But on the first day
of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they
had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Lk 24:1-2a
40 Days of Public
Solitude was a visual arts project that I was involved with last Lent. The project involved 40 artists or
members of the public spending a day in a glass shop window in Manchester city
centre. They were given a meal and
some water and were permitted to take three other items with them. They were locked into the window box
for eight hours and were not allowed to communicate with the outside
world.
As they exited I spoke with many of the participants asking
then how they had found the experience. Many of them had struggled with the solitude, but had
also enjoyed the opportunity to pause in the midst of their hectic lives. We can often forget that there is a
very important button: the pause button.
Holy Saturday is a day to pause, a time to reflect on the
journey of Christ through Holy Week. Christ is in the tomb, the numbness of
yesterday is still deeply rooted and yet there are rumours; rumours of
life. It is a pause, pregnant with
possibilities.
It is also a liminal day: a day on the threshold of both
great joy and great despair. Threshold moments reveal many possibilities to us;
they’re an opportunity to look at where we have been, but also an occasion to
peer over the precipice and see where we could be going. It is not a day to
rush through, but a day to savour.
Savour the pause, savour the potential and savour the anticipation of
tomorrow.
The pattern of pausing and reflecting on the past whilst
anticipating all that the future holds should not be an annual occasion,
especially if we are involved in campaigning or working for justice. The Franciscan Priest, Richard Rohr,
suggests that social action needs to be balanced with a contemplative
life. A contemplative stance that
means that our actions in search of justice are deeply rooted in a spiritual
discipline that centres on the importance of pausing in our very busy lives.
This post is part of my contribution to the Favourable Time - Get it here!
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