The silent turning of cycles and rhythms

Wayne Muller writes: “Every day, every year circles around the silent turning of cycles and rhythms. At Christmas we are reminded to look carefully, to remember that God can take birth where and when we least expect it, and to rejoice when we discover even the tiniest, infant manifestation of the divine. Hanukkah reminds us again and again that in the dark the light is born, that it is never fully extinguished, no matter how hopeless and impenetrable the darkness. The Crucifixion reminds us that all things must die, and Easter that all things will be reborn. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur remind us that we must account for our lives, our actions, be mindful of what we have done, atone for our mistakes, and begin always and again anew. In the month of Ramadan, we fast and pray, and devote ourselves to a God who will not leave us comfortless. On Sabbath we rest and remember that we are cared for. “

“Liturgical ritual is meant to be repeated. We are not supposed to do it right the first time, and then be done with it. We are not supposed to do it better each year until we get it perfect. This year’s Easter (or Christmas) does not have to be new and improved, move dramatic and moving than last year’s. The perfection is in the repetition, the sheer ordinariness, the intimate familiarity of a place known because we have visited it again and again, in so many different moments.“

From the book Sabbath – Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller