How does one live in the moment?
A
young but earnest student approached his spiritual mentor, and asked
the Master: "If
I work very hard and diligent, how long will it take for me to get where I want
to be?" The teacher
thought about this, then replied, "Ten years." The student then said, "But
what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself surely I could shorten
the time -- How long then?"
The
teacher hesitates for a moment then say, "more like twenty years."
No,
No I will work harder than all the others, how much time then. “Thirty years” replied the teacher
abruptly. "But, I do not
understand," said the disappointed student. "when I say I will work
harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?"
The
teacher paused for a moment then replied,
"Your learning sir is distracted by time and your focus is not on
a goal or a path. You must learn not to want but to wait,
then
you will be finished when you are done.”
June
3, 2018 Readings: Acts 1:1-14 and John 17:1-11
There are a lot of people who do not know how to live
without excitement, without stimulation.
For some this stimulation comes from pleasure or achieving but for
others as strange as it may sound, it comes from crisis or turmoil. Its almost as if they are saying: I paid dearly for all this trouble and
no one is going to take it from me. Some
thrive on activity, on doing things – or on solving problems. Psychiatrist tell us that most people become
addicted to the adrenaline rush that theses activity produces regardless whether
they are positive or negative. The time that exists between these activities
is often referred to as down time. But
there are those who feel they don’t need down time, because for them it is dead
time, or time that is lost - time that is unimportant, time that is wasted. Our western culture is stimulated by seeking
pleasure through self-indulgence, through sports, social media, social groups,
or by a crisis within the family, friends, the economy or the world in
general. Have we become media junkies
folks? Even those of us who are not
adrenaline junkies find down time difficult to handle and to experience, we don't like to wait. It is not easy for most to face a period of
time in which not much is happening, a period of time in which we must wait for,
rather than to want for something to happen.
Today's scripture reading from the Book of Acts tells us
how the disciples found themselves in this kind of situation - how they found
themselves having to face a period in which they totally uncertain and would simply have to wait for
Jesus’ promises to come about. After
the resurrection Jesus visited with his disciples on several occasions. He taught them, He encouraged them, and He commissioned
them to spread the good news that death no longer had the final word. Then - on the day of his ascension, when they were anxiously asking Him, when His
kingdom would be established, when the next installment of the divine plan
would take place, He tells them that it
is not for them to know the times or periods established by God - but that they
should go back to Jerusalem and wait, -
wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, - wait for the power they would need to
witness to Him there, in Judea and all of Samaria, and ultimately in all the world. For
many, waiting is a dreadful thing.
Just ask any child, or childish adult.
But it doesn't have to be like this folks. Living between times or between occasions can
be quite wonderful. It can be - for us - the pause that
refreshes - a time in which we gain strength - a time to stop put down our electronics and smell the
roses. Instead of befriending your phone or IPad, why not a person or nature. Or it can be a time of reflection where we
can quietly, pray, grow and are prepared ourselves for whatever will come next. During these in between periods of your day,
week or life why these are the best time to pick up the Bible and begin to mine
the scriptures. I mean to look for the nuggets,
the golden rules of living a peaceful led, joyful life.
The prophet Isaiah says to us in Isaiah 40:31 that those who
wait upon the Lord will renew their strength “They will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
How many of us here today have heard the expression living
in the moment. Consider this then: In one
hand we have the past. This is where all
of our feelings and our emotions exist, stimulated by our memories. Yet
they are bygone, why of course, they already happened, they don’t exist anymore,
they are just memories. We cannot live there. In the other hand we have our future. This is where our thoughts take us to possible
events, that could exist, yet they don’t.
We can only imagine or predict what the future might hold for us. So we cannot live there either. Between the past and the future there is a
space. May I suggest this is where we
exist, and it is the only space where we can truly live: we live only moment by moment
folks. And truly it is all that we
really have.
May I suggest there are keys to living in the moment: Respect fear, for it is a teacher but do not
let fear keep you from living a full life.
Reflect only on the past and do not stare to long less you become a pillar
of salt, getting lost in a life of bygones be they good or bad experiences. You can read about this in Genesis 19: 26. So then what do you have, you only have
now, this moment, and the next if you’re fortune holds out, but even this to, is
far from the moment.
We are called to live in the now, rather than to live or be
consumed by the past or the future. Even though this is true it is difficult to
live in the present while our past haunts us with personal mistakes,
difficulties situations, or bad choices in life. Many of us carry heavy loads from the past, or
are burdened with wanting rather than recognizing our blessings, that which God
has already bestowed upon us. Some of us
carry guilt or shame as a chain that holds us imprisoned as it did for the
disciples during their time. You can
imagine the guilt of Peter as he denied being associated with Jesus out of fear
for his own life. And the others who
also ran off or didn’t speak out on Jesus’ behalf also in fear, they too had to
face him after his resurrection. This
time in between events in your life is the time to reflect, reassess, and redirect
your energies. A time rethink and turn
away from anything that can take you down the wrong road. A time to forgiving yourself and others for trespasses. Jesus said come to me all who are heavy leaden
and I will give you rest. This kind of
reflection, surrender and reconciliation will free you from the past and shield
you from the future, allowing you to live more present, more peacefully,
lovingly, and compassionately in the moments of your life. This is the way of the Lord
No comments:
Post a Comment