Jesus tells his disciples to abide in him, and promises that he will abide in them. He will dwell

 in them, make his home with them, if they will dwell in him, rest in him. He says this is the only way that they will be fruitful, the way that they too will have life. He says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing."

 

At Taize, we saw the brothers abiding in God. For them it was a life-style, a habit, a practice and discipline lived so fully that it seemed natural. We were immediately invited to take part. We got off the bus and were welcomed as pilgrims. We were given beds in cabins and sleeping bags and time to settle in. The evening began with the invitation to join the nearly 100 brothers and nearly 200 pilgrims in church for 30 minutes of silent prayer for peace, which the brothers observe every Sunday before dinner. After dinner we joined them again in the church - this time for song, and prayer, scripture and silence. Taize worship generally follows the pattern of a prayer office, like our evening prayer or compline. But it is simplified, using only one reading and giving more time for silence. And it is filled with song - simple chants in many different languages that repeat many times. Br. Roger, the founder of Taize, advised people to sing until they felt happy. And so we sang. And we let ourselves be surrounded and carried by the singing of others.

 

At Taize, the community gathers three times a day for these simple prayer offices. It's during these services that the brothers look most like Jesus' vine and branches. If abiding is resting and dwelling in God, they do this through their trust. Trust in God is a central tenant of the community and it creates an openness and a spaciousness that you can feel when you enter into the church. It is like an oasis, where you can put down your burdens and rest. Our youth, like so many others responded to it right away. They immediately sensed a peace. And they were surprised by how quickly stress and pressures seemed to melt away for them. In that spaciousness one could simply be, without pretension, or striving, or needing to impress. There was room for everyone just as they were.

 

If trust is a key to abiding in God, then its fruits are tangible peace and joy. The brothers' peace was a fruit we could taste and enjoy, in our worship, in our conversations, in the simplicity and pace of our days. It was what impressed us and fed us most in our time at Taize.

 

If the other fruit of an abiding trust is joy, this was offered to us as well. The brothers had chosen joy as the theme of their year. Upon our arrival we were given several written reflections on joy prepared for conversations through out the year at Taize. We were asked to consider joy in our conversation groups, the daily small groups of young people close in age but coming from different parts of the world. While some came from as far as Japan and Mali, most came from across Europe. The group I joined had 16 year olds from Maine and others of the same age from various parts of France and also from Switzerland. Figuring out how to communicate was our first challenge, but that was easier than thinking and talking about joy in our own lives, where it is found, and how we respond to it in others. Together we looked at scripture, the beatitudes specifically, to consider joy in God's presence even in the midst of difficult times and sorrow.

 

That night, praying and singing with the brothers, after hearing so many teens speak of the stress they feel in their daily lives, and considering our conversations about sorrow and joy, and the difference that the presence of God can make in how we experience a moment, it struck me that the opposite of joy is not sadness so much as it is anxiety.

 

Anxiety worries about the future and cuts us off from the present moment, the only place and time we can experience God and his loving presence. Without an awareness of God's presence, anxiety distorts our relationship with God and robs us of our assurance that we are loved and cared for as the beloved children of God. It undermines our security in knowing that we are held safely by God for all eternity, even in times of difficulty, even in the face of death. Anxiety first takes away our trust and then robs us of both peace and joy.

 

Suddenly, there in Taize, anxiety seemed like a much more serious spiritual foe to be engaged - and not just an unfortunate, if unavoidable, bi-product of modern life to be managed or tolerated. Anxiety could rob us of joy and peace, and make life flat and meaningless with no sense of God's presence or delight. This seemed especially true to me on our final day, when in our group the teens were talking about their experience at Taize and their anticipated return to their homes. When they considered their awareness of God's presence in their life, most of them said that on a scale of 0 to 10, it felt like an 8 at Taize but only about a 3 at home. That is a big difference. They attributed the difference mostly to the stress of their lives, from the pace of their lives and from the demands upon them. They said that having time to relax and think about things made the biggest difference for them at Taize, and their time in worship. And going home they wondered what changes they could make to feel some of the peace they'd experienced at Taize. One person said she wanted to spend less time watching TV. Another said she'd like to not use her phone as much. Another young woman said she wanted to try and spend 5 minutes in silence each night. Another said attending church more often would probably help her most. I wondered, what changes will I make? And what changes might you here make? How will we learn to trust in God and to resist the infection of anxiety that covers our society like fungus? How will we make room and time to rest in God's presence, to abide in him?

 

These young people left Taize wanting to abide in God. Through its fruits of peace and joy, they had witnessed abiding and now they knew it was possible. It is possible. And it is what Jesus wants for us.

 

Jesus says that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. He says, Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give to you. He says that he wants his joy to be in us so that our joy may be complete. This is abiding in Jesus. It is the life that we are made for - life that is green and fruitful, just like the branches of a vine. AMEN.

The SR YES pilgrimage to Taize was a great success: we are grateful that our travel was smooth and that we brought home with us a renewed perspective on ourselves and our daily lives. We began and ended the trip in Paris - the City of Lights - where we explored art museums, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. We also ate delicious croissants! 

 

Our week in Taize was simple, communal, and meaningful. In addition to three daily worship services, we all participated in small groups with peers our own age from all over the world. We also each helped with a work project like gardening, preparing dinner, or deep cleaning the church. Both the small groups and the work time allowed us to make international friends and participate in an exchange of ideas about faith and life.