Summertime

For some reason this summer appears to be hotter than most, at least to me anyway. June 2024 is among the hottest on record and now July, here at the halfway point, is doing its best to compete. I’m sure some may attribute this unusually hot summer to global warming, although measuring any climatic global change requires decades and not months. That said, who knows, and does it really matter. All we know is that it’s really hot and it’s a signal to all of us to slow down, take it easy and rest. 

Ahh rest, such a beautiful word Just its very mention conditions us to want to stop and take a break from all the usual hustle and bustle, that too often is more like “Brownian movement,” a senseless discharge of energy in place that goes nowhere and achieves nothing. In Mark 6:30-34, Jesus is scheduling a retreat for his apostles and is asking them to slow down, reflect, let go of distractions and shut off the events of the past weeks and just rest… if only for a little while. Rest and use this time to just be.  

Jesus' simple invitation to "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile" is not just an invitation to take an afternoon off or go on vacation although those may be important at this time. His is an invitation to loosen our shackles and climb out of the cages we've constructed from a culturally-fed belief that more is the ticket to happiness and that work is the ticket to more.  

Isn't this is one of the key elements of our Wednesday Scripture discussion and introspection?  It provides a chance to step back from all the daily things that usually consume us so that we might experience God's presence and a sense of peace and gratitude.

 Jesus wants us to rest. He wants us to recognize the pervasive obsessions of our human condition and the rat race we call modern living. He wants us to reflect on how much time we really spend together and actually enjoy what  we’ve worked so hard to attain.  

God wants us to live fully human and have an abundant life. Abundant life doesn't consist of merely more and more. "Abundant" isn't necessarily a quantitative term but a qualitative one. I believe living abundantly requires a zest for life and a passion for elements of our lives we enjoy and bring us pleasure. That said these passions like anything taken to extreme, can be toxic. The events of the past few days and the vitriolic rhetoric leading up to Saturday bears witness to this. I wonder how many people are saying "I never thought it would lead to this." Truthfully, those of us who've lived through some of the dark hours of our Nation's history are not surprised. Hate set in motion has very few outlets.

 So, how do we begin to "dial it down," "lower the heat," to use the already hackneyed media buzz-words on the lips of every politician and media hack? Maybe we might consider shutting down our TV's and computers for a day or turning off our cell phones for a morning or evening, or, saying no to one self-imposed obligation or "routine" appointment...and give thanks for our lives and the beauty in our world. After all, it’s summertime and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and the cotton is high…so hush little children, please hush.+