Monastic Moment
That headline stopped me in my tracks.
Whatever else this moment is, what if it might be our “monastic moment”? What if “healthy at home” can be more than a pandemic precaution, but an opportunity for something more.
No, this isn’t the shallow cheer leading that suggests we should learn a new language, master a new skill, or build something new with a zealous discipline and loads of “free time.” This invitation is not an invitation to control, mastery, or accomplishment…
It’s all some of us can do to stay sane and survive right now–parenting, teaching, working, maneuvering through unemployment, problem-solving hair-care and all constrained to the limits of a house that feels smaller by the day.
It’s all some of us can do to keep from anxious restlessness, searching for something meaningful beyond the hum of cable news coverage and the alerts of social media feeds.
It’s all some of us can do to stay above the tides of grief with so much loss: graduations, trips, income, loved ones…
And yet not only in the midst of the monotony, mayhem and mourning, but precisely because of it there remains a life-changing invitation: mimic the monks who know our current constraints well and who choose to carefully tend the quiet center where God unfolds hope, joy, and peace from our inescapably intertwined, fragile existence.
A photo I took while walking through the grounds of Gethsemani on an afternoon visit in January 2020.
I’ve been wanting to get to Gethsemani Abby for a silent retreat for some time now–long before the onset of the coronavirus. Of course, my spiritual director is quick to remind me that such a retreat will not be easy. After the first few hours or even the first day of walking the grounds, checking out the library, attending prayer, hiking the trails… then the hard work sets in. A lot of people choose to leave after the first night. Once the novelty wears off, then all we are left with is ourselves and our insatiable drive to do, make, and accomplish… and distract ourselves from our ultimate powerlessness.
What if the monastic retreat I’ve yet to schedule is now at my door?
Here’s what the monastic community suggests, “we can use this moment to live into and be freed by the realization that there is much we cannot control. So much of our anxiety revolves around wanting to control the uncontrollable, and the pandemic can teach us the futility of this.”
I want to order my world, to operate in a predictable normal, to see the future clearly and prepare for it. There is just so much that is uncertain. Within me is a “rage for order” and the world is wildly dis-ordered.
But perhaps that is always true in ways I’ve let slip by.
Father Mark, the abbot of a Midwestern Cistercian monastery, offers this monastic challenge, “If I can concentrate on being in control of that very small circle of reality that is entrusted to me and in some sense depends on me—how I use my time, how I take care of myself, how I care for my family and friends, how I daily and hourly turn my concerns over to God—then my anxiety diminishes.”
We may not have chosen this monastic moment, and yet it is there for us–all of us–to pause our rage for world order, to settle into a sacred simplicity of a well-ordered soul, to finally feel the inescapable fragility, and to listen carefully for God’s steadfast, gentle, freeing voice.
See you (digitally) Sunday,
PS – I hope to see you this Sunday. You are invited for communion at 11:30 AM. (Follow the directions here). And if you’d like to join a Sunday School by zoom, let me know. I’d be happy to connect you to one of the different groups meeting weekly for conversation and holy connection–one is doing “lectio divina“, another is studying and discussing the scripture passage for the week.
Worship each week with a digital liturgy: pause, pray, sing, reflect, and reconnect.
Digital liturgy is posted each weekend to South Elkhorn’s website and premiers on South Elkhorn’s Facebook page at 10:30AM on Sunday.
Meet Jim
I’m so excited to welcome Rev. Dr. Jim Abernathy to South Elkhorn! The Cabinet (South Elkhorn’s governing board), with recommendation from the Sabbatical Team and Personnel, unanimously voted to call Jim as Interim Sabbatical Minister for this summer (June 1 – August 31). He will be joining us for worship on May 22 and I can’t wait for you to meet him!
How Long is Compassion?
It’s long-lasting and long-reaching. Week of Compassion is the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Learn how your gifts make a difference.
Surprise!
