“Be still, and know that I am God“– Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Forty years ago Matthew Broderick spoke the iconic words, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” These words come from the popular movie, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” These words have become a bit of a mantra for many of us over the years. We realize how fast life moves.
Just think about all that’s happened this year. Christmas was not that long ago. Yet, since Christmas, we have made it through the first two months of the year. The Super Bowl and the Olympics have come and gone. We will soon move into spring break and we will start thinking about summer vacations. Life moves pretty fast. And of course the need is to “slow down” a bit and consider our place in life.
During the forty day season of Lent we are called to slow down and spend time embracing the spiritual disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, study, and service. This season that began on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Maundy Thursday is a time to go deeper in our faith and help those around us. As Pope Francis once said, “During this season of conversion, let us renew our faith, and receive with open hearts the love of God.”
Now I don’t really have anything profound to say about slowing down in the midst of our busy lives, but I might lift up a couple of thoughts. One is to simply “maximize the moment” we are in. We need to squeeze meaning out of what’s right in front of us, instead of rushing past it. In the moment we might have an opportunity to deepen our faith by embracing the various disciplines, but we might also need to assist our fellow person, our neighbor. If we are moving too fast, we don’t notice the needs around us.
Beyond all this, we want to “carry momentum” into our work and life. This means we need to navigate the change, challenges, and opportunities in front of us to sustain forward motion. It means we need to effectively execute the transitions we are in, much like a “race car driver” optimizes speed going around a corner to maximize velocity on the straight. As a colleague once told me, “while sustaining momentum is good, it’s better to increase it.” Might we keep working to slow down and maximize . . . and even thrive, in the midst of the moments we are in!
Grace and peace to each of you, Pastor Scott