1 00:00:02,710 --> 00:00:08,820 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Our lives can become scattered without our even 2 00:00:09,140 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: realizing it. Our attention goes in one direction, our responsibilities 3 00:00:13,260 --> 00:00:17,260 Speaker 1: in another. Our minds race ahead into the future or 4 00:00:17,380 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: circle back into the past. And before long, we can 5 00:00:21,060 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: find ourselves living around many competing centers. Hello, friends. I'm 6 00:00:26,270 --> 00:00:29,510 Speaker 1: Alan Fadling, and you're listening to the Unhurried Living Podcast, 7 00:00:30,130 --> 00:00:33,949 Speaker 1: where we inspire you to rest deeper, live fuller, and 8 00:00:34,030 --> 00:00:37,669 Speaker 1: lead better. In this episode, I want to explore what 9 00:00:37,710 --> 00:00:41,330 Speaker 1: it might mean for our scattered lives to be gathered 10 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,900 Speaker 1: into one life in God. We'll draw on the wisdom 11 00:00:45,940 --> 00:00:51,100 Speaker 1: of Eugene Peterson, Joan Chidester, and Bonaventure, along with Paul's 12 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: letter to the Ephesians, to consider a movement from fragmentation 13 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:01,290 Speaker 1: toward presence, from restlessness toward peace, and ultimately toward becoming 14 00:01:01,350 --> 00:01:05,350 Speaker 1: a people in whom God is pleased to dwell. After 15 00:01:05,390 --> 00:01:08,610 Speaker 1: a brief word from our sponsor, we'll continue the episode. 16 00:01:14,459 --> 00:01:19,620 Speaker 1: I'm increasingly convinced that a less scattered life begins not 17 00:01:19,780 --> 00:01:25,500 Speaker 1: with better organization, but with a deeper, clearer center. I mean, 18 00:01:25,660 --> 00:01:29,259 Speaker 1: I can simplify my calendar. I can turn off notifications, 19 00:01:29,340 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: I can clear clutter from my home or my workspace, 20 00:01:32,940 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: and I can become more disciplined with my time. And 21 00:01:35,819 --> 00:01:38,940 Speaker 1: all of these things may help, but I can still 22 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:44,340 Speaker 1: remain a scattered person. The deeper invitation is not simply 23 00:01:44,420 --> 00:01:47,530 Speaker 1: to manage the many parts of my life more effectively. 24 00:01:48,310 --> 00:01:51,730 Speaker 1: It is to allow those many parts to be gathered 25 00:01:51,790 --> 00:01:55,860 Speaker 1: into one life in God. I was reminded of this 26 00:01:55,940 --> 00:02:01,460 Speaker 1: recently in Eugene Peterson's book, Practice Resurrection, which represents his 27 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,020 Speaker 1: reflections on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Peterson comments on 28 00:02:06,060 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: a passage in Ephesians 4 where Paul uses the word 29 00:02:10,540 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: one again and again. You may remember it. One body, 30 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 31 00:02:21,740 --> 00:02:27,010 Speaker 1: one God and Father of all. Peterson doesn't hear those 32 00:02:27,110 --> 00:02:33,190 Speaker 1: repetitions primarily as Paul insisting on monotheism as a doctrine 33 00:02:33,210 --> 00:02:36,870 Speaker 1: that his readers need to get right. He hears in 34 00:02:36,990 --> 00:02:42,510 Speaker 1: them what he calls a gentle pastoral reassurance that we 35 00:02:42,590 --> 00:02:47,470 Speaker 1: are involved in a life of basic simplicity. I love 36 00:02:47,510 --> 00:02:52,410 Speaker 1: that phrase, a life of basic simplicity. And Peterson is 37 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:56,350 Speaker 1: quick to say that this is not an oversimplified life. 38 00:02:56,770 --> 00:03:04,090 Speaker 1: He calls this simplicity profound and hard-earned. The repetition of 39 00:03:04,620 --> 00:03:08,580 Speaker 1: one in Ephesians echoes the great confession of Israel in 40 00:03:08,620 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: Deuteronomy 6. That's where we hear, Hear, O Israel, the 41 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: Lord our God, the Lord is one. There is one 42 00:03:19,300 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: God at the center of all reality. And perhaps that 43 00:03:23,820 --> 00:03:26,570 Speaker 1: means I don't have to live as though there are 44 00:03:26,630 --> 00:03:32,230 Speaker 1: a dozen centers around which my life must orbit. I 45 00:03:32,270 --> 00:03:35,630 Speaker 1: know what it's like to feel pulled by competing priorities. 