Sabbath

Below is an excerpt from the book Sabbath by Wayne Muller that spoke to me this week. I hope you find it insightful as well…

“In the relentless busyness of modern life, we have lost the rhythm between work and rest. All life requires a rhythm of rest. There is a rhythm in our waking activity and the body’s need for sleep. There is a rhythm in the way day dissolves into night, and night into morning. There is a rhythm as the active growth of spring and summer is quieted by the necessary dormancy of fall and winter. There is a tidal rhythm, a deep, eternal conversation between the land and the great sea. In our bodies, the heart perceptibly rests after each life-giving beat; the lungs rest between the exhale and the inhale.

We have lost this essential rhythm. Our culture invariably supposes that action and accomplishment are better than rest, that doing something – anything- is better than doing nothing. Because of our desire to succeed, to meet these ever-growing expectations, we do not rest. Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the compass point that would show us where to go, we bypass necessary nourishment. We miss the quiet that would give us wisdom.

Even when our intentions are noble and our efforts sincere – even when we dedicate our lives to the service of others – the corrosive pressure of frantic overactivity can nonetheless cause suffering in ourselves and others. The Chinese pictograph for “busy” is composed of two characters: heart and killing.

Thomas Merton says “ There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence…[and that is] activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activities neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”

How have we allowed this to happen? This was not our intention, this is not the world we dreamed when we were young and our whole life was full of possibility and promise. I suggest that it is this: We have forgotten the Sabbath. While Sabbath can refer to a single day of the week, Sabbath can also be a far-reaching, revolutionary tool for cultivating those precious human qualities that grow only in time. If busyness can become a kind of violence, we do not have to stretch our perception very far to see that Sabbath time – effortless, nourishing rest – can invite a healing of this violence. When we consecrate a time to listen to the still, small voices, we remember the root of inner wisdom that makes work fruitful.

Without rest, we respond from survival mode, where everything we meet assumes a terrifying prominence. When we are driving a motorcycle at high speed, even a small stone in the road can be a deadly threat. So when we are moving faster and faster, every encounter, every detail inflates in importance, everything seems more urgent than it really is, and we react with sloppy desperation.

Sabbath honors the necessary wisdom of dormancy. If certain plant species do not lie dormant for winter, they will not bear fruit in the spring. If this continues for more than a season, the plant begins to die. If dormancy continues to be prevented, the entire species will dies. A period of rest – in which nutrition and fertility most readily coalesce is a spiritual and biological necessity. A lack of dormancy produces confusion and an erosion of life. We, too, must have a period in which we lie fallow, and restore our souls. In Sabbath time we remember to celebrate what is beautiful and sacred; we light candles, sing songs, tell stories, eat, nap, and make love. It is a time to let our work lie fallow, to be nourished and refreshed. Within this sanctuary, we become available to the insights and blessings of deep mindfulness that arise only in stillness and time. When we act from a place of deep rest, we are more capable of right understanding, right action and right effort.”

Reflection from Communion Service on Feb. 14th on Mark 8:14-21

A man once told me he was no longer a Christian because if Jesus could produce food for hungry people and only did it once or twice, he did not want anything to do with him. He should have done it many times and left the recipe for his followers.

And I tend to agree. Don’t get me wrong. I love miracles and I genuinely believe that Jesus had the power to feed the hungry crowds he encountered single-handedly if he wanted to.

But I suspect that focusing on the physical miracle is kind of like reading the story of Jonah and debating and researching whether a man can live in the belly of a whale for three days or not…it kind of misses the deeper truth that the story is trying to impart.

We can imagine the scene...a blistering hot afternoon in a far off deserted and dusty plain…Jesus has just finished preaching to a great crowd of people about the dream he has for our world…a dream of a kingdom where no one is in need…where everyone’s hunger is met…a joyful time when God’s goodness will reign, where there is no hostility, no war, a kingdom of compassion, sharing and deep communion with God and with each other…a time and place where love is the law of the land.

Minutes after he finishes, the disciples, say to Jesus, “We have to send these people away so they can find some food for themselves before nightfall or we are going to have a hungry mob on our hands.”

The disciples immediately snap back into survival mode, concentrating on what they lack…panicking over a need they do not have the resources to meet. They prescribe having the people “go and buy” what they need from some outside resource before its too late.

