We like a fell swoop. Something done in one fell swoop. It means doing something with a single, quick action or effort. It’s tidy, and to our overburdened, overscheduled minds, it’s insanely attractive. Who doesn’t love a home run? A slam dunk? That thing where one action completes everything. In my lifetime, ordering a combo meal with a burger, fries, and drink changed the experience of going through a drive-thru. Now, we give a number and a preference for cheese or not and a drink selection. What a time to be alive.
However, when fell swoops and quick ordering are applied to our spiritual lives, more than being attractive, it’s deceptive and can add to our frustration.
We’re complex and nuanced; we contain multitudes—mind, body, and spirit. If we approach ourselves with the hope of fell swoops, we’ll realize we, as people, are annoyingly extra. The task of growing and healing will get saddled with disappointment and self-disapproval because we aren’t a quick, easy one-step fixable thing. Instead, our paths are slow, plodding, and we take turns that we aren’t expecting.
A day ago, I watched Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers come up to bat in the ninth, bases loaded and hit a screaming grand slam to win the game. It tied a bow on the whole affair and sent everyone home happy. In the clip, you can hear the announcers giggling with delight. If only our healing were as epically simple.
The desire for a fell swoop, grand slam kind of spirituality gets marketed to. During the pandemic, a friend handed me a devotional he’d collaborated on entitled “Just Jesus.” The devotions were good, but the title gave me pause. Who could argue with the sufficiency of Jesus? Oh, I’m certainly not; I’m afraid the title suggests that there is a single way that Jesus comes to us. Just Jesus? Yes, and in a thousand ways.
Christ comes to us in a long list of ways. For example, Psalms is a tapestry of creative poetry, giving a cornucopia of descriptions and access points to the Divine. Although we like it as a collection of warm comfort, we might be annoyed when it is our path. It takes concentration, time, imagination, and sitting with imagery that we unfold.
When people want to fell swoop their spiritual lives, it speaks more to our shared impatience with the complexity and variety of the human condition and a God of mystery than how spirituality works.
I’ve listened as someone will express the many challenges they’re facing, and the well-intended advice sounds like this:
“Hey, get in your bible.” Or, “Hey, just focus on Jesus.” I am thankful His word and, more importantly, who He is, are not confined to the printed page or our limited descriptions and concepts.
Yes, and.
What I’ve found to help is a sort of horse stable of voices, a committee of practices, and a meal with courses.
In investing, the successful investor will have a diverse portfolio. Lots of different companies, so when one stock stumbles, the others (from entirely different sectors of the economy) will be unlikely to suffer simultaneously. In a way, this gives protection to the goal of growth.
So, yes to silence and solitude, yes to community and gathering, yes to scripture, yes to prayer, yes to journaling, yes to hearing truth proclaimed. Yes, to music. Yes, to a meditative walk in nature. As Austin Kleon says, “Demons hate fresh air.”
And finally, a listening ear of expectancy to what has been described as the ‘unlikely other.’ The entertained angel, so to speak, serving us coffee, holding a door for us, or giving the random word with a surprising depth we would never expect.
I was once driving down a deserted highway, and one of those Department of Transporation LED signs beamed in the half-light of dusk with the phrase “Be Alert.” At that moment in my life, it was a well-timed word.
So, throw the door open to the many ways we can hear. At the death of Jesus, the temple curtain tore in two; what seemed contained was no longer limited. And so, as Gerard Manely Hopkins penned so long ago: The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
Practically speaking
How do we bring this into every day? First, have what’s called a Rule of Life, a sort of list of non-negotiables that you practice daily. They’ll become streams that feed your soul. No need to overcomplicate it; simply say; these three things, or these four, I will show up for each day. Or, practice grace and say you’ll show up daily-ish. No judgment; life is hectic. While one practice may shrink or deliver less presently obvious truth, they all won’t simultaneously. The topic of a morning routine is hot, and how famous people practice theirs is a whole cottage industry of discussion. Yours is probably more interesting than you give it credit for, so feel free to share something you do or plan to add below.
If this helped you, even remotely, consider sharing it! Thanks, pal!
