New Camadoli Hermitage & Big Sur

 There is nothing quite like the California coast about 150 miles south of San Francisco called Big Sur. Rough rocky coastline with amazing vistas and views.  It is called one of the most beautiful drives in the US.

 This is where the New Camadoli Hermitage is located 1300 ft overlooking the ocean.  A Hermitage is a Monastery where the Monks and guests stay or live alone in greater silence & solitude. They still  work together and worship together but there is more time in contemplation alone with the Lord. They and the guests also take all meals alone in their room or hermitage. A hermitage is just a separate little house, cabin, hut that you live in like a hermit.  This was a term first used for monks who lived in this kind of solitude.

 This was my little hermitage while I was there. "Doxa" in Greek means "Glory" so I got to stay in "Glory" and experience God's glory. The schedule of prayers here began with "Vigils" at 5:30 am, "Lauds" at 7:00 am, "Eucharist" at 11:30 am and "Vespers" at 6:00 pm. This schedule of prayer becomes the schedule for the day and so I followed it. In between I had time for personal prayer. On Sunday I prayed for your entire congregation by name from the top of this prayer mountain. I also continue my Bible reading completing the book of Exodus and Luke & John. I also completed reading G K Berhouwer's General Revelation & Belden Lane's Ravished by 
Beauty.  Lane makes a great case that especially "Reformed Theology" recognizes the transcendence of God in the beauty of creation and a theology of "desire" to experience God's Glory that is daily revealed to us. I also read Water, Wind, Earth & Fire - The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements by Christine Valters Paintner. There is ancient Christian precedent in joining with the Lord as many Psalms & Scriptures do in praising the Lord with all of God's creation. Check out Psalm 104. In addition as part of preparation for the trip to Israel I have been reading James Mitchiner's The Source, which is a historical novel about he history of Israel and Bruce Feiler's book called Abraham.

View from near my Hermitage.

 Every morning I got to welcome the dawning of a new day watching the sun come over the mountain and concluded every day watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. But then around 8:00 pm every night the moon would come over the mountain where the sun had appeared in the morning and shine right into the window of my room and on the bed where I was sleeping. It was wonderful.  For exercise I would take a walk every day 2 miles down the mountain, sit by the ocean for awhile, and then climb back up.

 

What is God saying to me and showing me in all this. To learn anew the lesson of Jeremiah that the Lord's faithfulness is great and His mercies are new every morning. To learn the lesson of Psalm 90 for the Lord to "teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom". Not to number our years as most of us do but our days....appreciating each day of life and every gift the Lord gives us anew.

Here is a glimpse inside my little "hermitage" that had all I needed. Meals were provided in the kitchen by the other guest house rooms but here I had my own little "Mr Coffee" and the bag of Starbucks that I brought so I was good.

Here I am in my favorite spot where I spent most of my time during the day. Although it got down to 35 degrees some nights most days warmed up to 65 or so. In 4 days during which I spoke to hardly anyone else (I did make one call to Debra) I had time to settle in and listen better to what Jesus has to say to me. As the sabbatical continues I'll keep listening. I flew home Tuesday night on the red-eye landing at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

 This Friday Debra and I will be driving out to Holland MI. for our grandson Joshua's baptism. I will have the privilege to baptism him and preach at Graffscapp CRC this Sunday on Joshua: Pointing to Jesus.