Simplicity

This week I'm looking at asceticism as part of my preaching. What this comes down to is simple living. Old-day ascetics got a reputation for some pretty bizarre practices (not all true.) Often we think of Roman Catholic priests or monks or nuns as the modern day equivalent. But, asceticism can be so much bigger than giving up sexual relations.

We actually have a whole group in our church looking at simplicity as part of their spiritual life. Sometimes the group has talked about time, other times expectations. They pointed me to a great website, The Simple Living Network. I love this website and their ideas. It helps me see my life very holistically.

Asceticism is about getting rid of external foci to allow one to find inner freedom.

What gets in your way? What clogs your mind or time?

Guatemala reflections

As readers of this blog are probably aware, I recently returned from a 12-day mission trip to Guatemala. This was an amazing opportunity that I'm still processing. Today I've been thinking about the wall project. Our construction team worked all week building a 5x30 foot section of a wall surrounding a school. The wall separated the school buildings from the play area. It seemed, in the beginning, like there were many other better projects we could have been working on.

Then we saw the old wall (barbed wire and really old chain-link)

Then we met some very energetic children (troublemakers, a bit I think)

Then we learned that for 560 students there are 8 teachers. Kids actually run away from school.

The wall began to make sense.

Often there are times when I'm not sure why I'm doing what I'm doing, I just (often grudgingly) do it. Often I don't know why things are happening, I just (often with challenge) look to see God at work in the moment.

Have you been there?

Guatemala Meditations 4

Chapter 48 of the Rule of Benedict concerns the Daily Manual Labor. Benedict divides the day in periods. The minimum is five hours of work a day.

Idleness is the enemy of the soul; and therefore the brethren ought to be employed in manual labor at certain times, at others, in devout reading. Hence, we believe that the time for each will be properly ordered by the following arrangement; namely, that from Easter till the calends of October, they go out in the morning from the first till about the fourth hour, to do the necessary work, but that from the fourth till about the sixth hour they devote to reading.
After the sixth hour, however, when they have risen from table, let them rest in their beds in complete silence; or if, perhaps, anyone desireth to read for himself, let him so read that he doth not disturb others. Let None be said somewhat earlier, about the middle of the eighth hour; and then let them work again at what is necessary until Vespers.

If, however, the needs of the place, or poverty should require that they do the work of gathering the harvest themselves, let them not be downcast, for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands, as did also our forefathers and the Apostles. However, on account of the faint-hearted let all things be done with
moderation.

Joan Chittister writes a reflection on this text. She suggests

Benedictine life is life immersed in the sanctity of the real and work is a fundamental part of it. The function of the spiritual life is not to escape into the next world; it is to live well in this one. . . Work and prayer are opposite sides of the great coin of a life that is both holy and useful, immersed in God and dedicated to the transcendent in the human.

As you serve today, think about how your work is both holy and useful. Is your work at home also holy and useful? If it is not, can you think of ways to make it more so?

Guatemala meditations 3

Dean Williams is a member of our congregation who served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala 20 years ago. While he was there he taught rural men and women about fish farming. 20 years later, he returned to Guatemala. He told his story on NPR last September. You can listen to the full story here (scroll down for Dean's story.)

“It was difficult, I kept a diary of my time there, and some of the most lengthy entries are from when I got there and wrote about the loneliness that I felt and the difficulty of connecting with people. . .”

Chepe was the indispensible local man who Dean worked with on a daily basis. Upon expressing his disappointment with his project’s progress, Chepe told Dean something that made a world of difference to Dean:

“This is hard work. The volunteer before you took a long time to adjust. You’ll get there, I’ll work with you . . . we’ll get some projects going, but it takes time.”

In his two years in Guatemala, dean’s project faced many challenges. His job was to walk to a farm and tell the farmer about fish farming, about building a 30x30 foot pond to farm tilapia. They would dig a hole with a hoe and shovel (that may or may not hold water) find a water source and pipe it in, and then dean would carry the fingerlings 50 km on the back of his motorcycle to get them to the pond. After 2 years, only 12 working ponds had been built. Dean felt he left Chepe with a project that was almost completely dysfunctional. They kept in touch for awhile, but eventually lost contact.

Dean went back in 2008 to the village where he’d lived. On a whim he walked down to where Chepe’s hut had been, it was still there. Chepe greeted him with these words

“Don Eduardo, for 20 years I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

As they caught up Dean learned that Chepe’s own fish pond had failed . . . “but come over here and look at my set up . . . I help farmers with 180 fish ponds!”

Now Chepe calls Dean every couple of months and the tow visit.

As Dean reflected on the experience, he offered these words of wisdom

“We can’t always own the outcome of everything we do, but people pick it up and carry it on and it develops a life of its own that has value.”

As you think about your time here, how do you see potential lasting impacts?