The Luminous Podcast

Special Episode | Resting & Listening PT2We're about to head into the "most wonderful time of the year", but for many of us, our overly committed schedules don't tend to seem so wonderful. In this episode, Fr. Chad helps us to be mindful and hopeful to retain some margin to enjoy the season.

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Special Episode | Resting & Listening PT1We're about to head into the "most wonderful time of the year", but for many of us, our overly committed schedules don't tend to seem so wonderful. In this episode, Fr. Chad helps us to be mindful and hopeful to retain some margin to enjoy the season.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ordinary Time | Lament Latin lamentari, from lamenta (plural)1. to express sorrow, mourning, or demonstrated regret.The Psalms teach us how to lament. In a culture that has long lost this posture, honesty, and transparency. The actions of lament are a part of a process. A process of owning regret. Not just personal regret, but on behalf of someone else, or a collective group.If we have any spiritual / moral compass whatsoever, we can and will lament numerous happenings. We lament damages from flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes... loss of life... mass shootings, racism, and any other acts of violence. To lament means there is an awareness of our surroundings. We aren’t blind, indifferent, or apathetic.The tragedies surrounding us require our sensitive and honest attention in worship. Injustices must be identified. Enemies must be named. Maybe we are seeing some affects from a lack of lamenting. We can look to our recent history to see manifestations of our hurt, pain, and divisions... Most of which reveals itself in ways of demonizing one another... causing deeper divides.There is an important distinction during the process and actions of lament: We express, acknowledge, confess: confess that we are in need. We are not gods... and that our path to peace and rightness, is God and God alone. To refocus from us to God leads us to focus on others as well. So, the positioning of hearts, minds, and even bodies are important. When we are in a constant state of resistance, worry, or frustration, it affects everything else around us. We can become known as “that person”... you know, the whiner, complainer, the glass is half full...Lament enables reframing: tearing down to rebuild with proper redemptive framework.Psalm 19.To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 19The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2Day to day pours out speech,and night to night reveals knowledge. 3There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.4Their voice goes out through all the earth,and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,5which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them,and there is nothing hidden from its heat.7The law of the Lord is perfect,reviving the soul;the testimony of the Lord is sure,making wise the simple; 8the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;9the fear of the Lord is clean,enduring forever;the rules of the Lord are true,and righteous altogether. 10More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;sweeter also than honeyand drippings of the honeycomb.11Moreover, by them is your servant warned;in keeping them there is great reward. 12Who can discern his errors?Declare me innocent from hidden faults.13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless,and innocent of great transgression. 14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.Psalm 19:14 is our opening prayer of our homilies. But, it can also be a prayer for how we live each day.Followers of Jesus don’t always do a very good job of living faithfully in a broken world, perhaps because we’re looking inward instead of other- ward (or upward). CS Lewis reminds us: “Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in, aim at earth and you will get neither.”

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Ordinary Time | Rhythms of Confession | Fr. Chad E. Jarnagin Matthew 16:13-20 (ESV)Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.The context for The Gospel of Matthew: It was written shortly after the failed Jewish revolt against Rome. In the wake of the destruction of the Temple and devastation of Jerusalem… This is the context in which the meaning of Jesus as Messiah was being worked out. The gospel story reflects a bigger picture. Remember a few weeks back when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, and Peter said, “if it is you, Lord, call to me… and Jesus said, ‘come’… after sinking, Jesus helps him back in the boat and Peter says “surely you are the Son of God”. Here, Peter confesses “You are the Christ”. It is in our process & experience, where we sometimes have less & less faith only to find more and more faith. When we confess “You are the Christ!”, putting life back to order - asking for true shalom (everything in its place flourishing as God intends).Rhythms of confession assist in our spiritual, emotion, and mental health. When you don’t have words, or can’t handles for the moment, pray from the liturgy and join your posture with the communion of the saints - prayers from multiple generations, races, & cultures from the span of time. By confessing each week, we are confessing like Peter, “You are the Son of God”… and we are not.The subversiveness of the Kingdom, again with “20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” In the tension of the day, Christ didn’t want this heat, yet. It wasn’t time…Before we progress, let’s contemplate the following with an open posture. “Who do you say that I am?”

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Sacred Rhythms (Rhythms of Mystery)Matthew 13:24-30 (ESV)The Parable of the Weeds24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds[a] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”Matthew 13:36-43 (ESV)The Parable of the Weeds Explained36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law- breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.We are in the middle of many of the parables of Christ. These were tangible ideas Jesus used to describe the mysterious and subversive nature of the kingdom.The Purpose of the Parables10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.Prophecy and Parables34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:“I will open my mouth in parables;I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”Parables reiterate the importance of working out our faith together as we translate and process what we read in Scripture.This may be unpopular by society standards, but it doesn’t make it less true: As disciples, we are given a grace in our pursuit of God (because we are asking for it & professing it...). Everyone has access but we have to approach with the proper posture and confession. To receive a degree, masters, or doctorate, one must spend an extended amount of time as a student, focusing on a specific field of study - to be oriented, educated, & immersed. As disciples, we are oriented, educated, & immersed in the Way of Jesus. There, the Spirit enables retention, application, & guidance. This is portion of what Christ talked of he explained why he spoke to the crowds differently than his crew. We need to be cautious in our pursuit... we must allow for mystery.“In the Christian context, we do not mean "mystery" merely that which is baffling and mysterious, an enigma or insoluble problem. A mystery is, on the contrary, something that is revealed for our understanding, but which we never understand exhaustively because it leads into the depth or the unknown of God. The eyes are closed — but they are also opened.”― Bishop Kallistos Ware, (The Orthodox Way)

