Down Shifting

Slowing down to stay spiritually awake

Mark 13:33-37

                Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.  It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.

What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

            

This weekend marks the one year anniversary for me as pastor of Immaculate Conception.  Can you believe we've made it this far??  We have been together for the time that it takes the earth to make one full circle around the sun, which means now we're back exactly where we started in space.  And I gotta say, it does feel like we're going in circles around here!

 I don't know if you've learned anything from me this past year, but I want to share something important I've learned from you.  Living in Fort Smith has taught me to slow down, to sort of "down shift" as I drive through life.  I tend to live at a fast pace, staying very busy, living fast and furious, but this last year I've learned to slow down.  I sometimes joke with people that now I only have two goals as pastor: first, don't screw things up, and second, stay off the bishop's radar.  By the way, neither of those two things are as easy as they sound, especially for a multi-tasker like me.

             But this down shifting has certain benefits, too.  For example, not being in a rush, I listen more carefully to what people say, especially when I go to your homes for supper.  Sometimes, I get great homily material from conversations over beer and brisket.  I should read people their "Miranda Rights" after we say "Grace": "You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Sunday sermon."  Here's another benefit:  when we slow down we can also begin to hear God's voice better; like parents distract small children with toys or candy so they don’t see more serious things happening at home.  We begin to understand what Gandalff said when he counseled Frodo: "There are other forces at work in the world besides the will of evil...and that is a very comforting thought."  This past year in Fort Smith has helped me slow down, and begin to perceive those "other forces" in the world working for good.  It's hard to perceive those forces in the hustle and bustle of a busy life.

In the gospel today, Jesus also urges his disciples to slow down and pay more attention.  Jesus says, "Be watchful!  Be alert!  You do not know when the time will come."  He's referring, of course, to the end of time when he will return in glory to judge the world.  Now there are two different ways to fail to watch, to fail to be alert.  One is by actually falling asleep, and the other way is by becoming so busy that we don't pay attention to what is important.  Ironically, busy-ness can also make us sort of "sleepy" to spiritual things, to the "other forces at work in the world," and we miss the moment of Jesus' return.  You see, being busy actually makes us spiritually sleepy, while slowing down can help us to be spiritually awake and alert.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, a season the church has specifically designed to help us wake up from our spiritual somnolence.  Have you ever noticed how Advent comes a few days after Thanksgiving just like Lent comes right after Mardi Gras - first the feast and then the fast!  Let me ask you: what will you do to make this season more meaningful as you prepare for Christmas?  May I suggest that instead of adding another item to your Advent "to do list," doing something more, maybe you should take something off, maybe you should do less.  In other words, instead of making yourself busier this Advent, try to slow down and down shift a little.

Here are some examples: when you’re in a conversation with someone, try to listen more and try to talk less.  It's amazing the things people say when you listen to them!  Fr. Tom Elliott once told me he'll sometimes tell a hysterical person in counseling, "Can you hear yourself talking right now?"  That comment immediately helps them calm down; they stop talking and start listening, at least they listen to themselves.  Here's another suggestion: when you sit down for supper, eat your meal more slowly.  Msgr. Hebert once gave a talk to us seminarians and pulled out a spoon and simply said: "This is a spoon, not a shovel."  Your meals will taste better when you slow down and add the spice of conversation.  This may sound silly, but as you putter around Fort Smith in your car, try to drive the speed limit.  And all the money you will save from not getting speeding tickets, put in the collection plate at Mass!  Another suggestion: when you visit your family during the holidays don't just count the hours till you get to leave.  Ask questions that show genuine interest and care for the people God put in your life.  My favorite definition of family is this: "your family is the friends that God picked for you."  Now, here's the wildest suggestion of all: stay all the way to the end of Mass, until the choir finishes the last verse of the last hymn!  I know, I know, that's just crazy talk!  But, you see, when we're always rushing to the next thing, we miss what the people right in front of us are saying and what God is saying, and the movement of those “other forces” at work in the world until Jesus returns.

                By the way, the next time you come across a little old lady or a little old man driving very slowly around Fort Smith, don’t honk your horn or give them the evil eye as you pass by them.  Remember they’re probably far more spiritually awake and aware than you or I are as we zip through life.  And who knows, it might not be a little old lady or a little old man in that car, but a little old priest.

Praised be Jesus Christ!