The Fruitful Downtime of Divine Service

By Rev. Michael Keith

When I was in college and in seminary I would spend a lot of time thinking. That’s right, just thinking. No iPhone. No iPad. No Facebook. No iTunes. No TV. No radio. I would just sit in my chair alone in my little basement suite and…think.

At that time, I was learning a lot of things that made me think. I was confronted with concepts and ideas that were new to me. They challenged me. They made me try to figure out how they fit together. Sometimes they upset me and blew apart previously held convictions. Sometimes they made me think about things I had never conceived of before. Sometimes it was like having scales removed from my eyes, and I began to see something clearly. Sometimes the more I wrestled with something the more unclear it got. So, I used to sit and think a lot.

I don’t sit and think much anymore. I’m busy. I’m distracted.

I’m busy because I have stuff to do. I’m a husband. I’m a father. I’m a pastor. I generally find myself finishing one thing and then going to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. The list doesn’t really end. So, it can be a struggle to find time to just sit and…think. I suspect that you, too, in your own way, know what this is like. Maybe it is the demands of school, chores at home, sports teams, music lessons, part time jobs, etc. We’re all struggling to fit into our lives everything that we think we need to fit into them.

I’m also distracted. We’re all distracted now. There are many blessings that come with technology. But there are some struggles that come along with it as well. One of those struggles is that we are constantly bombarded with interruptions from our technology. We receive notifications about this or that post or update or email or text. Sometimes the phone will actually ring and someone might actually call us on our phones to have a conversation. Often, we just pick up our device without thinking about it because we feel like we might miss out on something if we don’t “check in.” Whatever free time there may have been is often eaten up by our use of technology.

So what to do? “The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates said. I think he is right. There is a lot of danger in going through life without giving much thought to what happens around us. I think we need time in our lives free from distractions and free from demands to sit…and think. And it is here where I think the Church can be a great blessing to us in our day and age. It is here that the Third Commandment can save us from ourselves.

“Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” What does this mean? “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” The Lord has built into our lives a time of rest and reflection and examination. The Church has built this into Divine Service.

I encourage you to get to church early rather than to blow in during the last stanza of the opening hymn. What? Well, if you can swing it, do try to get to church early. Sit in the pew. Quietly. Leave your phone in the car. You don’t need it here. Just sit. Think. Think about your week. Think about your life. Where are you? Where are you going? What do you want? How can serve others? Think about questions you have. Struggles you have. Fears you have. Joys you have. Think about God and what He has done and continues to do for you. What questions do you have for Him? Think about…well, whatever you want to think about. But be reflective. Pray. In this quiet time of rest and peace, pray. Pray about what you have been pondering. Don’t let life just rush by you without giving it consideration, thought, and examination. The Church gives you this quiet time. Take it.

During Divine Service we often have Confession and Absolution at the beginning. This is another time for reflection and thinking. We carefully examine ourselves according to God’s Word. We think about our lives. We eagerly receive God’s forgiveness as He speaks through the pastor.

Often while the offering is received there is a quiet time of waiting. This is another good time for contemplation. Even as you place your offering in the plate you could give thought to how it is you offer yourself to the Lord in service to Him by serving others. You can give thought to the needs of those around you. You can take time to pray for the Lord to help you in your life.

As you kneel at the altar, remember what Jesus has done for you. This is another quiet time of thoughtful prayer. Here, at the rail, Jesus offers you His very Body and Blood. You receive the forgiveness of sins and life. Everything you might think about is put in perspective as the Body and Blood of Jesus are given to you. All the struggles and doubts and fears and worries and shame and guilt you have brought to the table are taken away in the blood of the Lamb. You leave the altar forgiven and loved and given newness of life. Afterward there is often some quiet time in the pew for you to sit and think and pray. Use that time. It’s there for you as a gift in your busy and distracted life.

Take advantage of the down times—the quiet inactivity during the Divine Service. Such moments are gifts to us in our busy and distracted lives. Take them. Receive them. Use them thoughtfully and prayerfully.

Rev. Michael Keith serves as pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church and Christian Academy in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.