“Spiritual
but not religious” is one of the newer and increasingly common ways people
describe themselves. But what do they
mean and what does the phrase mean for those of us struggling to keep the
Church — at least, organized religion — relevant?
These are
the central questions in “An Altar in the World,” by Barbara Brown Taylor, a
religion professor who was a parish priest.
‘Spiritual’ may be the name for a longing – for more meaning, more feeling, more connection, more life. … They know there is more to life than what meets the eye. They have drawn close to this ‘More’ in nature, in love, in art, in grief. They would be happy for someone to teach them how to spend more time in the presence of this deeper reality, but when they visit the places where such knowledge is supposed to be found, they often find the rituals hollow and the language antique.
People aren’t
as interested in being told about God
as they are in experiencing God. Taylor offers 12 practices for building an
altar in the world, for experiencing God.
Most of them are variations on the “mindfulness” theme — being aware of
yourself, your feelings, your surroundings, those around you — strangers as
well as friends — even your own pain.
Because of the pace at which most of us live today in our culture, we
are rarely truly present in the moment as we dash from deadline to deadline and
crisis to crisis, unaware of God’s presence and the opportunity to experience
it.
Reverence,
Taylor says, is an important part of Paying Attention (practice #2). While our culture reveres money, power,
education and religion, philosopher Paul Woodruff argues that true reverence is
by definition “the recognition of something greater than the self — something
that is beyond human creation or control, that transcends full human
understanding.”
Taylor asks,“What
awakens awe in you by reminding you of your true size?” This is where and how you will experience the
divine More.
She also
advises Getting Lost (practice #5) as the only way to find unexpected treasures
and blessings, and Feeling Pain (practice #10), for the world’s great religions
all grew out of pain.
The practice
that took me by the throat and left me breathless was #8 — Saying No. Much has been said in many contexts about the
pitfalls of our over-scheduled lives, but Taylor makes a strong case for the
extent to which this lifestyle separates us from God.
“Remember the
Sabbath and keep it holy” is a commandment, she points out, just like “Have no other Gods before me,” “Do
not commit murder,” “Do not bear false witness,” “Honor your parents” and “Do
not steal.” When did we decide it was
optional?
Think about
THAT for a moment.
Certainly,
there are people for whom Sunday must be a day of work — those who keep us all
safe and healthy. But what about the
rest of us? Does Sunday need to be a day
just all the others except for 90 minutes in the morning?
My husband,
Martin, and I talked about this at length and decided to try to keep the
Sabbath during Lent. We knew it would be
challenging, but as of January 15, we are both retired and no longer have
Monday morning deadlines to worry about.
Traditionally,
those who keep the Sabbath also avoid things that cause other people to work —
so no brunches or suppers out, no movies, no shopping. We have to plan ahead to have food prepared
that can be simply put in the oven or crockpot and offer left-overs for
reheating for supper. Anything that will
need to be ironed for church must be ironed before bedtime Saturday night. The coffee is made so we only push a button
Sunday morning.
For purely
sanitation/health reasons, we do put dishes in the dishwasher on Sunday, but unloading
must be done on Saturday. Dusting, sweeping,
folding clothes, picking up — all attended to on Saturday or they go undone
until Monday.
With all that
time on Sunday, we breathe. We breathe
in the sunlight or the shadows, the warm or the cold, the snow or budding
trees, our cardinals and now our robins, each other’s presence and the Holy
Spirit. We pray, we talk, we read things
that help keep us centered on the Sabbath.
In the interests of full disclosure, March Madness was allowed; but
strangely enough, the despair over losses didn’t provoke the depth of feeling
we usually experience around here. They
were games, and we were aware of the joy of playing at this level.
As the weeks
have gone by, I’m finding I enjoy Saturdays more. I’m busy getting ready for Sunday with a real
sense of anticipation!
We are talking
about continuing the Sabbath after Easter.
Martin had concerns about golf, but I think play should be allowed,
especially when it’s outside in God’s creation.
We hope to spend more time with family and friends on our Sabbaths —
when we can find some who aren’t too busy with “things.” Call us, if you are so moved.
One other
thought: Taylor says the rabbis she knows tell her their people who keep the
Sabbath also tend to keep the other commandments. Seems the Israelites were really onto
something! —by Ronda Menke Haas
