Like many of you, I spend time each day keeping abreast of the day’s news. I have been following the campaign of former President Trump as well as the campaign of President Biden and now, Vice President Harris.  I have done my best to understand and keep current with the wars in Ukraine and in Palestine. I try to be informed of issues facing our state and local community.  I still read portions of a daily newspaper each day, and as I drink my coffee each morning, I scroll through the news on my computer, stopping to read up on anything that seems extraordinarily interesting or important.  I do all of this because I believe that it’s important for citizens to stay informed.  And I do it because sometimes, I see ways that I, as a Christians, may engage and do my best to make a difference for the sake of love.  My hunch is that many of you do the same. It’s pretty much part of the DNA of faithful Christians, that is, to stay informed and, when possible, to become engaged.

But I’ve got to tell you… reading and listening to the news these days is exhausting.  Many days I feel emotionally, even spiritually, pooped before I even get going. And being involved in making a difference in the community can be pretty taxing as well.  I’m reminded that if we are to be of any use to our families and communities and world, we’ve got to find a way to stay refreshed and renewed.  Our lives are like a bucket of water… we don’t have anything to pour out unless we’re allowing God to first fill us up.  When speaking to some Pharisees that would have made the sabbath a burden rather than blessing, Jesus instructs “the sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the sabbath. (Mark 2:27) In other words, God wants us to be rested and renewed before we return to our work in the world. 

If you’re looking for a place of rest and renewal, it doesn’t get much better than Minnesota in the summer. We have amazing parks and wilderness areas.  I spend at least a couple of weeks each summer in the Boundary Waters, reconnecting with who I am and what is important. I know that many of you value spending time outside as well, perhaps in a garden or forest or meadow, on a lake or stream.  Of course, the value of the outside world is not defined or limited by how it benefits us humans, but there is no denying that if one is seeking sabbath, one need do little more than take a stroll outside.

We’re half way through our summer already! If it wasn’t already on your calendar or your list of things to do, I encourage you today to get outside and experience just how good God’s world really is. Take a walk, dip a paddle, raise a sail, sit under a tree, fly a kite, get outside.  For your own soul’s sake, and for the sake of the world, make it as much a priority to fill up the bucket of your life as it is to pour it out.

John Muir, the great naturalist and hero of the wilderness once said, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” So, my brothers and sisters, stay informed of the world events and keep pouring your lives out for the cause of love.  But for goodness sake, get outside and fill up your bucket too.

~Father Art