Our culture conditions us to avoid boredom

I want to try an experiment: sit still and quiet for 60 seconds. Ready? Go! What was it like? How did you feel?

I find this exercise very difficult. We often resist stillness and boredom. I believe our culture has conditioned us to be constantly entertained, to hunger and thirst for adventure and excitement. Modern Australian culture is ruled by consumerism. We are taught and learn to consume. We look at our phones, listen to the radio or TV in the background, check the news or weather. We crave information and entertainment, noise and activity over quiet and stillness. I know this sounds like me, does it sound like you?!

Author Trish Warren in her book Liturgy of the Ordinary gives the example of making the bed. Making the bed is boring. Each day we wake up, climb out bed, make the bed, but then in the evening pull back the covers, climb in, and make it messy again! This ritual is repeated over and over, each and every day. We might ask, “Why bother making the bed each day? It’s boring, repetitive, mundane, and pointless!” So, many people resist this daily ritual.

Why bother with anything that is “boring”?!

In our gospel reading (Matthew 4:1–11) we encounter Jesus fasting in the wilderness for forty days.

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. After forty days and forty nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. The tempter came to him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man doesn’t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:1–4).

We might think, “Forty days sitting still and quiet in prayer sounds boring!” The season of Lent is modelled after Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. Lent encourages us to be still and prayerful as we reflect on the cross. But like making the bed, we might ask why bother? Why bother with this forty days of quiet reflection and prayer? In fact, we might ask this about anything “boring.” Why bother cleaning, things just get dirty again? Why bother with prayer, I’ll just have to pray tomorrow? Some might consider church boring — why bother with weekly worship, why repeat the same thing, week in and week out? All these things are boring, mundane, ordinary — why bother?

You are shaped by your daily, mundane rituals of life

Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” I think he’s onto something. God has created this world with seasons and rhythms. And God shapes and forms you through the rhythms and rituals of daily life. You are shaped by your mundane, seemingly insignificant, ordinary daily activities. Author James K. A. Smith says this:

Some Christians seem to think that we push back against the age primarily by believing correctly — by getting the right ideas in our heads or having a biblical worldview. While doctrinal orthodoxy is crucial …, for the most part we are not primarily motivated by our conscious thoughts. Most of what we do is precognitive. We do not usually think about our beliefs or worldview as we brush our teeth, go grocery shopping, and drive our cars. Most of what shapes our life and culture works “below the mind” — in our gut, in our loves. (James K. A. Smith, 2009, Desiring the Kingdom, pg 63).

You are shaped by your daily “liturgy” (“liturgy” just means “work” or “service,” the order of daily activities). While what you believe and think is important, the so-called “boring” and mundane ordinary actions in life shape who you more than anything else.

Trish Warren illustrates this point with a story about her mobile phone. She noticed that as soon as she woke, she would look at her phone. It was becoming a false god in her life, ruling and shaping her. One Lent she changed her liturgy. Instead of reaching for her phone, when she woke up she made her bed and had a short moment of silence and prayer. Though just a small change, she noticed the difference.

I have a similar story. Since our kids were little, we’ve added a liturgical element in their day. Every night, after drying them off from their bath, we wrap them in their towel and say, “You’re wrapped up in Jesus’ love.” We’ve been doing this little ritual for about three years. Because of the power of daily liturgy, this means they’ve heard this about 1,000 times. I’m far from a perfect parent, but I pray — together with all the other little things each day — that God has been using these things to form them.

“Tell these stones to become bread”

Recall when Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan tempts him to turn the stones into bread. Jesus is engaged in this seemingly “boring” and mundane prayer ritual. So the tempter offers a shortcut. He tempts Jesus to succumb to consumerism. “You’re bored, you’re hungry and thirsty, here, consume this instead.” Likewise the world says to us, “You’re bored, you’re hungry and thirsty, here, consume this. Watch this video. Read this news report.” But Jesus replies, “[We do not] live only on bread. [We] live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). God offers more than mere bread, more than entertainment or news to consume. He offers his Word, the Bread of Life, Jesus himself. And Jesus is present with you in all circumstances, whether exciting or mundane. So as you go about the mundane and ordinary liturgy of daily life, you have an opportunity to encounter God. You encounter Christ in the mundane.

What kind of people is our liturgy forming us to be?

Christ wants to meet you in your day to day activities, so that he can form you into his people. So the question becomes: What kind of people is our liturgy forming us to be? I don’t know what your daily routine is like, so let’s take our weekly Sunday worship as an example:

1. Invocation and opening sentences	God is present, we are shaped into people who notice his presence.
2. Song of praise	God is worthy of praise, we praise him.
3. Confession of sin and absolution	God forgives our sins, we confess our sins.
4. Passing the peace	God grants us peace, we become people who share peace with others.
5. Scripture readings and sermon	God speaks to us today, we are formed to expect God to speak and to listen.
6. Confession of faith	God is trustworthy, we confess our trust.
7. Holy Communion	God is present to nourish and strengthen, we are shaped as people who are hungry and thirsty for him.
8. Blessing	God sends us out into the world, we are and become people serve God in all we do and say.

Is everything boring?

The word “ritual” can often have negative connotations. It’s true rituals can easily become familiar and boring — “ritualistic.” So the key is to develop mindful rituals, not merely unconscious habits (like biting your nails). It’s important not to lose sight of the meaning that our daily and weekly practices were designed to uphold and unleash.

Just to be clear: I’m not saying that everything in life should be boring! This is not an excuse or reason for our church worship to be irrelevant! Rather I’m acknowledging that not everything in life is exciting. Because it’s not supposed to be! I question whether shortcuts leading to the exciting will actually satisfy our hunger and thirst. Rather, I believe that what really satisfies is realising that in all you do — whether exciting or mundane — God is there to meet you.

Challenge

At our Ash Wednesday service, I challenged you to begin a ritual to remember your baptism when you first wake up. I suggested that as soon as you wake up, to make the sign of the cross on your forehead saying, “I am a baptised and beloved child of God.” One might say, “That’s boring!” And in one sense it is. It’s repetitive, mundane, ordinary. Yet, instead of reaching for the phone or turning on the radio, you will start your day being reminded of who God says you are.

Now imagine if you did something similar for all, or even a few, of your mundane daily tasks? What if each time you make the bed, you said or thought, “God makes beauty out of chaos.” Or every time you wash the dishes you think, “This is like God washing away the mess in my life.”

The ‘Creative Response’ on our Growing Faith at Home sheet encourages you to reflect mindfully on your daily liturgy.

Perhaps you already have many rituals such as making the sign of the cross morning and night, daily prayers, saying grace before meals, etc. Your challenge is to remember the meaning behind each ritual, so that you may continue being shaped and formed by your existing practices.

The season of Lent is a counter-cultural protest. By observing Lent we declare it is the mundane, seemingly insignificant, ordinary rhythms and rituals that shape who we are. Christ wants to meet you in the mundane. He is there in every single moment of your life, and he wants you to recognise his presence. May you meet Christ in the mundane and ordinary, each moment of each day. Amen.

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