Chapter 1: The
Unfinished Symphony
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When I was
growing up and late for dinner, my father or mother would
grill me: “Where have you been?” This is a good question
to ask ourselves. What has happened in our world, our life,
our relationships? Where have we really been in all of
this? Where do we go in times of un-fulfillment,
disappointment, betrayal, hurt? These are liminal moments
that invite us to ask the bigger questions. |
This is a book for those who are not afraid to ask important
questions. It is for people who are “on the journey.”
These words are for pilgrims who are not uncomfortable with
unfinished products.
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In his book, Anam Cara, John O’Donohue
tells a revealing story. An African explorer was hurrying
through the jungle. For several days the Africans carrying
his equipment kept pace with him, but on the third morning,
they sat down and would not move. After much discussion,
the head transporter told the explorer: “We have moved too
quickly to reach here; we must now wait to give our spirits
a chance to catch up with us.”
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Perhaps your life is busy or you are
bored or bothered right now. Maybe you are moving too
quickly and your mind races on and on. Nostalgia and regret
signal that I am clutching the past; dread and anxiety mean
that I am living out of the future. How can our spirit
catch up to our body when our mind is not even present?
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There’s an Irish proverb that goes:
“God created time and created plenty of it.” In such a
fast-paced society as ours, we need to live a sense of
timefulness. Let’s take a look at a scriptural moment when
Jesus rests from a journey to speak with a woman also tired,
but her journey consists of always trying to flee herself
and certainly the looks of others. This woman has a story.
She is a Samaritan and challenges Jesus why he would ask her
for a drink. Then Jesus offers to give her living water.
She, like so many in the gospels (and fundamentalists
today), take him literally and points out that he has no
bucket and besides, “the well is deep.” He promises her
that speaking with him right now will give her water that
will refresh her for the rest of her life. Despite her past
(she’s had many husbands and is presently living with a
man), Jesus loves her and this meeting changes her life.
She leaves the bucket at the well and runs off to town to
tell about the power of living in Christ. The point is:
the well remains flowing within her. We’re going to leave
this “well woman” until the last chapter. But I hope you,
too, can indentify your thirst as you read along. As I ask
questions throughout, I want to talk about the power of
living now, of living in timefulness despite our
restlessness for a finished product. |
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♫ |
Before I begin hiking, I examine the
trailhead signs and try to get my bearings. When I am lost
in a mall, I am comforted to see the red dot on the big
white screen that tells me “You are here.” We can’t get out
of our skin, but we can get out of God’s way (just as I pray
that I get out of God’s way while you read this).
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Like grade school children, sometimes
we get fidgety with life- it’s not happening fast enough or
it’s too fast and we are looking for the break. Perhaps
these “S” words might help: |
First, I would suggest that you give yourself Space.
Disentangle yourself (what do you need unpack to be present
right now to God, to these words, to what is truly you?).
What kind of space do you need to get better perspective?
Whenever I see the word perspective I think of the “Dear
Abby” letter that used to be featured every September when
collegians are at school and empty-nest mothers worry. It
goes something like this:
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Dear Mom, bad news. I failed science.
I felt so depressed that my girlfriends took me out drinking
and then I must have fallen asleep smoking because the dorm
caught fire and this man rescued me and we’re going to get
married. Calm down, Mom. None of this is true except for
the fact that I failed science… but doesn’t this put things
into perspective!
Love, Your daughter
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We also need Stillness. (This is
different from silence as it’s more of an inward posture.)
You can’t manufacture it. It doesn’t belong only in church
or the library. It can be in you during an oil change, even
while you’re at the dentist! Let emerge what has always
been. Grace! Somewhere I read that “stillness is the
language God speaks; everything else is a bad translation.”
Macrina Wiederkehr writes: The fast pace of our lives makes
it difficult for us to find grace in the present moment, and
when the simple gifts at our fingertips cease to nourish us,
we have a tendency to crave the sensational.
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 Even
in the heartache and pain we can hear—when we listen well enough—a melody that
God strums in our lives: “I am with you in all things.”
From a retreat Fr. Daniel preached in the summer of 2007, this book (103 pp) can
be purchased for $12.95 (includes s/h in the US) by secure on-line credit card
payment.
Click to order
Book:
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