Imaginative Prayers from the Original Language of Jesus, Part III
A Lenten Series by Beth A. Booram
We have THREE huge walnut trees in our backyard. And in case you didn’t know, walnuts are poisonous to the grass and other vegetation. Right now, our yard looks like it has a bad case of acne. It’s full of craters (from the fat and happy squirrels who bury and dig up walnuts) and bare spots (from our pup, Flo, who runs like a wild banshee chasing those fat and happy squirrels).
This week, I talked to two lawn guys working for an organic lawn care company and shared our dilemma with them. One of them explained their treatment approach and added, at the end—just to be clear—that their treatment doesn’t seek to eliminate all the weeds. Instead, he said, “It’s all about the soil.” It’s all about rehabilitating the soil so that what you desire to grow (grass) has the very best groundwork in which to grow thick and lush, which naturally deters weeds.
“It’s all about the soil.” This statement pairs well with the meaning of the word “hallowed” (nethqadash), a word that Jesus used in the second line of The Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Thy Name.” Instead of this word having a lofty, other-worldly meaning, “hallowed” in Aramaic conjures an image that is very “down to earth.” To hallow is to prepare the ground, to clear the clutter, and to loosen the soil so that “the Name” can be implanted. To work the soil of the heart, the center of our being, is to clear space for the divine Name to thrive.
How does this image of “clearing space” address us right now? I’m thinking about what it is like to get up each morning and experience the predicament of wanting to remain informed about what’s going on in our country and needing to manage my own mental and emotional health. Every day, there are new and multiple reasons to feel anxious and despairing—the “shock and awe” of our country under siege, our government being laid waste, the unrelenting chaos.
As I consider this in light of my conversation with the “lawn guy,” the significance of Jesus’ words comes to life. When his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he spoke poetry. He painted a picture. He gave them an image of cultivating the soil of their hearts in order to remediate their relationship with their Divine Parent. Rather than feverishly attempting to “weed out” all the distractions, frenetic thoughts, and dysregulated emotions, Jesus told them to hallow the ground of their hearts.
First Movements:
In Part II, I wrote about “our divine parent of the cosmos.” In this instance, the root word for God’s Name (shm) is conveyed as permeating everything, pulsing through all of life, all the cosmos. But in the second line of the Lord’s prayer, the root word for God’s Name (shm) is concentrated within the pray-er’s heart, the interior holy of holies. And for the Name to root and grow lush, for the “weeds” to be managed, the soil of the heart must be hallowed. Cleared. Swept. Tilled. The ground set apart for the Holy One.
The call is to become clear at the center of our being, for the Name to have preeminence in us, and for it to be hallowed in our core. It has become apparent that for this to be the case, the most important choice I make each day happens in the first movements of that day. If I choose first-thing to scroll on my phone for the latest news, I’ve set a trajectory for my body to bear too much mental and emotional trauma from the latest atrocities. But if my first movements are to “hallow the Name” by turning my heart and mind toward God and praying morning prayer, I become grounded as a spiritual being, the Name concentrated within me, and the clutter cleared away. It is all about the soil. (See image.)
A Body and Breath Prayer:
*“In one of the most beautiful pictures presented by the Aramaic, the roots show a person bending his or her head over a special place where seeds are sown, indicating also that one bends over the heart and plants devotion and perseverance at the same time.” This isn’t passive work. It is arduous and intentional work to clear space and declutter the soil of the heart in order to make way for the Name to root and grow.
Begin in prayer by bending slightly forward, as if leaning over the soil of your heart, and “Breathe in feeling the sound nethqadash (nith-qah-dahsh) and breathe out feeling the sound shmakh (shm-ah-kh). Simply relax and breathe, feeling more and more letting go inside, creating space for the breath of God.” Then, throughout your day, “Anytime while engaged in work or action, take one long deep breath remembering this holy of holies within. The Name can become hallowed again in an instant.”
*Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus’s Words, by Neil Douglas-Klotz