Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices - Blogs

April 19, 2011

Don't Try This At Home

It’s probably the most successful example of reverse psychology that’s out there - “Whatever you do, please don’t try this at home.” The effect is instantaneous. Mild-mannered souls become daredevils; otherwise sane folk start working out the logistics behind the stunt. Why are these words so powerful?

The phrase works on me in two ways. First, I don’t like it when people tell me what I shouldn’t do. My inner adolescent rises up in revolt. Secondly, home is the best testing ground there is. Not only is it where I tried out lots of crazy stunts as a kid, it’s also where I continue to try out new practices and new ways of viewing life.

Take Lent, for example. Lent is the season of the Church when many of us try a new spiritual discipline out at home. Whether we abstain from certain foods, try to lessen our carbon footprint, read spiritual texts or engage in service projects, these forty days are when we weave new practices into our personal lives.

This Lent, I gave up eating any sort of meat other than seafood, and although there were several significant break-fasts (my journeys took me through two meccas for barbecue), I appreciated how this discipline connected my daily meals to the wider Church’s worship. But as we conclude the season of Lent, I’m finding that I’ll miss the sense of connectedness that this discipline brings. And I don’t think I’m alone in this.

Various church leaders such as Phylis Tickle and Diana Butler Bass have pointed out that there’s a profound hunger for teaching about spiritual disciplines, and for year-long engagement about how our faith translates into our daily lives. Like many, I’ve found Dorothy C. Bass’ work helpful in this regard. Her series Practicing Our Faith includes writings on keeping the Sabbath, forgiveness and hospitality, while new books such as On Our Way and Money Enough raises the issue of personal finances and what constitutes a good living. These are all questions I’m genuinely perplexed by, and though I don’t think this should be the point of every church event, we’d all do well to frequently connect our ideals to concrete practices that people could “try at home.”

All too often, Lent is the only time when we earnestly ask one another about what spiritual disciplines we are taking on, and push one another to engage in a deeper spiritual practice. Isn’t it strange that this level of engagement ends at Easter? How do you think Episcopal congregations can continue to emphasize spiritual practices throughout the year? With just a few days left in Lent, my tongue-in-cheek suggestion is that more sermons should end with “Don’t try this at home!”