Jesus redirects the attention of the disciples to what they DO have. He tells them the crowds to not have to go away. They should feed the people. But in their minds they do not have enough. They are locked into the magnitude of the need before them and the scarcity of resources. They characterize what they have as not nearly enough when they say “But we have nothing here - nothing but five loaves and two fish…”

Theologian John Shea says that it is at THIS point that Jesus has brought about a “crucial shift” in their thinking. They have moved from the preoccupation with lack to the awareness of assets. They now know what they have. They are no longer looking outside themselves for an answer, They have turned their gaze within. "Going and buying may work in the physical world, but what works in the spiritual world is standing still and becoming aware." (Shea)

Knowing what we have is the first step of spiritual transformation.

Jesus asks that they bring him what they have. Then he stands before the crowd and gives thanks, speaking the very familiar words of Jewish blessing and gratitude over the few loaves and fishes he that they have brought to him (which also happens to be our Eucharistic prayer we pray at every Mass) and then he shares the little he has with those around him…He took....gave thanks...broke...and gave....these are familiar to us, right?

So, a possible spin on this miracle is that just maybe Jesus knew that these people were not so dim as to hike out to a deserted place for most of the day in the scorching heat without some provisions…

Maybe when Jesus gave thanks and shared so generously the little he had, he inspired everyone there to slowly begin to dig into their pockets and purses to share the food they were hiding and saving for the long walk home…

Maybe he managed to shift the focus of over 5000 people from seeing what they have as too little and cursing and hoarding it - to seeing it as a gift, becoming grateful and giving it away as a gift to the people around them, who in turn give it away to others….and according to the Gospels, he did this not once, but twice.

No one 'takes and holds"; everyone 'receives and gives'…and all went home that night with a full belly and maybe even a doggy bag for their relatives who weren’t healthy enough for the long days journey…and they would forever hold in their memory the astonishing story about a preacher who inspired with his words and actions a huge crowd of strangers to share all they had with one another…

Jesus is instructing us that we need to be leery of the mind’s tendency to focus on lack and to continuously think “going and buying” from others is the solution. We should take stock of what we DO have, give thanks for it as God’s gift, and give it freely to others who in turn will give it to others. This process of self-knowledge, gratitude and communal love produces not only satisfaction but abundance.

The people that day didn’t just hear the good news, but they participated in an amazing experience of divine abundance, an experience that was completely satisfying because it was a taste of the kingdom, a glimpse of the potential of people, of the collective fulfillment for which we were designed. And really, even today, what could be a greater miracle than that?

Crazy Catholic Question #95: Evangelization

Do Catholics Evangelize?

In a word, Yes. But “evangelize” is not a comfortable word for most Catholics probably because we associate it with images of sweaty, screaming TV evangelists quoting bible verses out of context and incessantly urging us to call the number on the screen. But Evangelization in our Catholic tradition is much less about what we “say” than what we “do.” Evangelization simply means we live what we believe so that others may recognize Christ’s love in us. As the saying attributed to St. Francis says, “Preach the Gospel and use words only when necessary.” Evangelization has little to do with “talking about Jesus” but rather is defined by concrete action; caring and loving for one another as God loves and cares for us. Evangelization is beggars showing other beggars where to find bread. In short, if the good news is really “good,” we shouldn’t have to bang people over the head with it, with one sledge-hammer blow of the bible after another. Our lives should speak. If the truth of Jesus Christ has changed us and nourished us, then people should see it in the way we live; with love and gratitude as a witness to all we have been given by a merciful and generous God. This is the good news…and if it is indeed “good” then it should be about as hard to sell as ice cream.

So, who are the folks that haven’t had a taste of this ice cream yet? What does the  “average” unchurched family in the U.S. look like today? Here are 5 defining features from a recent study (from www.pastors.com/the-top-10-characteristics-of-the-average-unchurched-family):

1. They are a blended home, often spiritually mismatched. 41% of children have parents who are not married. 43% of all marriages are remarriages and 65% of those involve children from a prior marriage. It is very common to have multiple faith traditions represented in one family.

2. They are financially strapped. The average middle class family cannot absorb even one financial catastrophe. Credit has become a way of life for the American household. Digging ever-deeper holes of debt with no end in sight.

3. They are over-calendared. The standard work week isn’t standard any more. Many parents are working 50-60 hours a week including Sundays. And on top of that most families are driven by the schedule of the kids; practices, games, and recitals. Even the most dedicated faith-filled families are powerless slaves to often unreasonable schedules if they want their kids to participate in any team sport.

