Dear St. John's Community,
There is always more to notice than what we actually see. I think one of the keys to a rich spiritual life is increasing our ability to notice more—to notice the things God wishes we would.
That's why so many of the powerful spiritual practices out there have us slowing down, quieting down, stilling our busy selves. A Buddhist friend of mine uses a jar of muddy water to teach this. In a multi-week course that we co-taught I saw him begin with a jar of water taken from a nearby river. It was so brown you could not see through it. When it was left alone and still for a week, the mud settled mostly to the bottom. After one more week, the mud had settled more and the water was even clearer. It became beautiful. The point of the teaching is that we can do this, too. But we have to work at it, because being still takes work. (And my friend also demonstrated how it only took an instant to stir the mud back up again.)
I cannot help but think of Jesus' refrain about those who have eyes to see.
During this crisis, I have many times felt more like muddy water than clear. The concern and distraction and disorientation has stirred everything up and made it hard to see. But there have also been moments of clarity and of noticing holy things with greater appreciation, and I believe there could be more.
We are deep enough into this experience that it's worth it for all of us to strive to make the best of what we can, like the chance to be a little stiller, a little quieter, and to notice more.
I believe it is possible that if we try, we could come out of this experience with eyes to see what God would have us see better than we had before.
***
Worship service for Lent 5.
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