Solitude and Sabbath: Life Is Not All Earnestness

Second Sunday of Lent – March 1, 2015

ONCE Abbot Anthony was conversing with some brethren, and a hunter who was after game in the wilderness came upon them. He saw Abbot Anthony and the brothers enjoying themselves, and disapproved.

Abbot Anthony said: “Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.” This he did. “Now shoot another,” said the elder. “And another, and another.”

The hunter said: “If I bend my bow all the time it will break.”

Abbot Anthony replied: “So it is also in the work of God. If we push ourselves beyond measure, the brethren will soon collapse. It is right, therefore, from time to time, to relax their efforts.”
[Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert, p. 63.]

This week, we consider the wilderness wisdom held in solitude. Solitude is the spiritual practice of being alone for the sake of attending to God. By attending to God alone, without the conflicting voices of others, we are able to discover more truly who God created us to be. Solitude was a primary feature of the spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. In fact, they moved into the desert in order to hear from God about how they could live out of their God-breathed purpose.

Solitude is similar to, though not the same as, the spiritual practice of keeping Sabbath. Sabbath-keeping is the spiritual practice of stopping. It is time set aside for attending to God and our basic personhood. Sabbath is not only ceasing work, but it is letting go of anything that would distract us from giving attention to our God-connection.

I love this story from Abba Antony’s life. Antony recognized that those who give themselves to spiritual practice and discipline cannot keep the “bow” of their lives stressed for extended periods of time. As a wise spiritual father, Antony knew that those who are earnest about the spiritual journey also need periods of time when they “relax their efforts.”

Sabbath is a part of life’s rhythm, a rhythm that includes work and rest, breathing in and breathing out, speaking and listening, moving outward and moving inward.

Humans need space for rest, breathing in, listening, and moving inward in order to live a life that is whole and full.

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