Member Devo- Victoria Aguirre
“Opportunity in Crisis: A Monastic Point of View”
I am an opportunity person. My closest friends know that when they come to me with problems, most likely they will immediately be met with a list of things to “solve” their problem. One of the greatest things that I have been learning in this quarantine season is what an illusion of control humanity has. During this stay-at-home order, I don’t have answers to fix my friends’ sudden unemployment. I don’t have the ability to eradicate COVID 19 to guarantee my family members are healthy. I can’t help the feelings of isolation that my loved ones are experiencing so severely. And yet, God has been teaching me that there is always opportunity in crisis.
The question for apprentices of Jesus to be asking right now is “What are the invitations of Jesus in this time? What are my opportunities in this dangerous time?” Luke 5:16 says that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.” This is one of my favorite verses in Scripture. As I came back to it a few days ago, I was reminded of monastic communities. I am by no means a monk, but I have a deep appreciation and interest in their prayer lives specifically. Many monks withdraw from the world in order to spend uninterrupted time in prayer for their community, for the hurting, and for unbelievers. Some view monks as lacking the interaction that the world needs in order for evangelism to take place. What if we changed our perspective from that to a posture of appreciation? What if we viewed our current situation with gratitude and an opportunity for quieter, slower, uninterrupted prayer? Whatever stage in life you are in, whether that be young children, single, retired, most people have been forced to slow down and have more time. What if we took this quarantine as a time to cultivate a deeper life of quiet prayer?
Intercession is one of the most powerful things that a follower of Jesus can do for change. Just as monks spend uninterrupted time interceding for the world, I believe we are being invited to do the same in this season. Just as Jesus withdrew to lonely places to pray, I sense an invitation to intercede for the unbeliever, the hurting and isolated, the world at large. I can’t fix this or solve the world’s problems, but I see the opportunity to let go of the illusion of control and put my belief as prayer as the most powerful tool into practice. God is certainly moving in this time and cultural moment, and we are invited to take part in His work in others’ lives through prayer. What would happen if we used this opportunity to emerge after all of this is over more devoted to prayer, the reading of Scripture, and a sense of how to creatively care for others?