Dear Friends
Is it just me or does it feel like life has sped up lately, that people are more overwhelmed, that even the most efficient and capable people in your life (maybe YOU?) are no longer responding to emails and texts, are behind on, well, everything?
I’ve been feeling this way this Fall and hearing this from others as well. I am barely staying on top of all that needs to be done at work and at home. Okay, true confession: I am NOT staying on top of many things. I keep trying to identify the cause of this overwhelm, and there are many candidates. The constant reports of ICE attacks in our city and the endless shocking news from the federal government exhaust and demoralize us. The endless nature of work, relentless e-mails, Slack messages, and Teams and Zoom meetings means we’re never truly at rest. The constant pressure of phones and screens prevents reflection. The drumbeat to do more, prepare for the future, engage one more enrichment activity keep parents and children on the go.
I worry that I, we, are all so drenched in stress and busyness and cortisol that pausing, resting, seem impossible, laughable, even undesirable.
This Sunday’s Gospel is a shocking one as Jesus warns of the destruction of the Temple, just as he is about to warn his friends, again, that he, too, will face destruction. He warns that they will also suffer persecutions, betrayal, and war. And his advice, his consolation: do not make plans in advance, do not worry, endure.
And how do we do that, Beloved, in this fraught time (perhaps the only time of kind we humans ever live in)? There must be some small space in our lives for prayer and silence and reflection; there must be time for connection with God, ourselves, our loved ones. When I lack steps for connection, I pray to God to give me the grace to pause, to stop, to silence the phone, shut the laptop, give up on getting everything done, and to stare out the window, be quiet with God, breathe deeply in the presence of a friend, say “no” to one more thing so that I give more time for togetherness with loved ones.
Perhaps you would like to pray for such things, too? For there will never be an end to injustice, to work, to our To Do lists and obligations. We do not want to be careless, so we will not abandon these things; however, we do not want to become robots, mere productivity machines, so we might have to say “no” to some things, press pause on others, try on quiet and patience and equanimity, even if that means we are not perfect and some things do not get done.
What if, right now, you paused for five minutes, closed your eyes, did not worry, made no plans, and just . . . endured?
See you in church.