I have been contemplating the meaning of the words "in sync" and how that speaks to my partnership with God. The dictionary describes "in sync" as a state in which two or more people or things move or happen together at the same time.
While watching a sheepdog and a shepherd herd sheep, Evelyn Underhill observed, "The best dog that I saw never barked once; and he spent an astonishing amount of his time sitting perfectly still, looking at the shepherd. The communion of spirit between them was perfect. They worked as a unit." They were in sync as they herded sheep together.
"What did that mean? It meant that his relation to the shepherd was the center of his life; and because of that, he enjoyed doing his job with the sheep, he did not bother about the trouble, nor get discouraged with the apparent results. The dog had transcended mere dogginess. His actions were dictated by something right beyond himself. He was the agent of the shepherd, working for a scheme which was not his own and the whole of which he could not grasp, and it was just that which was the source of the delightedness, the eagerness and also the discipline with which he worked. But he would not have kept that peculiar and intimate relation unless he had sat down and looked at the shepherd a good deal."
This reminds me of a story I heard of a peasant who went daily to the little chapel on the edge of his village. The priest observed the peasant regularly. He just sat in the chapel gazing without moving his lips in prayer. Finally, out of curiosity, the priest approached the peasant and asked him if he could be of assistance. The man replied, "Oh no, I just look at him and he looks at me."
Contemplation is gazing on God with the eyes of our hearts. Part of the gazing is believing that God is present with us, even when we feel overwhelmed or discouraged.
The gaze of love between the peasant and God kept them connected to one another, just as the dog's gaze on the shepherd kept them in sync as they herded sheep together.
Still me
until I hear your heartbeat
quiet me
until I feel your breathing
make me
one with your rhythms
move me
to the cadence of your love.
~Jan Richardson
Reflection
What practices do you have that help you stay in sync with the Holy One?
How might it feel to you to gaze intently on God as the peasant did?
Song
Be Still and Know that I Am God, Keith Duke, Geoffrey Nobes, Margaret Rizza, Chants for Prayer, Vol.1
Video
Observe the video of the Murmurations in sync on AGT 2023.
What makes this so spectacular? How does it speak to you?
Resources:
Evelyn Underhill "The Teacher's Vocation" chapter in Evelyn Underhill's The Mount of Purification: Inward/ Outward Together, July 29, 2023
Richardson, Jan (1989). Night Visions. Cleveland, OH: United Church Press
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