46 00:03:36,340 --> 00:03:39,020 Speaker 1: There is work I want to accomplish. There are people 47 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: I want to serve well. There are relationships I value, 48 00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: things I hope will happen, and things I fear might happen. 49 00:03:47,290 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: There are expectations I carry, including some that no one 50 00:03:50,660 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: has placed on me, but myself. Any one of these 51 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: can begin to function as another center around which some 52 00:03:59,900 --> 00:04:06,050 Speaker 1: part of me revolves. Peterson reminds me of Kierkegaard's description 53 00:04:06,150 --> 00:04:12,210 Speaker 1: of purity of heart as to will one thing. He 54 00:04:12,350 --> 00:04:15,830 Speaker 1: also points to Martha, worried and distracted by many things, 55 00:04:15,970 --> 00:04:20,460 Speaker 1: and to Jesus' reminder that only one thing was needed. 56 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: This is why I don't think simplicity is mainly about 57 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: having fewer things on my calendar. It's about having fewer centers. One, really. 58 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:39,460 Speaker 1: The simplification of life is neither easy nor simple. It's hard-earned. 59 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: It's long-worn. But I believe it can become a life 60 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:49,029 Speaker 1: of more peace and less anxiety, more focus and less distraction, 61 00:04:49,830 --> 00:04:55,970 Speaker 1: more devotion and less hyperactivity. The reality that God is 62 00:04:56,370 --> 00:05:00,059 Speaker 1: one becomes essential to the way I live and work. 63 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:05,099 Speaker 1: I'm not being pulled toward many competing centers. I'm being 64 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:10,830 Speaker 1: gathered into one life in God. Now, that sounds beautiful 65 00:05:10,890 --> 00:05:14,270 Speaker 1: as a theological idea, doesn't it? But what does a 66 00:05:14,490 --> 00:05:17,810 Speaker 1: gathered life look like in the busy fall season in 67 00:05:17,870 --> 00:05:23,100 Speaker 1: which I've found myself? Joan Chidester offers a wonderfully practical 68 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:28,420 Speaker 1: answer in her description of the Benedictine practice of statio. 69 00:05:29,380 --> 00:05:34,140 Speaker 1: In her book, The Monastic Way, she describes statio as 70 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,450 Speaker 1: a practice of becoming more fully present where we are 71 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: and with whom we are. I find myself summarizing the 72 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:52,170 Speaker 1: practice in four simple words, namely, be where you are. Now, 73 00:05:52,550 --> 00:05:56,350 Speaker 1: that sounds like obvious advice, but I'm not sure many 74 00:05:56,390 --> 00:05:59,089 Speaker 1: of us are very good at it. I'm often not 75 00:05:59,230 --> 00:06:02,690 Speaker 1: very good at it. I can be sitting with someone 76 00:06:02,730 --> 00:06:04,940 Speaker 1: while thinking about the next thing I need to do. 77 00:06:05,790 --> 00:06:09,150 Speaker 1: I can be working on one task while mentally juggling 78 00:06:09,270 --> 00:06:12,950 Speaker 1: three others. I can be at prayer while rehearsing the 79 00:06:13,190 --> 00:06:16,190 Speaker 1: day ahead. I can be eating a meal while looking 80 00:06:16,250 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: at my phone or watching a YouTube video. My body's here, 81 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,940 Speaker 1: but my attention is somewhere else. And sometimes it isn't 82 00:06:25,980 --> 00:06:28,860 Speaker 1: the future that draws me away from the present. Sometimes 83 00:06:29,180 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 1: it's the past. I mean, there are good ways to remember, 84 00:06:33,260 --> 00:06:36,890 Speaker 1: of course. I want to remember with gratitude. I want 85 00:06:36,950 --> 00:06:40,870 Speaker 1: to learn from my experiences. And where the past has 86 00:06:40,930 --> 00:06:44,750 Speaker 1: wounded me, I want to forgive and find freedom rather 87 00:06:44,790 --> 00:06:51,380 Speaker 1: than allowing yesterday to keep determining today. Either way, Stazio 88 00:06:51,540 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: invites me back. Be where you are. Be with the 89 00:06:57,020 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: person who is right there in front of you. Attend 90 00:07:00,779 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: to the work that is yours to do now. receive 91 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,420 Speaker 1: the