During the past year I have joined the daily online streaming of the Anglican Service of Morning Prayer. The informal 20-minute service with psalms and readings for the day plus discussion and prayer, is a helpful way to start the day and to direct my focus. My favourite part of the liturgy from A Prayer Book for Australia is the prayer:
The night has passed and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind:
(Silence may be kept)
It makes me think about how we usually start the day.
Norman Shanks of the Iona Community wrote in the book This Is the Day: Readings and meditations from the Iona Community by Neil Paynter:
We are either ‘pilgrims’ or ‘planners’.
Planners spend their time trying to fit into their lifestyle and priorities set by others, and measure the value of social achievements in terms of material success. Pilgrims on the other hand cope with the unpredictability of life, accept human vulnerability and see life’s ups and downs in terms of opportunities for human growth.
Goals
Planners are probably those of us whose day begins with a too-early alarm that sets in train a well-worn schedule of school and work and appointments and meetings. There are goals to be achieved and bills to be paid. The ladder of social and financial success looms large. The day’s schedule rolls with its own momentum and urgency with not a minute to spare.
Busy! Busy! Busy!
Routine can be comfortable. We don’t need to stop and think. The next task just pops up and we engage with it. Filling the day’s time and space until it is time to slump in front of a screen and then try to catch some sleep before it starts all over again the next day. There’s little time left to nurture relationships or find opportunities for human growth; to relax and enjoy ‘smelling the roses’.
Unpredictability
Pilgrims are probably the ones who get up with the sun or whenever they wake, ready to accept whatever the day may bring. They may live alone or with a big family but are not really fussed about having more than the necessities of living. They’re doing OK. They are unfazed by unpredictability.
Pilgrims take life one day at a time and may seem quite ‘chilled’ about it all. (Sometimes that can be irritating!)
Pilgrims have time for spontaneous chats and a meal with friends and strangers. They may feel moved to sit on the verandah and read a book, or walk in the mountains, or volunteer to help in their local community.
I knew of one 95 year-old who sometimes expressed surprise at waking up to a new morning. ‘Ah! I’m still here. Another day.’
Disruption
Bushfires, droughts and floods have been major disruptions in the last couple of years, and of course there’s COVID. Lives have been turned upside down, plans and routines are in disarray. Many of us are still stressed by uncertainty, by lockdowns and the loss of jobs and opportunities. Social life, overseas travel, restaurants, theatres – all off limits.
Online ‘meetings’ are useful but they don’t quite fill the need for social life and real connection; we’ll be dealing with mental health issues for a long time to come.
Such disruption could be a serious, perhaps mortal wound for some.
The Planner might take a long time to adapt to different ways of doing things, to recover, if at all. The Planner will certainly be wounded.
But the Pilgrim is flexible, ‘goes with the flow’ and while the wound will heal, the scar it leaves will be a gentle reminder of life’s journey, like a worn patch on a favourite garment.
As Pilgrims, Christians can allow God to set the pace and priorities and so gladly say the prayer:
The night has passed and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind:
(Silence may be kept)
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever. Amen.