Lenten Reflection for March 5

“No loitering!” “Quit dilly-dallying!” “I haven’t got all day!” “I don’t pay you to sit around doing nothing!” How often do we find ourselves bombarded with these sorts of messages? How often do we feel guilt rise from within us when we aren’t keeping busy? Where does the adversity toward God’s gift of tarrying come from?

I meditated on these questions as I sat idle, forced to wait for hours at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport last weekend. Feelings of anxiety, anticipation, frustration, boredom, judgment, and general unease rose and fell, as I waited far longer than expected.

In the introduction of Tarry Awhile, Dr. Selina Stone invites us into Lent by foreshadowing Jesus praying at the Garden of Gethsemane, which happens way at the end of the season. She does this by referencing the King James Version of Matthew 26:38, “Tarry ye here, and watch with me,” highlighting an old yet (to me at least) unfamiliar word: tarry.

I found myself defining the word tarry in my mind as synonymous with words like meditation or prayer. And so, to help set tarry apart from these other words I rushed to the internet and found the definition: “tarry: to stay longer than intended.”

To say “I tarried at the airport” would be accurate, but, in the context of Black Spirituality Dr. Stone points out on page 21 that spiritual tarrying isn’t forced on us, it’s a choice. She writes, “To wait on God is to continually notice our need for God to hear, to speak and to act.” Therefore, the act of choosing to tarry exemplifies that we need God, not the other way around. The other thing I find unique about tarrying is that it calls us to stay with God and God’s people past our initial expectations. This act exemplifies our intent to move beyond a simple quid-pro-quo interaction and into a deeper relationship.

With our current politically charged climate, a dive into spiritual practices born and raised in Black churches is vital for me as a White man. It reorients my spirit toward listening to historically marginalized voices as central voices of wisdom. As an ex-Pentecostal, fearful of charismatic and seemingly uncontrolled worship, it’s returning to fear-inducing spaces, leaning on the saving and eternal grace of Jesus, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s leaving all my preconceived notions about what’s important behind and simply entering into spaces with no expectation, other than that at some point God will show up.

As you begin reading Tarry Awhile think about your own context and background. What unique challenges may you need to overcome? In which specific spaces are you feeling God is calling you to tarry?

Peter Schultz is the Worship Director at Church of the Epiphany in Plymouth, Minnesota.