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Sacred Rhythms (Rhythms of Health)Matthew 13:1-9 (ESV)The Parable of the Sower13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, [a] let him hear.”Matthew 13:18-23 (ESV)The Parable of the Sower Explained18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[stumbles] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”In this week's Gospel, Jesus employs one of the most famous allegories ever used. The Parable of the Sower. This parable tends to be turned into the Parable of the Soil... not just the Sower. Being aware of where we sow seed... & understanding that we have life (seed) to spread into the world. Seed represents life. Healthy patterns of living will enhance our world little by little. Our art, craft, and voice, when properly calibrated, will yield fruit and harvest on many levels; In some ways we can see and others, we cannot. In a wonderful phrase from the section of Psalm 119 from this Sunday says ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’... beautifully capturing one way in which faith can navigate us.... But it applies only if casualness, complacency, distractions, or worries & anxieties have not prevented the 'seed' of God’s word & truth from taking root in us. If it can be properly rooted and regularly nourished, there is hope for life of a quite different rhythm.As Paul says in this week’s reading from Romans “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Our task is to make our worship and liturgy the healthy avenue to be the Spirit's dwelling place.

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Sacred Rhythms (Rhythms of Humility)Henri Nouwen says that community is where humility and glory touch.Lessening our pride leads to humility. Sometimes it has to be forced upon us. But what if we were to enable patterns of humility? I wonder if we would be forced to be humbled as often as we are.True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. CS LewisRomans 6:20 -2320 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Sanctus (Latin) is “holy”... the process toward holiness is sanctificare, means sanctification.During these days, it would be helpful to see demonstrations of humility. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , was adapted from a short story (1939), by James Thurber, and there was also a movie made in 1947, starring Danny Kaye. Sean Penn’s prolific line, “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention”... if that’s true, humility must be beautiful. The Litany of HumilityCelebrant: O Jesus! meek and humble of heart,People: Hear my prayer.Celebrant: From the desire of being esteemed,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being loved,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being extolled,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being honored,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being praised,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being preferred,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being consulted,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the desire of being approved,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the fear of being humbled,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the fear of being despised,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the fear of suffering rebukes,People: Deliver me, Jesus.Celebrant: From the fear of being slandered,People: Deliver me, JesusCelebrant: From the fear of being forgotten,People: Deliver me, JesusCelebrant: From the fear of being ridiculed,People: Deliver me, JesusCelebrant: From the fear of being wronged,People: Deliver me, JesusCelebrant: From the fear of being suspected,People: Deliver me, JesusCelebrant: That others may be loved more than I,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.Celebrant: That others may be esteemed more than I,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.Celebrant: That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.Celebrant: That others may be chosen and I set aside,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.Celebrant: That others may be praised and I unnoticed,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.Celebrant: That others may be preferred to me in everything,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.Celebrant: That others may be more holy than I, provided that I am as holy as I can be,People: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

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Romans 5:1-8 English Standard Version (ESV)Peace with God Through Faith 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We’re beginning Ordinary Times, which we always find to be anything but ordinary. It’s season of Growing and Going. Finding that there is no formation without repetition. 
Sacred Rhythms are the undercurrent of what we do at Luminous. We’re intentionally learning more about what these rhythms look like during these months. Suffering -> endurance -> character -> hope (repeat)Prayer -> abidingOur individualism can distort our communion with God. The inner-contemplative life is more about being still and listening more than what we have made prayer out to be in the West. Much of the church is afraid of slowing down, meditating, or breathing… maybe we’re afraid of what we will have to confront. Maybe we’re afraid of what we will hear in the silence.Proper prayer assist us in abiding. We cannot abide unless we slow down, be still… listen. Abiding enables communion. Listening leads to hearing. We have more to learn in our listening more than expressing needs. To think that God doesn’t know our deepest hurts, struggles, or hopes is to have a distant approach / view of God. 

We mustn’t resist suffering. Lean in to it… for it will develop perseverance (endurance) and perseverance, character… and character, hope. Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent. -St. John of the Cross

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There’s a lot of noise around us. We're the makers of most of it. It’s everywhere, and comes in all forms. The noise can lead to fatigue - Fatigue with one another. Anywhere social media is found, we fall prey to envy, bitterness, compairson, and worse. We now live in a time where everyone can voice their opinion, discontent, frustration, or issues at any given time.With these mediums of noise there is good to be found as well. We can now encourage, share insight, inspiration, and ideas openly. Many of us aren’t holding our imaginations back from the general public anymore. That can be GOOD. But, let’s look at the tension and reality. Whether we want to admit it or not, we now find ways to compare ourselves to each other with what we perceive from our online personas. Let's remember, we are all presenting an alternate reality. Our lives are not as interesting, cool, or exciting as Instagram makes them out to be.Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us for contemplative prayer, a time in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to enable our communion with our Creator.If we as the Church are going to continue to BE who we say we are, we must return to our origins. Stilling ourselves will calibrate everything else in our lives. We will be more compassionate, patent, productive, and engaged.“There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If I find God I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find God.” ― Thomas Merton Many of us find it difficult to press pause on life and even give ourselves permission to be still. It is one thing to find a rich contemplative life, it is another to simply begin the path. Making time to slow down or even make an effort to turn down the noise in our life is a good way to start. Please consider this:If you have a 30 minute commute to work, you could take half of the trip in silence. That’s 75 minutes of silence if you were to only do it 15 minutes one way, each day of the work week. 300 minutes of silence per month may be very peaceful even though you’re still navigating the drive to / from work.If you spend 2 hours per day on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, imagine only spending 1 hour. Use the other hour to be still. That’s 5 hours per work week. 20 hours per month!Here are a few great books that I believe can assist with this pursuit.1. Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr2. The Sabbath by Abraham Heschel3. Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton4. The Cloud of Unknowing

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