If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

This morning we explore the tradition labeled in Richard Foster's book, Streams of Living Water, as The Contemplative Life. In exploring the contemplative tradition I was first reminded of Rudyard Kipling's famous poem that I just shared with you. Kipling was inspired by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, who led a raid against the Boer's in South Africa. While the British forces were defeated, Jameson's heroism and calm during the battle led Kipling to pen the poem. The poem is referenced in countless arenas–it holds the record of being published in the most anthologies…it is found in Simpson episodes, and is included as part of the lyrics in a song by the alternative band, "Brand New." In their song, "Sowing Season," they write about being able to deal with the loss of friends and include a few lines of Kipling's poem. What sent me to this poem, however was the first line…if you can keep your head, while all about you are losing theirs…"

If you can keep your head…for me that is as good a description of one who is living firmly in the stream of the contemplative life as there is. Years ago, the kids and I found ourselves sitting in a huge traffic jam during the Christmas season having just crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge into Delaware. The wait was long, and tempers of the drivers were high as everyone tried to merge from six lanes down to four all at once. I found myself getting irritated as I knew the wait could be hours before getting through the jam. Sitting there with the horns blaring all around me, my eyes wandered to the marshes surrounding the road. I first noticed a solitary figure standing in a boat oblivious to the chaos so near to him. And then, I was drawn to what he must be seeing…one of the most beautiful sunsets over the marshes of the Delaware Bay. He had kept his head; and because of him I was given the gift of finding a calm place in the midst of traffic and temper. Everett Harrison says it this way: "the understanding of many comes through the contemplation of the few whose hearts have been attuned to the Lord." (page 38)

If you can keep your head…Foster describes the contemplative life as the hunger for a richer, fuller practice of the presence of God…that at it's center is a prayer filled life. (page 25, 39) It is characters are: love, peace, delight (fun ahead, saith the Lord!), emptiness, fire, wisdom and transformation. (page 49) While it is the stream of living water that perhaps keeps us most in the presence of God, it is also I suspect one of the hardest for us to practice. We have become as someone said, human doings rather than human beings. There is so much to pull us one way or another. We have this busy season upon us, of holiday plans. There are many who are pulled by grief in a time when it seems as if the rest of the world is throwing a party. Our God Squad seniors are stressing about college applications, essay writing and the questions of which college, and will I be accepted. Their parents are stressing along with them. It is tough in the midst of all that swirls about to become focused on the things that center us in the love of God in Jesus Christ. But that is exactly what the contemplative stream draws us towards. It is from that center that all else flows. We can "keep our head," because we know where our first love comes from.

Last week, we lifted up one small, but very doable practice for the life of social justice. I challenged you to give to the Global AIDS fund. And you did…we have currently raised more than our goal of $1/member, and more funds have come in. You can continue placing yourself in the stream of social justice by participating in the Advent Options being offered by the Outreach Committee in Fellowship Hall this morning. This coming week I invited you to immerse yourself in the stream of the contemplative life by trying out the suggestions Richard Foster offers:

1. Experiment with varied venues for solitude–a pre-dawn walk, listening to the awakening sounds of your world; limit your speaking for a day and see what you learn; sit in a crowded place and observe people in silence; get up a 2 am–light a single candle as a reminder of the presence of Christ and for an hour listen to the sounds of the night.
2. Set aside your normal Bible reading time and try to pray the Scriptures–reading slowly, quietly, prayerfully, pausing at any word or phrase where you feel the Spirit's dawning.
3. Spend time in holy leisure–take a nap, visit with your neighbor about nothing important, help each other watch the sun go down, take a walk just because, listen to the birds, sit in silence doing nothing, take a bath instead of a shower…in short, waste time for God!

The image I leave you with is that of Mary. In the midst of all that had happened on that first Christmas night–the visitors, the confusion, child birth…Luke's Gospel records her reaction as this: "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart." Go forth to treasure the love of God in Christ Jesus in your hearts…and may all that you do and speak this week flow from that place."