Outside The Box

Last updated on: December 15, 2020 at 4:09 am by Henry Karlson

Outside The Box 2020-12-15T04:09:52-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

JooJoo41 : Hope Chest God Box / pixabay

We often like to get in routines. Even our worship can get caught up in them. This is not to say ritual worship with its routines is wrong – there is much value to it, and it is a legitimate and indeed invaluable way to engage God. Liturgy is an important way to have communal worship of God. However, we must not think God is limited to such engagements. We must not limit the way we worship God, for God is not to be bound by us. We can never limit God with a box.

Everywhere we go, God is there; everywhere we go, we have the opportunity to dialogue with God, to worship God, to listen to God, indeed, to be moved by God. Everywhere we go can be holy ground. Everywhere we go can be sanctified and bring to us the presence of God, but only if we let it. If we try to restrict God, pushing God aside by limiting where the divine presence can be found, we not only risk losing sight of God, we effectively put up a false representation of God, replacing God with an immobile, impotent idol which only has the power which we give it.

Abba Daniel, one of the Desert Fathers, understood this, and so understood that wherever he was at, God could be found. He did not need to go into his cell to find God. He knew that he did not need to abandon the world, to hide from it in order to experience God:

One day Abba Daniel and Abba Ammoes went on a journey together. Abba Ammoes said, ‘When shall we, too, settle down, in a cell, Father?’ Abba Daniel replied, ‘Who shall separate us henceforth from God? God is in the cell, and, on the other hand, he is outside also.’[1]

The Desert Fathers got used to meeting with God in the privacy of their cells; for some, that led them to believe that the only proper place for them to encounter God was in the empty space of their cell. They did not understand the point of their ascetic labors. It was not to distance themselves from the world. It was a tool which could be embraced to help them purify themselves, to awaken their spiritual senses as it were, so that they can truly experience God wherever they are at. The cell made things simple, so they would not be distracted as they tried to turn their life into a life of constant prayer. The point of their asceticism was to find a way to connect with God. But once they did so, and they found themselves engaging God in their cell, they should learn from that experience, and adapt it so that God could be experienced wherever they were, and in whatever activity they found themselves doing. To hide away in their cell after they had learned what they needed to learn from it turned the cell into a spiritual prison, instead being what it should be, a laboratory of spiritual transformation.

The sacraments are invaluable, but we must not limit the Christian life to their reception, thinking that is all we need to do in order to be good, faithful followers of Christ. When asked about salvation, Jesus didn’t say “Just partake of the sacraments and you will be saved.” Yes, he told people to be born again (baptized), he told others they needed to receive the bread of life, but he also told people to repent, to change their ways, to look after the poor and needy, to care of those in need, to go out into the world and not hide from it. God is not bound by the sacraments, and the Christian life, likewise, should not be seen as limited to them. To be good and faithful followers, we need to do more than open up our mouth and receive communion, we need to open up our hearts and spread the grace of that communion into the world, helping to sanctify the world around us. When we cannot receive the sacraments, just like when Ammoes could not be in his cell, we should not find ourselves being at a loss as to how we can worship and please God. We should know the kingdom of God is beside us, indeed, within, and that wherever we are at, we can praise God and act in accordance to his wishes. The sacraments provide us important graces which we need, but, as Christian history also shows, we do not need to be constantly receiving them to worship God. After all, many traditional services, such as Vespers, normally have no sacraments associated with them at all.

Do we listen to Jesus? Do we truly listen to him, or do we try to limit him based upon the few ways which we have come to know him? Do we pay attention to the Gospel and the message within, or do we try to limit it to a few elements found within them, ignoring the rest, thinking they are unnecessary? If we truly paid attention we would learn not to put God in a box; we would find a way to engage God wherever we are at, knowing that God is there too. God is with us. God is always with us. God is not stuck in a box away from us. God likewise, doesn’t want us to be stuck in a box. God wants us to act, to be people of action. God wants us to do more than proclaim the kingdom of God, God wants us to realize it in its fullness. We can be with God wherever we are at, being faithful Christians, even if we find our normal routines are disrupted for one reason or another. If we think we can’t, we have yet to realize what it means to be a Christian, because we have not understood who God is.

[1] The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Trans. Benedicta Ward (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1984),52 [Abba Daniel 5].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Spiritual Reflection

Previous Post

December 13, 2020

The Two Comings Of Christ

Next Post

December 16, 2020 Doctor Who, Mo Tzu, And The Peace Of Christ

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz