The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
Part three: Practices for unhurrying your life
Silence and solitude(1|3)
Pages 119-127
TOGETHER read the book (END READING AT: …the quiet place was top priority for Jesus.) then the following scripture slowly and attentively.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Habakkuk 2:20 (NIV) The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
Isaiah 30:15 (NIV) In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.
Psalm 118:5 (NIV) When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.
GROUP DISCUSSION:
The most radical, and many would say, the most difficult of all the practices of Jesus is silence and solitude. A working definition is: intentional time in the quiet to be alone with God, and our own soul. It’s the space we make for God to love us, and to transform us into people of love.
The hurried digital life distractions are robbing us of the ability to be present. Present to God. Present to other people. Present to all that is good, beautiful, and true in our world. Even present to our souls.
What is your reaction to that statement?
Share just one or two things that stood out to you while reading the book and/or scripture. (try to keep it brief)
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
John Mark Comer points out the interesting timeline (the shortness) between Jesus’ “launch” at his baptism and then immediate retreat into the desert (eremos). Matthew 3:16-4:3 (NIV) As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him… He then poses these questions: But why the wilderness? Why alone? And why after forty days of fasting? When he’s hungry?
What is your response to these questions? These are good questions - if a new-to-Christ or a spiritually-seeking person asked you these questions, what would you say?
The wilderness isn’t a place of weakness; it’s the place of strength. “Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness” because it was there, and only there, that Jesus was at the height of his spiritual powers. It was only after a month and a half of prayer and fasting in the quiet place that he had the capacity to take on the devil himself and walk away unscathed. That’s why, over and over again, you see Jesus come back to the eremos.
What is your reaction to that statement?
Jesus came out of the wilderness with all sorts of clarity about his identity and calling. He was grounded. Centered. In touch with God and himself. From that place of emotional equilibrium and spiritual succor, he knew precisely what to say yes to and, just as importantly, what to say no to.
What is your reaction to that statement?
What would it be like to have so much clarity?
If we are yoked to Jesus we are yoked to that clarity. Jesus offers his yoke to us - if we accept the invitation we receive the gift of being led by him in his ways. Pause and Pray - Picture Jesus reaching his hand out - offering for you to take it. With humility and reverence ask him - “where are we going?” Journal about any picture or word or sense you may receive.
EXTRA READING:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)