Small Moments Are Big
I confess I watched all of Downton Abbey about the fictional Crawley family. And, I’ve seen a few episodes of The Crown, a drama about the real (and still alive!) Queen Elizabeth II.
The same thing jumped out at me from both shows. Both give attention to the small moments of life I usually ignore – getting dressed, setting a table, stirring tea, opening mail, eating a meal.
A big reason they do this is to depict the hyper-formal, entitled bubble surrounding rich people. I find this reason silly and offensive.
But, I become spiritually poor when I fail to slow down and become aware of those moments, and so I thank the shows for reminding me to do so.
We can rush to the Communion Table to remind ourselves of Jesus saving the World without slowing down to truly take in the power of it all. The power of Jesus sitting beside his good friends with love and betrayal in the air, with crumbs falling to the table and drops of wine falling from lips.
We can rush past the moment of gleeful surprise when Jesus took a few loaves and fish from a shy boy’s lunch, mumbled a prayer, and passed out loaf after loaf after loaf to a hungry crowd of thousands.
Or, we can sprint by without noticing the wonder of the disciples out on the lake fishing when they first notice that Jesus, risen from the grave, has appeared and is – right then – cooking breakfast for them on the beach.
When we slow down and pay attention, we often discover the devil isn’t in the details; the Lord is.
A single snowflake on a car roof. A snort of laughter. A ray of light shapeshifting through leaves. The taste of bread upon the tongue.
The same thing jumped out at me from both shows. Both give attention to the small moments of life I usually ignore – getting dressed, setting a table, stirring tea, opening mail, eating a meal.
A big reason they do this is to depict the hyper-formal, entitled bubble surrounding rich people. I find this reason silly and offensive.
But, I become spiritually poor when I fail to slow down and become aware of those moments, and so I thank the shows for reminding me to do so.
We can rush to the Communion Table to remind ourselves of Jesus saving the World without slowing down to truly take in the power of it all. The power of Jesus sitting beside his good friends with love and betrayal in the air, with crumbs falling to the table and drops of wine falling from lips.
We can rush past the moment of gleeful surprise when Jesus took a few loaves and fish from a shy boy’s lunch, mumbled a prayer, and passed out loaf after loaf after loaf to a hungry crowd of thousands.
Or, we can sprint by without noticing the wonder of the disciples out on the lake fishing when they first notice that Jesus, risen from the grave, has appeared and is – right then – cooking breakfast for them on the beach.
When we slow down and pay attention, we often discover the devil isn’t in the details; the Lord is.
A single snowflake on a car roof. A snort of laughter. A ray of light shapeshifting through leaves. The taste of bread upon the tongue.