Being Well When We are Ill by Dawn Marva J

Author:Dawn, Marva J.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fortress Press

Rituals

One gift that helps us with the burden of too much time on our hands is to develop rituals. I learned from a Jewish rabbi that our human psyche needs rituals or else all time seems the same. A ritual highlights a specific moment and makes it special.

That is why a family birthday ritual is so important to a child. For the birthday girl to do definite things in a distinct order—like making a wish, blowing out the candles, and then eating her piece of cake without talking or laughing (though others try hard to make her speak or giggle) in order for her wish to come true—makes the day meaningful and memorable, standing out from all the other days as truly unique.

Thus, if we have too much empty time, we can distinguish some of it by engaging in various rituals that set certain periods apart.

For example, we can develop rituals in connection with our meals so that they don’t merge into the rest of the day. Something so simple as lighting a candle and asking God to be present reminds us that the Lord is always with us, but that this mealtime is a special moment to notice His companionship.

Various rituals in connection with our prayers can set them apart. Perhaps we move to a favorite rocker for our intercessions. Maybe we could begin a prayer time with meditating on an icon. Listening to music might set the stage for a distinct time of prayer. If we are physically able, we might incorporate different postures—such as standing with outstretched arms, kneeling in front of a window, or prostrating ourselves on a couch or the floor—into our rituals for prayer.

As we learned in chapter 1, the ritual that begins our closing prayers or hymn-prayers in each chapter reminds us that the covenant LORD is with us and that we are not praying alone, but in a community of believers who share this book. We have hope because we are part of God’s larger story and participants (even when we don’t know how) in the fulfilling of the Trinity’s purposes.

When I was a child, I learned a daily ritual of crossing myself and remembering my baptism. This came from Martin Luther and reminds us to ask God to be the center of our thoughts (as we touch our forehead), of our will (as we tap our heart), and of all our actions (as we pat our shoulders). While we are making the cross on our body, we are saying, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen,” and thereby knitting ourselves to the entire Christian community that has been baptized in this Triune Name.

This ritual is wonderfully helpful, for it stirs us to recognize the Trinity’s presence throughout our day, reminds us of the sure hope that in our baptism we were saved by grace and that we still remain in that grace, and suggests that even our times of monotony can be used for the sake of the community in which we are a part.

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