grace that is being given here and now. There 92 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: is just something profoundly freeing about this for me. I mean, 93 00:07:14,700 --> 00:07:18,580 Speaker 1: if God is here, I can be here too. I 94 00:07:18,620 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: don't need to get somewhere else to meet with God. 95 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,820 Speaker 1: I don't need to finish three more things before I 96 00:07:25,860 --> 00:07:33,170 Speaker 1: can become present. This place, this person, this task, this person, 97 00:07:33,690 --> 00:07:38,110 Speaker 1: moment and become the place where I receive my life 98 00:07:38,350 --> 00:07:42,530 Speaker 1: with God. Maybe this is one of the most practical 99 00:07:42,610 --> 00:07:49,420 Speaker 1: expressions of an increasingly undivided life. And I wonder what 100 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: kind of person we might become if we learned to 101 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:56,740 Speaker 1: live this way over time. A story in Bonaventure's Life 102 00:07:56,780 --> 00:07:59,870 Speaker 1: of St. Francis gives me an image I've found myself 103 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: returning to. Bonaventure tells of a man who had been 104 00:08:03,700 --> 00:08:08,390 Speaker 1: a celebrated songwriter. He was apparently so accomplished that an 105 00:08:08,490 --> 00:08:12,790 Speaker 1: emperor had given him the title King of Verse. But 106 00:08:12,910 --> 00:08:16,690 Speaker 1: something happened in this man's encounter with Francis and the 107 00:08:16,750 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: community around him. He eventually left behind his former life 108 00:08:21,630 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: and joined Francis and his little band. Bonaventure describes his 109 00:08:26,900 --> 00:08:31,100 Speaker 1: transformation with a phrase I find deeply compelling. He says... 110 00:08:31,380 --> 00:08:35,860 Speaker 1: the man had become converted from the restlessness of the 111 00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 1: world to the peace of Christ. In fact, Francis gave 112 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:47,350 Speaker 1: him a new name, Brother Pacificus. In other words, Brother Peaceful. 113 00:08:48,530 --> 00:08:52,750 Speaker 1: I love that description of conversion, from the restlessness of 114 00:08:52,790 --> 00:08:57,209 Speaker 1: the world to the peace of Christ. Now, we often 115 00:08:57,250 --> 00:09:00,939 Speaker 1: speak about conversion in other ways, and rightly so. from 116 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:06,620 Speaker 1: unbelief to faith, from darkness to light, from death to life. 117 00:09:07,620 --> 00:09:10,660 Speaker 1: But I wonder if part of our continuing conversion is 118 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: precisely this movement from restlessness toward peace. This is something 119 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:21,179 Speaker 1: of what I envisioned when I wrote A Non-Anxious Life. 120 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: I believe there's a way in which we can increasingly 121 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,319 Speaker 1: embody the shalom of God's kingdom and that becomes a 122 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: witness to a restless world. Our world, after all, makes 123 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,860 Speaker 1: plenty of promises about where rest can be found. Acquire 124 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,699 Speaker 1: enough of the right things. Achieve enough. Build an impressive 125 00:09:43,780 --> 00:09:48,660 Speaker 1: enough resume. Gain enough approval or establish your reputation. And 126 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:54,239 Speaker 1: then maybe you can finally rest. Come to think of 127 00:09:54,300 --> 00:09:59,210 Speaker 1: these as identity treadmills. We keep moving. But we never 128 00:09:59,530 --> 00:10:05,140 Speaker 1: quite arrive. There is always another achievement, another comparison, another 129 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,370 Speaker 1: person whose approval seems to matter, another bit of evidence 130 00:10:09,450 --> 00:10:13,329 Speaker 1: we need to prove to ourselves that we are enough. 131 00:10:14,730 --> 00:10:18,950 Speaker 1: The good news is that the peace of Christ invites 132 00:10:19,090 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: us off the treadmill. I would like very much to 133 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: become more of a brother Pacificus in the way I live, 134 00:10:28,580 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: the way I interact with others, and the way I 135 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:39,209 Speaker 1: do my work. Brother, peaceful. Sister, peaceful. Doesn't that sound inviting? 