conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

sabbath 23: be still

One day Abba Moses said to brother Zacharias, 'Tell me what I ought to do?'At these words the latter threw himself on the ground at the old man's feet and said, 'Are you asking me, Father?' The old man said to him 'Believe me, Zacharias, my son, I have seen the Holy Spirit descending upon you and since then I am constrained to ask you.' Then Zacharias drew his hood off his head put it under his feet and trampled on it, saying, 'The man who does not let himself be treated thus, cannot become a monk.'

Wayne is at it again...Megan and Cristopher posted already. Read their entries for a good summary of the chapter. The sentence that grabbed my attention is the very first sentence of the chapter, "Sabbath is an incubator for wisdom." Wayne is a very practical guy. I know that he gets too much into "magical thinking" for Megan from time to time. I see that tendency as a sign of his practicality. He is always looking for the connection between his religious discipline and what he does the rest of his time. This is a laudable enterprise.

But he makes me nervous from time to time in his insistence that one is necessarily the result of another. "I know more about so-and-so's situation because I take time to make a sabbath." Eh. Maybe. Maybe honoring the sabbath helps you get to know God more. And by getting to know God, you have no choice but to face yourself. By facing yourself in the light of God you learn compassion for the stranger, the neighbor, your family, etc. This to me is wisdom...and it is wisdom that could have all the practical application Wayne's heart would desire.

I also think that Wayne would agree with me and we are picking nits. But I need to pick this nit. At the beginning of his book, he desperately wanted to steer the reader away from making sabbath observance one more thing to do. And this chapter as well as the last really treads the fine line between discipline and one more thing to do.

You want a just world? Take a break. Honor the Sabbath.

I could not agree more. But the Sabbath does not guarantee justice. It does not guarantee wisdom. It does not guarantee compassion in the virtuous practitioner. Oh no. But it seems to me that Wayne, in his rhetorical turn, wants it to be so. I don't think it's magic...though I could see what Megan is after. I get it. I think that it is really Wayne's seeking practical application that is showing through.

Yeah, I know. I don't know Wayne. Derrida...yada yada yada. But, I wonder if in his attempt to sway an ultimately busy and practical audience, he has strayed too far from his initial goal.

Be still and know that I am God. That is all the scripture asks. The rest will come on its own as God moves into our lives. But first, be still.

Posted by tripp at May 16, 2007 06:14 AM