The Rocking Chair Prophet by Matthew Kelly

Author:Matthew Kelly [Kelly, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2023-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

WORSHIPPING EFFICIENCY

As the sun was rising the following morning, Sean was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee, waiting for Daniel earlier than usual. Something had been bothering him for a couple of weeks now.

“Good morning, Sean.”

“Morning, Daniel.”

“You’re early. Is everything okay?”

“Can I ask you a question?” Sean replied.

“Anything.”

“I’m concerned that people are having to wait too long, and I wondered if you’d consider spending less time with each person,” Sean ventured cautiously.

Daniel sat quietly pondering what Sean had said for a moment. Sean had grown accustomed to this and simply waited.

“You are a good man, Sean,” Daniel said, affirming him. “Your care and concern for the people who come to visit is pure, but we need to remember there is no ‘efficient’ way to do this. Life is messy and people are messy.

“The reason I spend so much time with each person is because I need to know their hearts before I can speak into their lives. Until I know something about their pain and joy, I don’t feel like I have the right to say anything.

“It is written: ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his or her point of view.’”

“I feel bad for the people waiting,” Sean explained.

“I understand,” Daniel replied, “but there is no need to feel that way. The waiting is part of the experience. They live busy lives in a noisy world, and it’s good for them to have an opportunity to slow down and reflect.

“You and I are children of a culture of efficiency. We’ve spent our lives trying to do things faster. Many things can and should be more efficient, but some things should never be made efficient. Friendship and parenting aren’t efficient. Love itself isn’t efficient. Relationships thrive on carefree timelessness—time together without an agenda. When we throw off the constraints of schedules and agendas, we bond in unimaginable ways. If we try to make this efficient, it will become inauthentic and inhumane,” Daniel concluded.

Sean noticed something different about the tone of Daniel’s voice. He couldn’t pinpoint it at first, but looking up from his coffee, he met Daniel’s eyes. “You seem especially passionate about this, Daniel,” Sean said.

“I am.”

“Why?” Sean volleyed reflexively. “I mean, I understand the reasons you’ve shared, but is there something more?”

“There is,” Daniel replied cryptically.

Sean didn’t press him. He just waited. He knew if he waited patiently, Daniel would share what was on his heart.

“You asked me once if I was afraid of anything,” Daniel began. “I’m afraid of being dehumanized, of not being seen as a living, breathing person. This is one of the reasons I have never liked being called the hermit or the healer or the prophet, because these names are so impersonal.

“For years now, I have reflected long and hard on the problems we face as a civilization. The conclusion I have reached is that our best chance of preventing almost every type of suffering on this planet is to embrace a radical effort to rehumanize society. This may sound complicated, but it’s actually exquisitely simple.

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