorbed to care about them. The places, people, and purposes for which we walk are gathered together, sanctified, forgiven, and blessed as we take to our feet in worship. When we walk as a Christian practice, we silently pray with the psalmist, “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths” (25:4).

      Walking in worship forms us into a people who are moving steadily toward the New Jerusalem, where God will dwell with God’s people; death will be no more, and God will wipe away every tear. When we begin to rehearse music, the director usually says “take it from the top.” But when it comes to a spiritual practice like walking, it would be more accurate to say, “Take it from the bottom” because the spiritual practice of walking begins with the soles of our feet.

Walking Suggestions

      Each chapter will conclude with some suggestions for prayerful walks.You may wish to try one or more of these suggestions as an activity during the week. If you are reading this book as a group, you may choose to try these suggestions together.

      Each chapter will also conclude with some questions for further reflection, which invite you to consider specific connections between what you have read and your personal experience. If you are reading this book as a group, the questions can serve as a basis for group discussion. As we start our journey, here are two simple suggestions to help us begin.

       Keep a Written Log of Your Walking

      You may wish to purchase a notebook or journal in which you keep a written log of where and when you walk over the course of a day or a week. If you have a pedometer, keep track of how many steps or miles you walk each day (you can purchase an inexpensive pedometer at most sporting goods stores). Then ask yourself the following questions:

      •How much time do I spend walking?

      •Where do I walk?

      •With whom do I predictably walk?

      •What times of day do I typically walk?

      •What motivates me to walk? leisure and relaxation? spending time with friends? my health?

      •What does my pattern of walking say about my life?

      Make some notes in a journal about what you discover, and share your observations with others in a small group or spiritual friendship.

       Go for a Walk

      Go for a walk sometime this week. Just walk. Do not plan your walk for a purpose, such as going to a store, visiting a friend, or taking your dog outside. Just walk. Let your feet take you where they want to go. Leave your iPod and smartphone behind. Be alone with your feet and your thoughts. When you return, make notes about the experience of walking:

      •What did you observe in the world around you as you walked? How does the world look different when you walk instead of drive?

      •What thoughts came to you while walking? Did you notice anything different about the kind of thoughts that arose?

      •What did you find difficult about this exercise? What was easy?

      •What did you notice about your body as you walked?

      •What did you observe about the interplay between the physical motion of walking and your emotions?

Questions for Further Reflection

      1.Using your church bulletin, examine all the moments when people take to their feet in worship. Who is walking at different times during the service (worship leaders, congregants, choir, acolytes, ushers, readers)? What are they or others doing when they take to their feet? What symbolism could these moments hold? What do they model about how to live as a disciple of Jesus?

      2.When have you walked in or helped with a charity fundraiser? What motivated your participation? What could you learn from this experience that would inform the Christian practice of walking in worship and in life?

      3.When did you last walk in a parade or march? What was this experience like for you? What can you learn from this experience about the Christian spiritual practice of walking?

      4.What are some current practices or Christian disciplines that you have incorporated into your spiritual life? In what ways do these shape how you live? believe? practice your faith?

      5.Describe a time when you got lost. What did you feel when you realized you were lost? What strengths or resources did you call upon to find your way?

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