The Divine Life in the Interruptions

Reflecting on the past few weeks of my life and thinking this morning about the interference's and complications of life with my “study and reflection” time. 

Quick timeline:

4^th Week Past:  Spent the week walking with a wife and family through the death of a husband, son, son-in-law, brother, grandson, etc.  Culminating in a funeral service two weeks ago.

3^rd Week Past:  Week of vacation on the Washington Coast.

2^nd Week Past: Spending with a family member who is recovering from surgery due to breast cancer.  (Prognosis is VERY good)

Current Week:  Hanging with my dad at the hospital after his total knee replacement a couple days ago.

I find myself at times, whether intentionally or unintentionally (usually) separating my pursuit of the “divine” life and following Christ with my “real” life which is honestly filled with interruptions.  The interruptions can be tragedy or comedy; mourning or celebration.  I was very distracted the week after the death; trying to walk with a family, trying to find answers when all the answers seem trite and unhelpful. 

The third week past I thought it was going to be myself, my wife, and our youngest son at the beach… lots of time to read and reflect.  We usually have her birthday at the beach.  This year it was going to be a bit empty as our oldest son lives in  Phoenix and said he couldn't make it, and our middle son is about to go off to college and couldn't make it because  he’s working as much as possible to pay for school.  Our oldest drove into the driveway at the beach on Tuesday of the week surprising us.  Our middle son showed up on Friday (my wife’s birthday) to spend the weekend with us, surprising us.  It was maybe the best week ever at the beach… but our oldest son is VERY busy… and all three of the wildboyz have kept us on the run for now 22 years.  But my study of the “divine” life was somewhat hindered by “real” life as I sometimes think about it.

Second week past… just trying to present with my sister.  She’s doing well but the moments when fear sinks in or reality creeps up a little too close are tense for her.  I’m just trying to cook, do dishes… that sort of thing, and talk.  Trying to be attentive, but not smothering.  Yesterday we got the craving for a blackberry cobbler because we noticed a few wild blackberries outside the window.  So we made one and ate it with Vanilla Ice Cream.  Not trying to brag… but it was pretty darn good.

This week I’m just at the hospital with my dad, because it’s hard to just leave someone at the hospital these days without an advocate… or at least so it seems to me. 

In the midst of all this I’m getting some things done, and starting to find a rhythm with some class work I think.  But a few things have occurred to me in the midst of all this.  First, in the project of following Jesus, it must be the case that the divine life and real life are the same life.  They cannot truly be separated as “secular” and “sacred” perhaps cannot be separated.  Everything is sacred… is that true?  It seems true to me.  Is baking a cobbler as sacred as preparing a sermon?  I think it may be… maybe even more sacred!  I’m sure more people would rather eat my blackberry cobbler than listen to my sermons. 

Second I just watched JP Moreland’s tribute to Dallas Willard at Willard’s memorial service in which he said in tribute to Dallas Willard, “I asked Dallas one time what his life aim was?  He said, ‘Just to be a light at USC.’”  It seems to me that one of the significantly transformative things we can do is to intentionally be a light wherever we are… at this moment.  In tragedy, on the go-carts at the beach, in caring in tense situations, at work, at the grocery, at the gas pumps, or wherever. I know that shining the light is a passive thing… that is to say, as we are shaped in the image of Christ the light of Christ WILL shine even without our willing it intentionally.  But it’s also intentional.  I just finished “Knowing Christ Today: Why we can Trust Spiritual Knowledge” by Dallas Willard in which he describes Frank Laubach’s finding God’s presence in all the moments of the day (p.149), “With much effort and practice he trained himself to bring God, and what is of God, back before his mind every minute or so, and from this he constantly drank in power to guide and strengthen himself.”  I’m going to try and work on this… my mind is a wandering thing.

Third, and I can’t remember which interview this comes from, but John Ortberg is asking Dallas Willard how to begin the project of following Jesus.  The answer, “Just do the next right thing you know to do.”  I thought that was profound.  It doesn’t sound very religious… which I also liked.  Perhaps this coincides with “The sacrament of the present moment as it is sometimes called, is from the human side nothing but the invocation, expectation, and receptivity of God’s presence and activity where we are ad in what we are doing at any given time.” (KCT p.153)

All this to say that the pursuit of Jesus’ divine life in the interruptions of real life is the only option, because life is filled with interruptions.