B***@gmail.com
2007-08-14 13:57:08 UTC
(Rough draft for September chapel service. Need to check language
spelling for words, yet. Written in English for the moment, will
translate as spoken.)
(in Ojibwe add: Good Morning, and welcome my brothers and sisters in
Christ. It is God's day, let us rejoice in it! Amen!)
Good Morning and welcome my brothers and sisters, This is God's day,
let us rejoice in it! Amen!
Prayer -- it is one action that transcends societies, cultures, and
economic strati. Prayer is a universal concept -- found in the
majority of languages and practiced among the majority of the
populations of this earth in which we live. Take, for instance, our
Lord's most precious prayer...you know the one...you say it every
Sunday. It begins with "Our Father...". Notice that and keep it in
mind for a moment, will you...Through the eyes of Matthew, a desciple
of the Living Lord, we see that this is how Christ himself taught his
followers to pray.
They key word in this phrase is "Our". Christ did not say "Their
Father", or "My Father".... He said, "OUR Father". That implies the
concept of many people. "Our" is often employed in the english
language to imply not only the concept of many people, but also the
concept of those many people united towards a common cause. So, to
say "Our Father" is to imply that we are all related.
In the Native Culture, we have a similiar concept. It is the concept
of Mitake Oyasin. Literally translated, it means "We are all
related". In the Native culture, however, there is no distinction
between the "We" of human form and the "We" of animal form and the
"We" of our environment. That is to say the the "We" is used to
express the entirety of life upon this earth.
he did not bring into existence upon our world. He saved his creation
of man for last, perhaps because he wanted to create "Caretakers", or
"Custodians" if you like for this new world that He brought into
being. In the Native Culture, we teach our children from their
youngest moments to respect the Earth and the fruits of it. In this,
we show our respect and honor for the God who created it. Most of
all, we respect ourselves.
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a
living being." To each of us, he gave special gifts, talents, and
skills. It is what we choose to do with those skills that makes all
the difference in the world of our time. Paul was pretty clear in
speaking of this realm when he spoke to the church at Cornith. To
them, he said: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same
Spirit. There are differents kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of
them in all men." (ICor 1:4-6).
Even as there are many gifts, many ways to serve, and many ways of
working, there are also many ways of prayer. In our Native culture,
the postures of prayer may seem strange. Or, perhaps, you view them
as irreverent or unworthy of God's recognition. I do not believe that
to be the case. We may pray with a different style, we may pray in
our own languages (There are over 700 living dialects, in case you're
curious.), but we do pray to the same God that created this earth and
the fullness thereof. Perhaps, if nothing else can unite us as a
people, this can.
Maybe, we should ask ourselves, "What is a prayer?" For many Native
cultures around the world, prayer includes more than just bowing a
head or kneeling at the altar. Prayer is an outward expression of our
souls before Our Father's throne! When we pray, we ought to pray with
our entire spirits. Your posture doesn't matter, your body language
doesn't matter. Your language, what you say, or even how you choose
to say it doesn't matter. Whether you choose to pray in quiet, or
with a loud voice, in stillness of body and mind, or in dance and
shouts of exclamation, it doesn't matter.
What matters most to God is that you speak with him. That you speak
"with" him, not "to" him. "With" implies that there are at least two
involved. You and God. He asks us to speak to him as a we would a
dear and trusted friend. He asks us to be open of heart and mind. We
don't need to hide from a God that created every single cell and every
single moment of our lives, after all. He tells us that we can speak
with him anytime, day or night, good or bad times, in times of joy and
times of sorrow, even unto the moment of our very deaths, he asks us
to be in union with him.
For me, prayer comes in all its forms. Sometimes, I'm am kneeling at
my Father's feet. Sometimes, my hands are folded and my head is
bowed. Other times, I am raising my prayers with the light of a
candle, or the smoke of a fire, or the running water of a mountain
stream. Sometimes, my prayers are raised in hymns that come from a
hymnal, or from my soul. Many times, my prayers are raised with the
sounds of bells and movement of my feet and body.
I am a "Prayer Dancer".
In the Native Culture, to be a Prayer Dancer or Jingle Dancer, one
must dedicate ones life to God and prayer. Each Jingle dress contains
a minimum of 365 bells. That is to represent a prayer for each day of
the year. One can't just up and decide to be a jingle dancer,
though. It is an honor and responsibility that is bestowed on very
few individuals.
In becoming a jingle dancer, one must make a conscious and lifelong
decision to dedicate their souls to be in prayer and service to
others. It is a calling, not a choice. It is much like the calling
of the full-time ministry. It is a cultural understanding that the
calling to become a Jingle dancer involves a dream, or vision, in
which the jingle dancer is told the story of her journey. For me, it
wasn't a dream or a vision, but the loving words of a "grandmother"
from the Navajo Nation. She told me the story of my journey, without
ever having known me. Today, I would like to share that story with
you...it is the reason I dance, and the reason I have chosen a life of
service and prayer for my fellowman... (share the jingle story.)
As I close, I want to remind you that we are all related. (repeat in
Ojibwe: "This is God's day, let us rejoice in it! Amen! (Performance
optional)
spelling for words, yet. Written in English for the moment, will
translate as spoken.)
