Is Rest and Retreat Only for the Privileged?
LETTER BY GRACE POUCH
Is a retreat something only the privileged can afford?
For the one
whose workload is heaviest,
who lives hand-to-mouth,
whose family responsibilities are non-stop,
whose caregiving and pastoring duties are all-consuming,
retreat can feel like a logistical impossibility. Even a cruel taunt.
Some people say that all the talk in spiritual formation circles about retreat and sabbath is a vestige of whiteness and privilege. I can see where they’re coming from. But Scripture shows that God’s invitations to times of rest and retreat are for everyone, everywhere: poor or prosperous, busy or bored.
For the Hebrew people in the harsh Egyptian desert, taking a day of rest meant risking a stable food supply. The riskiness of it was tied to the blessing of experiencing the Lord’s provision and renewing their trust in him.
Likewise, Jesus’ call to retreat from noise and hurry was not a special opportunity reserved for the wealthiest among his followers.
When his disciples were so busy serving people that they didn’t have time to eat, he said, Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest (Mark 6:31).
And to a mixed crowd he said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
His invitation is to all who carry burdens.
Including those with financial hardships.
Including those with means — who can be “heavy laden” with wealth and important things to do. They, too, are invited to retreat.
What the critics of contemporary expressions of retreat have right is that retreating in the way of Jesus must cost us something… we must give something up. A retreat should challenge our excesses. But at the same time, it should feed our emptiness. An unburdening and a filling.
Above all, retreat should help us to return to our “first love” (Revelation 2:4).
Grace Pouch
Content Manager
P.S. First Love is the name of the Renovaré retreat for pastors and ministry leaders, scheduled for April 22 – 25, 2024 in a beautiful location near Charlotte, NC. There, hardworking leaders can truly rest and return to that core relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit that is so essential to their spiritual health and ability to pastor others. Pricing tiers are available for those who have less or more means. If you are a pastor in need of retreat, or you know one, visit or share the First Love webpage.
P.P.S. Renovaré offices will be closed next week for Thanksgiving. Renovaré Weekly will be back on December 1st!
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LET’S DIVE IN...
CURATED BY GRACE POUCH
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1.
Emilie Griffin explores the question “Why Do We Need Retreat?” in this excerpt from her book Wilderness Time.
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2.
Retreat can help us recover a contemplative “openness to the meaning of things.” But Bill Vaswig reminds us that we need not limit contemplation to special times of retreat: “Contemplation can even take place during intense activity. One person I know contemplates constantly as she pulls weeds in her lovely garden.”
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3.
Marva Dawn’s hymn “Come Away from Rush and Hurry,” sung here by our beloved Carolyn Arends, is a wonderful way to open a worship service or to begin your own personal retreat.
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4.
Pastor Kai Nilsen, one of the speakers at the First Love pastor’s retreat, recommends the book Re-Framation: Seeing God, People and Mission through Reenchanted Frames, by Alan Hirsch and Mark Nelson. The book is “an invitation to stretch our minds, expand our hearts, and awaken ourselves and those around us to the grand story of God.”
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5.
Another speaker at First Love, Mimi Dixon, sent in this suggestion for Renovaré Weekly readers: “Joseph Tetlow’s book Always Discerning is exceptionally well written with short chapters, lots of stories, and a graced wisdom for such a time as this.”
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6.
Start small with a 15-minute “retreat” before you begin your day’s work — consider using these morning prayers by John Baillie. Or, try a practice a mom-friend and I were recently discussing: transform a rare moment alone in the car into a mini-retreat — pray out loud, sing to God, admire the sky, soak in the silence.
Grace Pouch
Content Manager