First time in a month? --- Moving rather did me in for a while. Okay that sub zero weather was not very motivating either. I now have new places to go out the door and run. Victory Memorial Parkway which is part of the Grand Rounds, part of a loop of about 50 miles of trails for hiking, biking and driving along in Minneapolis. Hope to bike most of it this summer.
The last night in the house, camping on the floor, but sitting in the hot tub I got to watch the full eclipse of the moon.
Henry Nouwen’s words capture me. “Silence is the home of the word.” (The Way of the Heart -p.48) He speaks of living in a society that surrounds us with a constant collage of words. Since Nouwen wrote about billboards and radios, we have added the computer, cell phones, i-pods, email, text-messaging and and and and... ! Marketers of words compete for their words to be brighter, louder, more impacting, to be seen more often, to be more shocking, dynamic, and to be every where. Watch the advertisers of the Super Bowl this afternoon. Modern living now means living in a constant flow of words.
Just listen for the silence! Silence is no longer to be heard. If there is a place for silence, someone is inventing new ways to fill it with their own words. Ask people to be silent. We don’t know what to do with it. It makes us nervous, even mad that someone should suggest there be silence.
Words alone may not be such an evil, but Nouwen points out that too many of them cheapens their use. We say, “They are just words.” Words loose their impact. Religion has become mostly about words. Religion is about telling, teaching, persuading and preaching. So many religious words in books, on TV, radio, in pop Christian music, sermons, magazines, and maybe too many, maybe so many that most everyone says, “They are just words.” No one really listens. No one really hears.
I am one of them. Confession time. I make my living off of religious words, training, speaking, writing, and I sell my words. I do believe in my words, and believe that my words are good words, but recognize that the impact of my words are often just more words. Faith may be less about saying words, and more about listening. Listening to each others hearts, listening in silence, listening in ways that words stop monkeying and mucking up our brains.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” –John 1:1 Out of silence words are born. Out of silence the world was born. Out of silence, away from all other words we born again and again in new ways of knowing the Word.
In January, if you have to work away from Minnesota, it may as well be in Florida. DaySpring, an Episcopal retreat center, where I am training a group of adults for Peer Ministry.
An afternoon run while the house is being shown. A quite peaceful winter path with only a few whispers from the stream and a lazy wind rattling a few brown dried leaves that still hang in a tree.
No cards out this year, but a very blessed Christmas. Added the stresses of houses for sale and wondering what a new year will bring. Wally sports his casts with Grandkids surrounding. Andrea and I venture together to share new experiences with family Christmas gathering. And... I find some quite time after it all in to get a reflective winter run in.
Thanks for the following Jason!
From an interview with the Presiding Bishop, the Episcopal Church, New York
How do you feel running helps with your work? Do you like to use the time to brainstorm or solve issues?
Absolutely. It's focusing for me. In my tradition we might talk about it as body prayer. It's a meditative experience at its best. It's a sort of emptying of the mind. That's probably why I prefer running in the wilds rather than in the middle of the city.
I like the thought of emptying of the mind. I have always sensed that the running really is a form of prayer for me. I may not have yet discovered all the words that I would like to put to it, but this is a good start.
I recently listened to an interview with Leo Kottke who talked about being “in concert.” I normally think of the term as referring to a show with a time and a place. Kottke described being in concert in deeper terms. The theosuaus lines up words for concert like; together, jointly, in combination, in collaboration, in cooperation, in league, side by side; in unison and in harmony. Leo spoke of an energy that he can feel coming right through the floor that flows between him and the audience. For him, that is when he knows he is in concert.
I went to “Bud’s” funeral yesterday, the dad of long time friend. The funeral put words to a ministry that I have been trying to explain. Bud’s kids summarized their parents life with these words, “They show up.” When a fence needed to be put up, they showed up, when a baby was born, when someone was in the hospital, they showed up, if someone was in need, they showed up. What amazing words to hear at the beginning of advent, our time of waiting. In a world of need some where in a stable, some long time ago, Jesus shows up.
Milestones ministry is often talked about from our institute as tending the baptismal journey. It is a way of recognizing the meaningful, memorable, moments in the lives of our kids, honoring these moments by naming God’s presence, blessing this time, gathering with in the midst of generations and often marking this with a gift for continuing faith. As milestones ministry is a significant way for passing on faith to our children and youth, I think it is also a way of caring for our neighbor.
The words “showing up” is also about milestones ministry. Showing up ministry requires an awareness of of needs and joys, observation and sensibility to know when to show up and intentionality that values showing up as vital ministry. Showing up requires putting aside cultures narcissistic, too busy,stressed out, tendencies and allows us to care for our neighbors. Showing up is an outreach ministry that needs not change the other. It simply reflects loving others because of God first loving us. Naming, blessing, gathering and gifting, the outline for tending the baptism milestones does not change for the showing up milestones.
So, advent arrives. We wait for Christ to show up. It is very likely that Christ’s showing up will be recognized only when the Christ in us (me, if I listen to my own words) moves out into the midst of our neighborhoods, classmates, colleagues, communities, and into the world, showing up honoring the life’s joys and sorrows.