136 00:10:40,250 --> 00:10:43,189 Speaker 1: And I think I'm more that person today than I 137 00:10:43,270 --> 00:10:46,910 Speaker 1: was five or ten years ago. And where that's true, 138 00:10:47,150 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: I'm grateful. because I don't believe it's mainly the result 139 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,700 Speaker 1: of my having worked harder at being peaceful. It's been 140 00:10:55,740 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 1: a gift of the Spirit's patient work in my life. 141 00:11:00,350 --> 00:11:04,650 Speaker 1: And that brings me to one final image. Recently, in 142 00:11:04,710 --> 00:11:07,930 Speaker 1: my daily scripture reading, I was touched again by the 143 00:11:08,010 --> 00:11:13,010 Speaker 1: final words of Paul's letter to the Ephesians in chapter 2, 144 00:11:13,010 --> 00:11:21,479 Speaker 1: which says, and rises to become a holy temple in 145 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: the Lord. And in him you too are being built 146 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,420 Speaker 1: together to become a dwelling in which God lives by 147 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: his Spirit. I'm struck by the verbs Paul uses. Joined together, rises, 148 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:43,809 Speaker 1: being built together, becoming a dwelling. Paul is describing something 149 00:11:43,950 --> 00:11:48,110 Speaker 1: God is doing. And he isn't merely describing something God 150 00:11:48,190 --> 00:11:51,770 Speaker 1: is doing in me. He's describing something God is doing 151 00:11:51,970 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: among us. Throughout Ephesians 2, Paul has been describing Christ's 152 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:04,740 Speaker 1: work of bringing together what had been divided. The culmination 153 00:12:04,780 --> 00:12:08,150 Speaker 1: of that movement is this image of a people being 154 00:12:08,270 --> 00:12:13,069 Speaker 1: joined together into a holy temple, a dwelling place for 155 00:12:13,130 --> 00:12:16,689 Speaker 1: God by his Spirit. This is one of the many 156 00:12:16,790 --> 00:12:21,310 Speaker 1: places in Scripture where I see God's formational intention for us. 157 00:12:22,730 --> 00:12:27,349 Speaker 1: Spiritual formation is not simply my project of constructing a 158 00:12:27,830 --> 00:12:33,670 Speaker 1: better version of myself. It is my participation in something 159 00:12:33,740 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: God is already doing. God is forming us, joining us together, 160 00:12:40,020 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: making his home among us. We are not passive. in 161 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:49,700 Speaker 1: that process. We respond. We make ourselves available. We practice 162 00:12:49,780 --> 00:12:53,300 Speaker 1: ways of living that help us become more receptive and 163 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:58,050 Speaker 1: responsive to the Spirit's work. But God is the one 164 00:12:58,470 --> 00:13:03,050 Speaker 1: who builds. And this brings me back to where we began. 165 00:13:04,030 --> 00:13:07,970 Speaker 1: There is one God, so my life does not need 166 00:13:07,990 --> 00:13:12,210 Speaker 1: to revolve around many competing centers. I can learn to 167 00:13:12,270 --> 00:13:17,150 Speaker 1: be where I am because God is already here. Over time, 168 00:13:17,170 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: I can be converted more and more from the restlessness 169 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:25,580 Speaker 1: of the world to the peace of Christ. And even 170 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:29,720 Speaker 1: that peace is not simply for me. God is gathering 171 00:13:29,820 --> 00:13:33,950 Speaker 1: us into a people whose life together becomes a dwelling 172 00:13:44,429 --> 00:13:49,230 Speaker 1: become together a dwelling for God. Maybe these are not 173 00:13:49,350 --> 00:13:53,870 Speaker 1: four different ideas after all. Maybe they are just four 174 00:13:53,950 --> 00:13:59,370 Speaker 1: glimpses of one gracious work of God, God gathering our 175 00:13:59,510 --> 00:14:07,720 Speaker 1: scattered lives into his life of peace. Thank you for 176 00:14:07,780 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: listening to the Unhurried Living podcast. To learn more about us, 177 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:16,719 Speaker 1: visit unhurriedliving.com. In the show notes, you'll find helpful links 178 00:14:16,900 --> 00:14:20,859 Speaker 1: and information about our partner, Life Audio, and all of 179 00:14:20,940 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 1: their other faith-centered podcasts.