Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise…
The Lorica of Saint Patrick (St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer)
Much of this prayer begins with the refrain, “I arise today.” It is an active prayer, seeking God’s presence in every part of our day, no matter where we go and what we may experience. It is vital that when we arise, we arise with God. But there is more to life than “arising.” As some have said, there are times when our “get up and go,” simply “got up and went.” We have nothing left. We just have to stop.
Most of the time in our culture this “stopping” comes in the form of crashing or burnout. Yellow lights mean speed up and red lights mean slam on your breaks, but there is no such thing as slowing down. And yet we acknowledge today that we not only arise with Christ, but we also sit down and even lie down with Christ. Turns out that resting or even napping may not be a “sin” after all.
When reflecting on the poetic structure of Genesis 1, we find that on each day of creation, there was “evening and there was morning,” and it was good. Perhaps the writer of St. Patrick’s Prayer understood this pattern inherent within creation… evening and then morning, rest and then work, lying down, sitting up, and then arising to the day that God has already prepared for us.
Consider the implications of such a reversal. Rather than jumping out of bed to the obnoxious sounds of an “alarm” that sends our brains into immediate alert or crisis mode, we are invited to sit up slowly and breathe in the mercies of God which are new every morning. The day is not dependent on our urgency to begin. The day began in the evening as we went to bed and God has handled it quite well all night long without our help. Rather than working all day until we crash and fall into bed at night, we are invited to begin our day lying down and resting so that we might enter our work refreshed and renewed. When evening comes, we are not simply trying to unwind from the day or squeeze in a few more hours of toil. Rather, a new day has already begun and we are invited spend the first third of this new day sitting and lying down to rest deeply in the peace of Christ.
This is not a call to be lazy. Work is as much a gift as rest. But work is not the driving force of our life. What we do when we arise does not define us. Who we are when we arise should be the same as who we are when we sit down and when we lie down. Christ is every bit as present in our rest as in our activity.
This is the meaning of Sabbath. The Sabbath is not something else we must fit into our schedule to please God. It is a gift from God so that we might remember who we are. Rest is God’s way of remind us that we do not have to be in control 24/7. The world does not spin on our axis. While God invites us to participate in the work of caring for creation and restoring God’s Kingdom on earth, that work depends far more on Christ with us than on what we “do for Christ.”
It is easy to get fidgety and uncomfortable when we sit down or when we lie down. We feel restless, especially if circumstances such as poor health or an accident prevents us from rising up and being active. Healthy or not, able or not, God invites us to rest first and then work. Evening and then morning.
Lie down in Christ.
Sit up in Christ.
Then arise in Christ, and welcome the day God has already made for you.
Reflections:
1. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being mostly refreshed and 1 being anxious and weary, how do you feel when you arise on the average morning? What factors might contribute to your answer?
2. In what ways might your experience of God throughout the day be different if you thought of the day beginning in the evening?
3. How important is the Sabbath in your life? Do you practice regular rhythms of rest and work? How hard is it for you to slow down? Why?
Our journey through St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer continues next week:
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me…