Friday March 20, 2015

During Lent I have been reflecting with the Brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist.  Their theme this year is "Time" and each week in Lent has a different focus:  

Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687

Mark 6.30–34

It’s time to …  Stop   Pray   Work   Play   Love 

The Brothers are helping many of us to reflect on our often disordered relationship with time; they are showing us that time is given by God as a gift to us yet so often we experience it as a relentless burden.  Listen to some of what the Brothers have to say about "stopping".

One solution to this perceived relentlessness of time is simply to stop: stop rushing, stop achieving, stop doing – at least for a time. A life without pauses is like a paragraph without punctuation; it runs on and on, leaving us breathless and overwhelmed. When we stop, we are able to see more clearly the moment we are in. We are able to notice things about ourselves, about those around us, and about the world in which we live. We are able to respond thoughtfully and sensitively to people and situations.

 This will help immensely: claim times in your day, your week, your year, when you simply stop; when you say to yourself, “That’s enough work for now”; when you intentionally disengage from technology; when you unplug your computer, turn off your phone, and walk away from your “to do” list.

Its what Jesus does in today's reading from the gospel of Mark.  Jesus and the disciples had been working full out and Jesus tells them it is time to stop and rest and rest awhile.  

Its the same with Cuthbert whose life and death we commemorate today.  He worked strenuously as an evangelist and missionary in remote areas but he alternated that work with times of silence and retreat on the island of Lindisfarne.

Watch today for times to stop - to insert some punctuation into your day - and reflect on the moment you are in.  Maybe you will give thanks for a project that you have completed, maybe you will ask for strength to continue, maybe you will remember another who has asked you to pray from them, maybe you'll seek direction because you seem to have too much time on your hands, or maybe you'll savour a cup of tea or listen to a bird singing a spring song . . . 

Marilyn Malton