I miss y’all! This is about as long as I have ever been without being with all of you. It seems the last several years we have not really experienced winter- and now its came in one fell swoop. I hope all of you enjoyed the weather, and the beauty of the snow. Its much more enjoyable when the power doesn’t go out- and I think we were all good on that front. I don’t believe I have been stuck at home so many days since the time of Covid. Truth be told, I was going a little stir-crazy.
These sudden moments of stillness, where the world’s rush slows, are needed periods of rest. Its good that we have these moments to just stop and sleep a few extra hours, or spend some free time on hobbies we have been neglecting. With that being said, I’m going to be revealing… I struggle in the stillness. I want to go and move. Perhaps like many I tie some of my self-worth in with how productive I can be.
I started reflecting about my last vacation as I was trapped in by the mini-ice age over the last few weeks. Last November I traveled up to Stockton Illinois (about 3 hours outside of Chicago). It had just snowed there too. My friend, Logan John, is the director of a hermitage up there, Christ in the Wilderness. He lives on-site with his fiancée Mackenzie. The hermitage has several cabins on sight and dozens of acres to roam and walk. I was excited to see the cabin- but particularly excited to see my friends. I didn’t know how to feel about the “retreat” element of the trip. In moments of silence, I try to fill them with phone calls, or movies, or music. Anything but silence.
We enjoyed some meals together, got to travel into Chicago for a day- where I did get some deep dish pizza. We caught up and had a few drinks. But the real highlight of the trip was unexpected. In a fairly rare occurrence, the Northern Lights dipped down low enough to where we were able to see them in vivid clarity. We saw them just by happenstance, a casual glance upward as we walked from the car to the house. We were so close to missing them. We watched for several hours- you can see the pictures below. It was quiet and powerful. There was no music or phone calls to interrupt- just beauty in the silence. It was truly one of those moments that you don’t forget- that leaves you altered in ways you cant really describe.
On that trip, and over the past week, I’ve been forced to be still. Its like being forced to take a medicine that is needed. Since that trip to Illinois I have wrestled with my need to be still and reflective more often. The snow was a reminder of that for me. It a lot lot the rhythm of the church. Over the summer there are calls to action, we take a posture of learning. Then comes All Saints where we remember. Thanksgiving arrives and we enter a time of thanks. Christmas arrives and it is a time of celebration until Lent. And then Lent comes and its a period to be silent- to reflect, to discern. What we discern is up to us. It’s our period of silence and searching. The rhythm of faith life calls us into stillness as well.
In just over a week we begin our journey into Lent. Ash Wednesday is February 18th. We will focus on the good news of the gospel and the ways in which we still hear it and feel it today. It is also the start of that period where Christians all over the world will give something up until Easter. You are asked to give up something that prevents you from being still, or hinders you from helping others. What that looks like is different for each person. You can also choose to add something to your life that meets the same goals. This year, I am meeting with a spiritual advisor once a week through Lent. She is a Nun from Illinois who will also guide me through some daily prayers and meditations. It will force me to work moments of stillness into my routine. I invite you all to reflect on what it is you need this season, and what you might could give-up or add to move you in that direction.
Lent is often described as “the wilderness”. Stockton, Illinois, felt that way, too. But as the name of the retreat center reminds us, and as we read and learn through Lent, Christ is in the wilderness. I saw Christ out there on a silent night as the lights danced in the sky. It pulled me into understanding that I need to craft more time like that in my life. Time to connect and listen instead of just move. I am not sure what Lent will have in store for you, but I pray that you find some peace, some answers- or maybe even just find the right questions for you to continue asking and wrestling with. Lent isn’t about achieving some big goal- the wilderness is the goal. What you walk away with is the experience you choose to have. The stillness of Lent is what gives us fuel to move ahead as the rhythm of life and the church moves on to the next thing. East comes, snow melts and the sun rises.
Regardless of what it is you seek or where we go, I am thankful that we are doing it together- and with Christ who moves in ways we do not expect. In a surprise snowstorm or in lights in the sky. Welcome to our journey through Lent.
Pastor Paul