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'Now is "the acceptable time" to reject mere connectivity in order to embrace communion with God and our neighbors...'
Dear Parish Faithful, True rest evades us even in our beds, we might find, if we attach ourselves too heavily to the constant 'connectivity' offered by our mobile phones, and to the detriment of communion with God and one another as offered to us in Christ, in the prayer tradition(s) and times of the church. Whether we are single or married, using our phones at night, when in bed, leads to a modern kind of loneliness, which seeks to 'connect' with everyone and everything 'elsewhere', rather than with the One and/or the one (i.e. our spouse, if we are married), whom we neglect while engrossed in our phone. In very practical terms, to be 'redeemers of the time' in the twenty-first century, we are called to learn how and when to turn off our lights and screens, allowing ourselves (and others!) to 'rest' according to God's Sabbath commandment, not abolished but fulfilled and expanded in the era of the church, to every day.
This challenging passage is from the book Praying in Time - The Hours and Days in Step with Orthodox Christian Tradition by Vassa Larin (known usually as Sister Vassa). Many are familiar with Sister Vassa through her YouTube ministry known as "Coffee With Sister Vassa." Her words above resonate with me personally, for since acquiring an iPhone for the first time four years ago now, I find myself (distressingly) too dependent upon it and I have steadily increased my time "on the phone." Great Lent is serving as my wake-up call, and I am grateful for that. If you are willing to admit of the same dependence on your own phones (and I do not mean "keeping track of your children"), now is "the acceptable time" to reject mere connectivity in order to embrace communion with God and our neighbors - including our own family members! Tomorrow morning, I will share some of Sister Vassa's practical advise on how to deal with this form of "spiritual warfare" - stay tuned! |