4. They are biblically illiterate. They have absolutely no idea what the Bible actually says. To many it is a dark antiquated book that tells of an angry deity bent on suppressing happiness and destroying homosexuals. 60% of Americans can’t name either half of the Ten Commandments or the four Gospels of the New Testament. 80% believe that “God helps those who help themselves” is a direct quote from the Bible.

5. They have a special needs child. Families with special needs children are on the rise and they often feel unwelcomed at our usual programming. 2% of children are diagnosed with autism. 7% with ADHD. 8% have a learning disability 14% have a developmental disability. 2% of teenagers have an anxiety disorder. 12% of the children in K-6 in our public schools are identified with a disability.

It may be wise to ask ourselves what is the “good news” these families long to hear? What can we share about our God that would be nourishing for them? What is “bread” for them? When we are “evangelizing” or - if that word remains too churchy for you (I know it is for me) - reaching out to these families we have to be sure we aren’t addressing questions or problems they don’t have. We need to listen and see as God sees and love as we have been loved. Send your Crazy Catholic Questions to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org. 

Crazy Catholic Question #94: Immigration Ban

What are your thoughts on our new president’s immigration ban? 

Well, my thoughts are really not important. But virtually every Catholic organization, independent of their political leanings, has unanimously proclaimed President Trump’s immigration ban as being manifestly unchristian….period. There is no sugar coating it. All of our Catholic leaders from the Pope on down have come out with very sharp and decisive criticism of this executive order. Did you read Mitch Albom’s piece in the Freep this week? Quoted below, sums it up poignantly. We need to reflect on who we are as Americans and our vision for our future. Are your leaders representing your views? If not, it’s time to contact your elected officials on behalf of the most vulnerable and suffering people in our world who are clamoring for our help.

“I went to visit the Statue of Liberty.  I missed the last boat back. As I gazed at the American shoreline, I heard a voice. “So, what do you think?” I turned. Lady Liberty was talking to me…“Don’t be shy. I don’t often get to speak. What do you think? About the symbol? “You? I think you’re amazing. Inspiring. Incred--” “Not me. The new symbol. The Wall.”“Oh.” Lady Liberty sighed. “You know, for centuries, I’ve been the image of our nation’s borders. You thought of coming here? You thought of me. “But now? Now when people around the world think of America, they’re going to picture a wall — a really long, ugly wall.”… “No, no,” I insisted. “We’re much more than that. We’re a huge nation. Rich. Diverse.” “So is China,” she said. “But what’s the first structure you think of with that country? What’s the purpose of this wall?” she asked. “To keep people out.”  She pointed her torch down to her base. “See those?”“Your really big feet?” “No. The broken chains I’m stepping out of. They stand for freedom from oppression. Aren’t people coming here seeking freedom from oppression?” “Some,” I said. “Some just want jobs.”“So they’re poor?” “Many of them, yes.”“See that?” She pointed down with her tablet.“Your toenails?”“Lower. On the base. The sonnet. Read it.”“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”“Pretty good, huh?” she said.“Pretty good..but it’s complicated,” I tried to explain. “Back when you were built, people came to follow their dreams.” “Aren’t today’s immigrants doing that?” “But they’re not going through proper channels.” “How long do proper channels take?” “Depends on the country.  In some cases, 20 years.” “Hmm.” She looked off to Ellis Island. “Did your family come through there?” “Yes. Early last century.” “Did they have to wait 20 years?” “No.” “Maybe the laws need more fixing than the borders.” She stared at me. I think she raised an eyebrow. “Some illegal immigrants commit crimes,” I said. “More than citizens commit crimes?” “Actually,” I mumbled, “most data shows it’s less.” “Hmm,” she said. “And when these ‘illegals’ come, do they work?” “Yes. They work so cheap. They take our jobs.” “Who’s hiring them?” “Factories. Small business. Households.” “Are you punishing the employers? Are you building a wall around the factories?” “Don’t be silly,” I said. “Hmm,” she said. She adjusted her crown, with its seven spikes to symbolize seven seas and continents. “Do you know my original name? It was ‘Liberty Enlightening the World.’ "She looked south. “Will they say that about a wall?” The sun began to rise. “Well, bon voyage,” Lady Liberty said, lifting her arm. “I must get back to work.” “Work?” I said. “But you’re a statue.” “No,” she said, sternly, “I’m a symbol. I stand for something. And you know what? Standing for something, every day and night, is really hard work.” “Hmm,” I said. And I thought I saw her smile.