(in Ojibwe add: Good Morning, and welcome my brothers and sisters in
Christ. It is God's day, let us rejoice in it! Amen!)
Good Morning and welcome my brothers and sisters, This is God's day,
let us rejoice in it! Amen!
Prayer -- it is one action that transcends societies, cultures, and
economic strati. Prayer is a universal concept -- found in the
majority of languages and practiced among the majority of the
populations of this earth in which we live. Take, for instance, our
Lord's most precious prayer...you know the one...you say it every
Sunday. It begins with "Our Father...". Notice that and keep it in
mind for a moment, will you...Through the eyes of Matthew, a desciple
of the Living Lord, we see that this is how Christ himself taught his
followers to pray.
They key word in this phrase is "Our". Christ did not say "Their
Father", or "My Father".... He said, "OUR Father". That implies the
concept of many people. "Our" is often employed in the english
language to imply not only the concept of many people, but also the
concept of those many people united towards a common cause. So, to
say "Our Father" is to imply that we are all related.
In the Native Culture, we have a similiar concept. It is the concept
of Mitake Oyasin. Literally translated, it means "We are all
related". In the Native culture, however, there is no distinction
between the "We" of human form and the "We" of animal form and the
"We" of our environment. That is to say the the "We" is used to
express the entirety of life upon this earth.
From the very first scriptures, we see all of creation being formed by
God upon this earth. He created everything. There was nothing thathe did not bring into existence upon our world. He saved his creation
of man for last, perhaps because he wanted to create "Caretakers", or
"Custodians" if you like for this new world that He brought into
being. In the Native Culture, we teach our children from their
youngest moments to respect the Earth and the fruits of it. In this,
we show our respect and honor for the God who created it. Most of
all, we respect ourselves.
From the very beginning of time, we came from the Earth (Gen. 2:7,
NIV): "...the Lord God formed the man fromt he dust of the ground andbreathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a
living being." To each of us, he gave special gifts, talents, and
skills. It is what we choose to do with those skills that makes all
the difference in the world of our time. Paul was pretty clear in
speaking of this realm when he spoke to the church at Cornith. To
them, he said: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same
Spirit. There are differents kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of
them in all men." (ICor 1:4-6).
Even as there are many gifts, many ways to serve, and many ways of
working, there are also many ways of prayer. In our Native culture,
the postures of prayer may seem strange. Or, perhaps, you view them
as irreverent or unworthy of God's recognition. I do not believe that
to be the case. We may pray with a different style, we may pray in
our own languages (There are over 700 living dialects, in case you're
curious.), but we do pray to the same God that created this earth and
the fullness thereof. Perhaps, if nothing else can unite us as a
people, this can.
Maybe, we should ask ourselves, "What is a prayer?" For many Native
cultures around the world, prayer includes more than just bowing a
head or kneeling at the altar. Prayer is an outward expression of our
souls before Our Father's throne! When we pray, we ought to pray with
our entire spirits. Your posture doesn't matter, your body language
doesn't matter. Your language, what you say, or even how you choose
to say it doesn't matter. Whether you choose to pray in quiet, or
with a loud voice, in stillness of body and mind, or in dance and
shouts of exclamation, it doesn't matter.
What matters most to God is that you speak with him. That you speak
"with" him, not "to" him. "With" implies that there are at least two
involved. You and God. He asks us to speak to him as a we would a
dear and trusted friend. He asks us to be open of heart and mind. We
don't need to hide from a God that created every single cell and every
single moment of our lives, after all. He tells us that we can speak
with him anytime, day or night, good or bad times, in times of joy and
times of sorrow, even unto the moment of our very deaths, he asks us
to be in union with him.
For me, prayer comes in all its forms. Sometimes, I'm am kneeling at
my Father's feet. Sometimes, my hands are folded and my head is
bowed. Other times, I am raising my prayers with the light of a
candle, or the smoke of a fire, or the running water of a mountain
stream. Sometimes, my prayers are raised in hymns that come from a
hymnal, or from my soul. Many times, my prayers are raised with the
sounds of bells and movement of my feet and body.
I am a "Prayer Dancer".
In the Native Culture, to be a Prayer Dancer or Jingle Dancer, one
must dedicate ones life to God and prayer. Each Jingle dress contains
a minimum of 365 bells. That is to represent a prayer for each day of
the year. One can't just up and decide to be a jingle dancer,
though. It is an honor and responsibility that is bestowed on very
few individuals.
In becoming a jingle dancer, one must make a conscious and lifelong
decision to dedicate their souls to be in prayer and service to
others. It is a calling, not a choice. It is much like the calling
of the full-time ministry. It is a cultural understanding that the
calling to become a Jingle dancer involves a dream, or vision, in
which the jingle dancer is told the story of her journey. For me, it
wasn't a dream or a vision, but the loving words of a "grandmother"
from the Navajo Nation. She told me the story of my journey, without
ever having known me. Today, I would like to share that story with
you...it is the reason I dance, and the reason I have chosen a life of
service and prayer for my fellowman... (share the jingle story.)
As I close, I want to remind you that we are all related. (repeat in
Ojibwe: "This is God's day, let us rejoice in it! Amen! (Performance
optional)