The Way

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“The Name Bryan Johnson may not ring a bell....The 46-year-old tech millionaire has made the rounds time and again on social media for going to extreme lengths to curb the effects of aging in a longevity project called Blueprint, which he calls an ‘algorithm’ for preserving his body. Johnson takes more than 100 supplements a day, submits himself to constant medical assessments, keeps to a strict diet that prohibits any food after 11 a.m., goes to bed at 8:30 p.m., and pursues experiments with a dizzying array of treatments….”

~Rolling Stone interview with biohacker and technologist Bryan Johnson, September 11, 2023

“From its very first verse, dearest friends, this psalm urges us to seek happiness. Yet there is no one who does not long for this. Is there anyone, has there ever been anyone, will there ever be anyone, who does not want to be happy? Surely not….Why, then, do we need to be invited to will something that we are incapable of not willing? Only because, though men and women all long for happiness, many do not know how to reach it.”

~Early Christian philosopher Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Commentary on Psalm 119

In the ancient world, “Philosophy did not consist in teaching an abstract theory, much less in the exegesis of texts, but rather in the art of living. It is a concrete attitude and determinate life-style, which engaged the whole of existence. The philosophical act is not situated merely on the cognitive level, but on that of the self and of being. It is a progress which causes us to be more fully, and makes us better. It is a conversion which turns our entire life upside down, changing the life of the person who goes through it.”

~Pierre Hadot (scholar of ancient philosophy), Philosophy as a Way of Life (1987)

SERMON PASSAGE

Psalm 119:1-24 (ESV)

1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

   who walk in the law of the Lord!

2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

   who seek him with their whole heart,

3 who also do no wrong,

   but walk in his ways!

4 You have commanded your precepts

   to be kept diligently.

5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast

   in keeping your statutes!

6 Then I shall not be put to shame,

  having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

7 I will praise you with an upright heart,

  when I learn your righteous rules.

8 I will keep your statutes;

  do not utterly forsake me!

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?

   By guarding it according to your word.

10 With my whole heart I seek you;

   let me not wander from your commandments!

11 I have stored up your word in my heart,

   that I might not sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, O Lord;

   teach me your statutes!

13 With my lips I declare

   all the rules of your mouth.

14 In the way of your testimonies I delight

   as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on your precepts

   and fix my eyes on your ways.

16 I will delight in your statutes;

   I will not forget your word.

17 Deal bountifully with your servant,

   that I may live and keep your word.

18 Open my eyes, that I may behold

   wondrous things out of your law.

19 I am a sojourner on the earth;

   hide not your commandments from me!

20 My soul is consumed with longing

   for your rules at all times.

21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,

   who wander from your commandments.

22 Take away from me scorn and contempt,

   for I have kept your testimonies.

23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,

   your servant will meditate on your statutes.

24 Your testimonies are my delight;

   they are my counselors.