When God created human beings, he enjoined them to work on created things. ~Hildegard of Bingen, Book of Life’s Merits
It can be easy for writers and readers to romanticize the agrarian life. We love to write and read about the transcendent moments of watching the bees on a sunflower or how a sun~ripened tomato tastes exactly like the love of God without experiencing the sting of the bee or the stain of the tomato juice on a clean white t~shirt. The truth is that rural life is often boring, sweaty, dirty and repetitive. And the more organic your practices, the more creation~honoring approach you employ, the more time it takes. The fewer chemicals you use in a garden, the more weeding you have to do. The more grass~fed you want your livestock to be, the more rotating and moving fences you must do. It is often slow, dirty and repetitive. These are not things I particularly like, but I know they are things my soul needs. I need the transformation that comes from doing what I want to do in theory but don’t really want to do in practice. I need the spaciousness in my body, mind and soul that repetition creates, a space that allows the Holy Spirit to speak and move in my heart. I need the garden, the chickens and the seasons. I need to pull weeds, move fences, shell peas, wash eggs and can tomatoes. Again and again and again.
The work of rhythm and repetition is good for all of us—together and alone. This wisdom shows up in our Anglican tradition. Part of the work of liturgy is to create this same kind of spaciousness in all of us. This is why it matters that we show up to the familiar work of the table, singing many of the same songs and praying many of the same prayers, time and time again. When we pass the peace again, break the bread again, repent again, wash each other’s feet again, we are doing things that don’t take a lot of analytical thought. The movements and words are as familiar as taking a shower or washing dishes. It is here, while our bodies and minds are distracted, that our hearts have the opportunity to open, creating space for the work of the Holy Spirit.
For Reflection
How can you create spaciousness? Is there a chore or a spiritual practice that might help?
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