Scripture Reading: Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10

The essay below is taken from "Bible Readings For Women", Lyn Klug, Augsburg Publishing House, 1985.

"Work is not always required of us. There is such a thing as sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected. George Macdonald wrote this more than a century ago, but his words are no less true today.

"We live in a world that goads us to produce and achieve, 'Time is money', 'Look for measurable results.' The pressure to produce may make it difficult for us to take time for "sacred idleness" like prayer. Or if we do pray or meditate, we can fall into the trap of striving for spiritual productivity. Sometime we need just to sit still and listen, doing nothing, expecting nothing.

"Free for a time from what we do, or say, or think, we may find the truer reality at the center of our being -- all the unseen possibilities, dreams, and hopes. In such idleness we also find rest, knowing that God has loved us not for anything we did, or said, or thought. He just loves us because he wants to. In such stillness we may discover our true reason for existence: to know God."

Lord, help me relearn the art of sacred idleness. Amen

Contributed by Helen L.
Published Monday June 23, 2003
Week 30 of Liturgical Year B