And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
[PSALM 55:7-9]
I would fly away and be at rest.
I would flee to a far-off place
and make my lodging in the wilderness.
I would hasten to escape
from the stormy wind and tempest.”
| ADVENT DAILY OFFICE READINGS |
|---|
| AM Psalm 55; PM Psalm 138, 139:1-17(18-23) Zech. 8:9-17; Rev. 6:1-17; Matt. 25:31-46 |
Most mornings, when I wake up early, I go to my “happy place.” (See photo above)
It’s the recliner in our loft, which doubles as my home office.
That’s where I do most of my reading, my journaling, and, yes, I often fall asleep there.
I’m usually the only one up at that time, and I feel a need to get all my meditative work done before the cat and the wife wake up because, once that happens, the stillness is interrupted and my quiet time is done.
I usually move from there to my computer, which is just a few steps away, and begin either writing or scrolling.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous reflection, I try to avoid news until much later in the day. But I do check email, and social media, which is a challenge in itself.
Twice during my active ministry, I did week-long silent retreats. I’ve visited the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate, New York; and the Abbey of Gethsemani in Bardstown, Kentucky. They were helpful, dare I say, therapeutic. But the effect wore off almost as quickly as the first hour back in my office.
In retirement, I’ve found some measure of tranquility in my photography. Every so often I capture an image that is worth sharing, such as the one below from a few summers ago.
My wife and I love to attend classical music concerts. I don’t read much fiction, so my library is somewhat limited to religion, sports, and biographies. However, lately I have become hooked on British murder mysteries on television. Some days I think nothing of binging three hours or more in front of my big screen. (That might make a good psychological case study for someone someday.)
The bottom line is that we all need an escape, a place where we can disengage from all the craziness around us.
In the assigned psalm for Morning Prayer today, Psalm 55, the author, presumed to be David, expresses a deep anguish, likely stemming from betrayal by a close friend.
All of us have at one time or another experienced some level of personal disappointment from someone whom we’ve trusted, be it a colleague, a friend, a fellow parishioner, even a family member (see verses 13-15).
Anyone whom we hold dear is capable of causing profound pain.
For example, I can’t help but think how Jesus must have felt when he learned that Judas was the one who would betray him.
This is all part of the human condition.
In the final analysis, David turns to God for refuge, and advises others to do the same.
God provides us with a place of escape, a “happy place” if you will. I would go so far as to say that God encourages it.
I’m reminded of the time God told Elijah to stand at attention on a mountain and God will pass by. And God did, in a whisper. (1 KIngs 19)
Whether it be the recliner where you read, or the woods where you walk, it is imperative that we find time alone with God to guide our thoughts and our actions into a way of peace.
The poet Wendell Berry describes such a place in his poem, “The Peace of Wild Things.”[1]
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
As we await Christ’s coming this Advent, I pray you find your happy place, if you haven’t already.
Let us pray:
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 828)
[1] Berry, Wendell. New Collected Poems. Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 2012. p. 79
*The Psalter in the Book of Common Prayer breaks up the verses into shorter segments for music and chanting purposes.
Walking Together in Faith 