Good morning, Nativity!

We go through life focused on productivity. We must be productive at work. Even when at play, we expect to be productive. Heck, many of us wear watches that monitor our sleep to see how productive that is! Did I sleep enough? Did I get enough deep sleep? How much REM did I accumulate? Everything circles around productivity.

Many tasks in life appear to be unproductive. Although they are necessary, we rush through those unproductive tasks. We feel compelled to get back to that which is productive. We highlight our output, our productivity. Especially in the short term. And we limit, push to the side, and undervalue those things that appear unproductive.

How then do we treat prayer and worship?

“If we must categorize human activity, then none is more important for a human being than worship, an inefficient and unproductive activity if there ever was one.” (Under the Bright Wings, Peter Harris, 34)

Fr. Harris makes two good points. The first is about how important worship is and the second concerns how worship is among the most unproductive of things that we engage in. I would argue that prayer, too, falls into this area of perceived unproductivity.

We tend to put the things of the earth above eternal things, because we focus on short-term gains here on earth. Earthly treasures, which “moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Mat 6:19, ESV), take precedence over prayer and worship.

How often do we rush through prayer and worship to get back to those things that the world considers productive? Or fun? I will admit that I occasionally fall into that trap. Pray or write my sermon? Worship or figure out what to say in this week’s Nativity Now? Well, the answer is simple! I cannot prepare a sermon or write a Nativity Now without first praying and worshipping. Honestly, we should do nothing without first praying and worshipping.

Jesus would retreat to His desolate place to recharge before doing His Father’s work. He would prepare himself mentally, physically, and spiritually before engaging in the productive and visible parts of His ministry, the healing and teaching. To prepare, He retreated from distraction and talked to His Father. Some might look at this as selfish and unproductive. Why was Jesus not spending that time healing and teaching? Could He not have reached more people if He had skipped the whole prayer and worship thing? Without recharge, the spiritual well from which Jesus drew, the same spiritual well from which we draw, would have run dry and His ministry would have floundered.

Lent is a meditative, contemplative season. A time to slow down and focus on worship and prayer. A time of renewal and re-commitment. Press into that. “Waste” a bit more time in prayer and worship this Lent. It is never too late to add in a devotion, prayer routine, or meditation. It might slow down productivity on earthly treasures, but it will reap eternal dividends that do not rust or decay.

In the Peace and Love of Christ,
Fr. Tim⁺
(941.321.6376; tmac_84@yahoo.com)