Silence

This past Sunday I arrived early at St. Matthew and took the John Deere tractor out to the back of our wooded 5-acre lot. It is marvelously secluded. I drove the tractor on the overgrown trails with the mower down -- looking to do some necessary clearing of overgrowth while enjoying some contemplative time. As I drove and emptied my mind of everything except staying on the path, I was bombarded with more debris than have ever encountered on the trails. There were large tree branches that had fallen over the trail and logs that blocked my way. But somehow I was able to drive under, around or through to keep moving forward on the path. It wasn't until today that I thought deeper about that experience and realized that overgrowth, debris, large branches and logs may make a detour or harder work necessary to stay on the path, but life's and faith's journey does indeed continue.

Last night's youth group meeting

The Plan:
Take students on a 'prayer walk.' Use a contemplative style of prayer by wandering along the trails in the congregation's secluded 5-acre woods. Read a few verses from Psalm 19 at various places along the trail several times and then spend time in silence -- pondering a word or phrase that stood out or entered our mind during the reading.

The expectation:
Students will appreciate the silence and experience the presence of God through the scripture, the secluded wilderness setting and through the silence.

How God showed up:
One of our walks on the trails revealed a newer, smaller trail that none of us had noticed even a week before. When the students followed the trail they found a well-constructed 'hut' with a dug-out firepit nearby. (In case you didn't know it -- finding a fort in the woods is one of the coolest things ever to happen to a kid.) After the initial, "Cool! What a great fort? I wonder who made it?" comments I waited for what would come next. What I didn't hear was any talk of entitlement or trespass. Nobody was concerned with "our land" or "our property". They started saying things like, "I wonder if whoever built this has a place to live?" "We should do something to welcome them and let them know that God loves them." and "How do you think we could help this person?"

What happened next:
We brought some items to the fort to welcome whoever spends time there. We invited them to come and visit St. Matthew, and we left a Bible and a bit of sealed food in ziploc bags.


Hospitality. God showed up in a major way.

Totally Relaxing

Yesterday was the perfect way to end a sabbatical. I experienced an all day "Practicing the presence of God" retreat followed by a "Contemplative Youth Ministry" presentation. It was like getting a back massage when you were already completely relaxed -- absolutely, totally relaxing. The retreat and presentation were also the perfect companion to Soul Searching : The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, the book I just finished. The book, Contemplative Youth Ministry, really addresses some of the issues in Soul Searching and offers suggestions to engage people with ancient practices to help them really meet God and be moved to live as one of Jesus followers instead of using religion as a tool to be good and to be successful.

The day also helped me to reflect on the wonderful experience sabbatical has been. As I worked on the various projects I wished to do during sabbatical, I was drawn closer to God because the noise of everyday life was filtered out in favor or something that gave me an invitation to listen.

• The music reached a place in me that never has a chance to get reached that deeply. And because there was so much music, I was able to stay in that place much longer than ever possible.
• The writing helped me to reach deeper into how I experience God in my life. It really helped me to reflect on what God has done and continues to do.
• The reading gave me insight that I know will help me as I re-enter the world of working.
• The relaxing and silence did exactly what the books say they do. They let me simply be. They let me experience the love of Jesus uninterrupted by anything.

Sabbatical has been relaxing, refreshing, rejuvenating and renovating.

Amen.