From Volume 2, Number 4, Spring 1996

Rhythms of Earth, Rhythms of Heaven

A primitive agricultural society lives close to the earth. The patterns of nature are matters of life and death, of plenty and famine, of beauty and terror. Modern technology removes humankind from  that pattern, leaving us with the illusion of independence from the earth and destroying the rhythm of nature in human life. But this is not an article on the evils of technology. After all, The Wild Goose is  published on a home computer, we communicate with many persons interested in Celtic Christianity on the Internet and given my full time position as rector of a medium sized parish, there would be no way to have the  time for this ministry without the technology so conveniently at hand.

Nonetheless, we face a deadly issue with our loss of rhythm. While much might be said of the deleterious effects of the stress of our arrhythmic lifestyle, the root of the problem goes much deeper.  According to the Bible, God made us to be a rhythmic people. The creation story of Genesis 1:1-2:2 speaks of the Creator taking a day off at the end of those labors. When the Law is given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the  heart of that Law is summed up in the Ten Commandments, the fourth of which requires the People of God to take a day off. In his book, Exploring Celtic Spirituality (reviewed elsewhere in this issue), the Rev'd Ray  Simpson tells of Columba's community at Iona which observed Saturday as a day of rest and Sunday (the Lord's Day) as a day of celebration. According to Simpson, it was only when Iona came under the rule of the  continental church that the Sabbath was transferred to Sunday. Keeping a rhythm of work, prayer and rest is part of the St. Aidan Way of Life. In our society, it may be the most challenging part of the Way.

One aspect of the character of Celtic Christianity so often admired is the "naturalness" of their discipleship. The discipline many of the communities followed was rigorous in the extreme,  yet it took into account the limitations of humanity and the elements of creation. Trying to write in a discipline of rest seems one of the most unnatural things I do in my Way of Life. After all, I feel good about  working an 80 hour week, it speaks to me of dedication and industriousness. Mind you, I don't feel so good after working that 80 hour week, but that's part of the job of pastor in the 90's. I do take one day off a  week and another day for study and sermon preparation. However, the day off involves doing the chores neglected during the rest of the week and the study day includes much more paperwork and far less study that I  originally intended. It was my intention to spend that day off hiking with my wife in the mountains, or to sit and read to one another when the weather is bad. More often than not we collapse at the end of that day  and veg out in front of the television. Since Friday is the day we take, it is frequently interrupted by wedding rehearsals (a seasonal hazard). Rarely do we make up the rest that we lost.

The idea of observing the Saturday Sabbath seems ridiculous. Given the hectic schedule of our parishioners, Saturday is one of the few days available for meetings. So we zoom about running from  one gathering to the next or typing furiously at the computer. Given my schedule, given the pace of modern life, rest seems the most unnatural discipline of all. The only problem is that given the Biblical  revelation about the nature of humanity, it is life that is unnatural, and the discipline only seems so by comparison.

The solution to the quandary is obvious, but by no means easy. Having been carried in the rushing torrent of modern living, it is time to choose to swim upstream. This will be costly not only in terms  of the personal effort it will require, but in terms of the expectations of my parish family. Rest is not valued in our world, it is synonymous with laziness. Am I willing to be misunderstood and criticized for  choosing a more natural way? Modern parishioners may expect busyness from their priest, but on the other hand our parish family is a fairly understanding lot. There may be a few grumbles, but there is also a great  deal of tolerance and interest.

However, Christians who work in the marketplace or in government or in any of the employing arenas of contemporary life face supervisors whose expectations are not easily ignored. A discipline of  rhythmic rest may threaten promotion or even employment itself. Such a threat is not to be taken lightly. Yet an employee who seeks to reestablish God-given, and therefore truly human, rhythms in his or her life  will be, in the long run, a healthier and more productive member of any organization. Part of our testimony as Christians is to promote this idea in the organizations where we work, challenging the enterprises of  this world to invest wisely in their most valuable resources -- their employees. Such risky missionary activity is best done in a Celtic fashion: preceded by deep, listening prayer in the context of Christian  community and carried out in a gentle spirit.

In the end it comes down to the radical choice of discipleship. Jesus calls his disciples to hard choices, to choosing him over all the demands of the world. J.B. Phillips' translation of Romans 12:2  reads "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold." For most of us it is already too late, at least too late to avoid that initial error. To take on any of the spiritual disciplines of the traditional  religious communities is one form of striking against that soul destroying conformity to this age. To attempt to embrace the qualities that gave the Celtic Christians their balance and winsomeness throws us into the  midst of severe conflict with the values and patterns of our culture. The Order of St. Aidan was originally founded by evangelical Christians seeking a way to redress the imbalances of contemporary evangelical  theology by modeling their lives on a more rhythmic and balanced tradition. Now the St. Aidan community extends beyond just the evangelical/charismatic school of Christianity. To pick and choose among the elements  of the Aidan way to find those most amenable to our own spirituality is to deny the challenge. To address our Way in the area of our work and prayer without taking the call to the rhythm of rest equally seriously is  to fall into the same trap.