Seventh Sunday of Easter 'A'

Sunday May 4, 2008

The Pause That Refreshes

In the process of implementing liturgical modifications several years ago when I was pastor of St Joseph Parish in Mendham, I explained the rationale for the introduction of intermittent but ‘significant pauses’ during Sunday worship. The pauses are subtle but essential reminders that we need to listen at liturgy not only with the ears of our head but also with the ears of our heart. As with the ‘rest’ on a music scale, pauses within the rhythm of worship provide an opportunity to get our breath—literally! If the vocalist or instrumentalist does not take time to breathe, the musical rendition will founder, falter and ultimately fail.

So too, when worship is filled with an incessant flow of words or music, it renders the mind impervious to further stimulation; the brain shuts down. And so the lector is instructed to pause after announcing the title of the reading, at appropriate intervals in the readings and most importantly at the conclusion. There are other significant pauses during the prayers and there are periods of silence following a choral rendition or a dramatic narrative.

Significant pauses are important not only for meaningful worship but also for effective living. Several homey axioms come to mind: “Think before you act!” or “Pause before you dive in!” or “Stop, Look and Listen” at all railroad crossings! or “Act not in haste, lest your regrets become greater than your dreams and expectations.” That’s a particularly good one; write it down! Some folks are by nature more skilled than others at creating appropriate pauses and space, maintaining a measured pace as they attempt to navigate the rough waters and integrate the various facets of their busy lives. I’d like to be among them, but alas, despite retirement, I am still catching up. “The faster I go, the behinder I get!”

On numerous occasions as a pastor, I described for the youngest members of our parish family a custom introduced by my brother-in-law and sister to their seven children many years ago. They established a ‘blue zone’ in their home. Actually, everyone had a blue zone—a quiet space—into which they were invited or commanded at appropriate times of the day or evening. When dad said, and sometimes bellowed, “Okay, everyone, it’s blue time!” all went to their quiet space to ‘veg’ or chill out. It was particularly helpful before mealtime. It helped to provide balance and increased the possibility for civility at table, though not always.

Silence is a necessary disposition for prayer. Contrary to what many of us may have learned in our early years, prayer is not primarily speaking with or asking for but listening to the God who dwells in our deepest self. The old catechism stated it quite accurately: “Prayer is the lifting up of the mind and heart to God.” There is no mention of words or even conversation. This is not to suggest that words are never useful. It is only to emphasize the importance of listening. Notice, the definition states, “… lifting up of the mind and HEART to God, to the God who speaks the loudest in the human heart. But silence is never passive. It can lead to very interesting and productive conversations with God.

Ultimately, the goal of effective prayer is to catch the heartbeat of God so that we can get into the rhythm of God’s life in order to speak God’s word and live God’s word, using words only when necessary. I dare say that many if not most Catholics are passive and submissive in the public and private forum except when it comes to politics and economics. Perhaps it is because we don’t listen carefully enough to God in prayer that we fail to speak as courageously in the Church forum as we do in the public forum. There was a place for the prophetic voice in the ‘church’ of the Old Testament but the prophetic tradition has been silenced in the contemporary Church. Or perhaps I should say that in the face of truth, the voice of the prophet is more often ignored than encouraged by church leaders. We have seen evidence of this in response to the Holy Father’s mandate to reach out to those who have been hurt by the misdeeds of a few. It’s hard to believe that a anyone much less a bishop would chide those who are asking for a compassionate ear. Peter states in his first letter, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you!” In other words, never worry about being cursed it be for wrongdoing.

Jesus of course, was and remains the exemplar. His life was a constant prayer and a total acceptance of God’s mandate to love without condition, without question, without reserve. And because he was so attentive to God’s voice, he was able to speak so prophetically even in the face of death. The religious leaders of his time attempted to silence him but his voice could not be silenced.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke describes the dramatic pause that ‘The Twelve’ and their companions took between Jesus’ death and his ascension symbolized by their retreat to the ‘upper room,’ to which they returned following a few of their experiences of the risen Christ.

From a purely psychological perspective, the retreat of the Apostles was most appropriate. However, their pause was essential for their spiritual wellbeing. They needed to listen carefully in order to discern what God was asking of them as faithful disciples, and what the Holy Spirit would empower them to do after Pentecost.

Were we not attentive to the readings today we might have missed some important nuances in all three. Did you take note of the fact that beside ‘The Twelve’ there were “certain women including Mary the mother of Jesus?” in the upper room? It is very interesting to me that Luke introduces his Gospel with the annunciation of Mary as the mother of Jesus and here in Acts, he notes that Mary is present at the ‘birth of the Church.’

Mary was a woman of silence but she was anything but passive. We know that she was open to the power of the Spirit that “overshadowed her.” We know of her quiet acceptance of the call to give birth to Jesus; of her resignation to Jesus’ own call and of her quiet presence at the foot of the cross and then of her reflective presence at the birth of the Church.

In fact, Mary has been called the prototype of the Church, which in the words of Pope John XXIII, is ‘Mater et Magistra’—mother and teacher. A mother is encouraged in the midst of her pain at childbirth—breathe in, breathe out. As the pain subsides, the child is born and new life is brought into being. We have much to learn from those who pause to breathe; we have much to learn from the nurturing spirit of Mary and of all who bring forth life; from those who appreciate the depth of God’s call to life at the beginning of each new day.

Did you pick up on the words of Jesus in his farewell prayer: “…And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Life in communion with God in Christ is eternal life. It is not the reward given at the end of life for those how have jumped over enough hurtles; it is the gift that is given to those who accept his word here and now, at this moment—freely given life that empowers us to a goodness that can only glorify God. It’s an awesome thought. In this gospel passage, Jesus is praying his disciples into the rhythm of God’s life, promising that the Spirit will breathe on them and will breathe on us again to assure us of God’s immanent and enduring presence. In fact, the entire prayer of Jesus is a Eucharistic prayer in praise of God’s desire for the unity of all humanity in Christ.

We need to breathe in and breathe out; we need to take significant pauses in life so that we can hear the sound of God’s call and live more freely in God’s love. The “pause that refreshes” is not just for the ‘Pepsi generation.’ It is for everyone who takes the time to listen.

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