Week #6: Subversive Games for Ruthlessly Eliminating Hurry
Subversive Games for Week of November 7-13
For more details about Games, visit our Communal Practices page . Or visit our Sermons page to access last week’s conversation about Ruthlessly Eliminating Hurry and Games for Un-hurrying our lives.
Jesus invited apprentices to Consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matthew 6) as an antidote to anxiety. Below are practices or Games that we sense may help us to slow down and PAY ATTENTION to the Christ, to our neighbors, to our own selves, and to the Creation.
Game: Play “Railroad Penny” with the Christ aka Silence & Solitude
Consider going to a “solitary place” to encounter Christ’s presence for a set time each day over the next week.
Aim small, miss small with the time set: It could be 2 or 3 minutes (see Resource below for a basic practice).
Defining Solitary Place:
Desert (aka Railroad Tracks): The Greek word is EREMOS, and it has a wide array of meanings: desert, deserted place…desolate place … solitary place … lonely place … quiet place … wilderness.
Can I name a consistent solitary place?
A Story of the Railroad Penny Game:
(*** Disclaimer: This is merely an illustration…Please do not attempt this in real life as it is dangerous!!! )
When I was a kid growing up in Indianapolis, my dad would occasionally take me to the RR tracks close to my grandparents home. We would lay pennies on the tracks and come back the next day to see if a train had come by and smashed them. The RR tracks were a deserted place that offered me a space to reflect and to play this game…it was also one of the times that I had the comfort of my dad’s presence in the midst of the solitary.
Today - I walk along the out-of-use RR tracks along the Fore River Sanctuary in Portland, Maine.
It has become a solitary place for me. It has become a desert place for me. A space of struggle, encounter with the Christ presence, and to cultivate compassion for the neighbors in my community.
The RR tracks have become a place for me to walk at a 3mph pace!
The RR tracks have become a place where because I am walking slow and alone, I wrestle with the ways I have colluded with the Enemy Powers - thereby its like my demons are jumping out from the trees and appearing from the murky waters of the canals, and I have the opportunity to meet them face to face…And then, Jesus reminds me that is not my Identity and often times, the invitation is to play a game —like the Penny game — where Christ is with me and offers a balm of encounter and presence and strength … and wouldn’t you know it? Often times, I have images of compassion that fuel my week…
I want to suggest to us that one of the chief ways we apprentice with Jesus is through silence and solitude. Silence and Solitude are the spaces where Christ joins with us in the struggle of our false selves and the space where we encounter the healing Presence of God’s love that engages the true self…and out of that new creation / new self, we are able to engage our neighbor with compassion.
References Reflecting the Eremos - Solitary Spaces - of Jesus:
Matthew 3:13-4:11
Mark 1:35-39
Mark 6:30-56
Luke 5:15
Defining Silence & Solitude in 2021?:
How would I define external silence?
How would I define internal silence?
How is solitude different from loneliness?
Resource for Practicing: SOLITUDE + SILENCE
The prayer of silence is not jut about quieting external sounds. It is largely about quieting the inner noise in our minds. There are all kinds of voices rattling around inside us, battling for our attention. This practice is aimed at increasing our ability to silence the inner noise in order to hear the voice of God.
Practice Solitude + Silence: Start by closing your eyes. Sit up straight or lie down, whichever is more comfortable for you. Pay attention to your breathing: Feel the air enter just beneath your nose, and the slight cooling sensation as the air comes in and goes back out. Don’t change your breathing, simply be aware of it. Notice any tension in your body, your belly, your chest, your shoulders, or your face. Notice the way your mind fixates on the past and projects into the future. Notice the way your mind verbalizes this moment. Just observe it. Watch it without judgment. What are the noises bouncing around inside your head? Each time a particular thought seizes your attention, simply return to focusing on your breath out as a symbol of putting distance between you and your thoughts. The trick is to neither resist nor retain the thoughts and feelings in your body and mind. Just watch them and gain distance from them, the way a plane gains distance from the ground on takeoff. Start small; try five minutes a day. Eventually increase the amount of time you spend in silence. As you begin to feel the distance between yourself and the thoughts that usually fight for your attention, how are you aware of God’s presence? What, if anything, is God saying to you?*
*[Copyrighted material: Shane Hipps, 2009. Used with permission.]