Holy Leisure

"If we are constantly being swept off our feet with frantic activity, we will be unable to be attentive at the moment of inward silence. A mind that is harassed and fragmented by external affairs is hardly prepared for meditation. The church Fathers often spoke of Otium Sanctum, "holy leisure." It refers to a sense of balance in the life, and ability to rest and take time to enjoy beauty, an ability to pace oursevles. With our tendency to define people in terms of what they produce, we would do well to cultivate "holy leisure."

This passage is from a chapter on meditation in Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. It got me thinking about how it does seem that much of my experience in American Christianity is one of frantic activity and defining ourselves by what we 'produce.' I think in that we are reflecting our broader American culture. I have heard many sermons about taking sabbath, but little more than making sure we take a day of week to rest. I also think that it seems many pastors (and missionaries) are driven by proving we did not choose this vocation because it's 'easy' - trying to prove to a rightly cynical world that we are productive. It is a pressure that I feel keenly (mostly internally) as we are in our early days here in Spain.

I know that this idea of holy leisure sounds good, and that I often choose to pursue other forms of leisure that add to the cacophony and frantic activity instead. I know I do not experience this sense of this holy leisure often enough, but I have experienced it enough to know it is good and life giving. I am sure I am not alone, and that many of us would benefit from pursuing God through this.