Sabbatical Plans

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.” –Plato

This Sunday will be my last “official” Sunday before my summer sabbatical. As many of you know, Debbie and I look forward to nurturing our love of the visual and musical arts and to reflect on how these relate to the rhythm of spiritual practice.

In a world obsessed with words it is easy to forget how the visual and musical arts deepen and increase our awareness of both the beauty and tragedy of our world. Without color and shape, sound and song, our human lives would be greatly diminished.

For many years, I used to wonder why it was that when I took up my guitar and worked on a composition, such as a Bach prelude, or any other well written piece of music, time would evaporate. Lost in the intricate movement of fingers and expression of harmonic sounds emanating from the soundboard, I would often feel the same sensation of heightened awareness that I do when I engage in contemplative prayer. Can listening to and practicing music be thought of as a legitimate spiritual practice? Should I feel guilty for letting my “prayer time” become “guitar time?” Like a proper Anglican, I’ll err on the side of grace, not quibbling guilt.

In Centering Prayer, for example, a sacred word or mantra is used to signal that our intent in the time of meditation is to be in God’s presence. In music practice, it is not a word that we use to call us back to our intent, but a note or series of notes. When we are engaged in the practice of music and find our minds wanting to impose their endless cacophony of thoughts on us, we simply return to the notes that are written on the page or in our memory like the whisper of a gentle and irresistible wind. We’re not trying to listen to the music in order to feel it as a stimulus. Instead, we are letting the notes be the means for leading us deeper into that place where we can be still and know that God is God.

I know this may sound a bit esoteric, but I do believe that there are other languages that can lead us into the presence of God beside the spoken or written word. Art and music are among them, and there is no reason to think that such alternative languages cannot be included as a regular part of our spiritual practice. It’s those alternative languages of art and music that Debbie and I look forward to exploring in the weeks ahead. I plan to keep writing and reflecting in this space during my time away and will post photos and music here as time permits.

Needless to say, I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity. I ask your prayers for safe travel. I ask your faithfulness in worship during the summer and in your financial support of Holy Comforter’s mission and ministry. I ask your encouragement and support for Mthr. Libby and Fr. Jody in their various ministries over the summer, two of the best colleagues a Rector could ever ask for, as are all the members of our parish staff. They are gold. Let them know that.

Rick+