"monestary without walls" in 2008

One of my favorite metaphors for the spiritual life comes from Eugene Peterson in his book, Under the Unpredictable Plant. I consider Peterson one of my spiritual directors from his writings. In this book he seeks to reclaim the spiritual dimensions of pastoral call and vocational holiness, using the example of Jonah. He describes a metaphor of a “monastery without walls.”

“What is required is something large enough to give our spirituality breathing room and ample space for a great variety of circumstances, moods, and levels of growth…The only substantial difference between a monk’s monastery and the pastor’s parish is that the monastery has walls and the parish does not. But walls are not the critical factor in either praying or not praying. What is critical is an imagination large enough to contain all of life, all worship and work as prayer, set in a structure (askesis) adequate to the actual conditions in which it is lived out. [our monastery without walls].”

This is my hope and prayer for 2008, as I prepare to move to Buenos Aires within a couple of months. May our monasteries without walls in 2008 contain plenty of spiritual breathing room and space for abiding with God, sharing life with one another, and mission. All of it is our spiritual act of worship and prayer….our monastery without walls!