Saturday, April 6, 2019
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) by Simon & Garfunkel, was one of the happy songs of my early teenage years; much more upbeat than the moody poetry of Leonard Cohen, for example. The first verse goes like this:
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy…
Ah, they just don’t write lyrics like that anymore…
The sentiment, however, the call to ‘slow down’ is perhaps more poignant in this era than it ever was. At a curling bonspiel, the bellow “Hurry; hurry hard!” thunders over the ice. It means ‘sweep harder, sweep now, now!’ Does it ever feel that life is shouting the same message? Does it ever feel like there’s a Red Queen on the throne, as in Alice in Wonderland, declaring “Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” Do you ever want to get off the merry-ground, turn aside from the rat race, break free from the endless loop?
Jesus knew all about it and when he was stressed, overworked and in need of nap, he went up into the mountains to pray. Sometimes large motley crowds of needy people followed him, but at least he knew that he had to centre himself, even if time was at a premium.
He advised his disciples to do the same. Returning from The Mission, “the apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ Mark 6:30-31
What do you think our Lord might say to you? Get up and get busy? Perhaps!
Or
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29
Aside: Buy dried navy beans, molasses, brown sugar and an onion. Other options: maple syrup, grainy mustard, tomato sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, chili powder…