During that vacation, in two final conversations with my grandmother before her death, when words were hard and fraught, I found comfort in the words of Jesus. In the gospels, Jesus teaches us by his own example to pray. But he doesn’t leave us there. He also teaches us how to pray. And then, as if knowing that sometimes prayer is just too much: he gives us words to pray. Words that can carry us.
Words that carry us
During that vacation, in two final conversations with my grandmother before her death, when words were hard and fraught, I found comfort in the words of Jesus. In the gospels, Jesus teaches us by his own example to pray. But he doesn’t leave us there. He also teaches us how to pray. And then, as if knowing that sometimes prayer is just too much: he gives us words to pray. Words that can carry us.
Unfair
It seems everyone wants to be more authentic. Jesus points to a challenging counter-intuitive path with a surprising detour through denial.
Living in Denial
Holy ground hurts. Sandals don’t stay on when you sprint. I didn’t expect actual flames.
Holy Ground Hurts
Holy ground hurts. Sandals don’t stay on when you sprint. I didn’t expect actual flames.
Jumping In
I was grateful for Acts of Reconciliation resources provided by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). My heart is hurting and my spirit is stirred by the cries of black and brown people who are facing the crushing weight of structural racism. And not only those who are featured in television interviews and news articles, but also those I know personally: friends, colleagues, and siblings in Christ. I'm listening. I'm learning. I'm praying. I'm sitting with the [...]
The Colors of Christ
Growing up, "whiteness" was mostly invisible to me. I knew that I was white, that others were not, but I mostly didn't think about race. And if I'm honest, when I did think about it, it made me really uncomfortable. I quickly retreated to "colorblindness" (choosing not to see race, and pretending race had no impact on how I treated people). Maybe that's why I still remember when I was shocked by "whiteness"... it was when [...]
What does glitter have to do with God?
This weekend is special. You might just discover what glitter has to do with God. I'm so excited for you to experience the unique gifts of the South Elkhorn youth. The online worship service is led by youth sharing their music, song, prayer, short reflections, a children's moment, communion, and more. You can tune in on Facebook at 10:30AM on Sunday, or anytime this weekend here. Their joy, hope, and creativity lifted and elevated my spirit. I suspect [...]
You might be here
You might quickly realize where you are on the graph below. Perhaps it accurately describes your own roller coaster of emotional well-being, and maybe even our wider social situation. I don't know about you, but after a period of camaraderie and shared heroic effort, I now sense and see the disillusionment growing, circulating, deepening. Perhaps that's where you are. Maybe that's what you are sensing in others, too. Click the photo to enlarge. That disillusionment [...]
Sunday Morning Zoom Communion
Your invited to share Communion by Zoom on Sundays at 11:30 AM. Pause for a sacred moment to greet the church family, hear the words of institution, share bread and cup with whatever elements you have at home, and receive a blessing. To join, follow the links and use the password here.
Excarnation
You don't just have a body. You are a body. And bodies matter to God. So much so that God "became flesh" in Christ and lived among us (the "incarnation"). So much so that God raised Christ's body. So much so that when Christ was raised and appeared to the disciples and to Thomas he showed them his scarred body--his hands and his side. Bodies matter to God. And in Christ God embraces and relates to who we are [...]
A Blessing You Can’t Turn Back
My heart soared seeing so many faces yesterday. It was Maundy Thursday, and over 40 screens (filled with 70-100 people) gathered via zoom to remember Jesus' last supper, share in communion from our many different rooms and tables, and receive a blessing. If you weren't able to join, I want to share that blessing with you (at the very bottom of this email). I pray these words bless your soul as they have mine. See you (digitally) [...]
What you might be feeling…
I think it's grief. At least that's what I've noticed about myself. I'm grieving. It doesn't feel like the grief I expect when a loved one dies. But it's grief, I'm growing more sure of it every day. I've seen some powerful acknowledgment of this grief. Recently I read a beautiful one by a South Elkhorn Church and choir member and professor at Transylvania University, Jeremy Paden. Maybe you've noticed it, too, even if you have [...]
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