Quarantined Monasticism
Quarantined Monasticism
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7–11, ESV)
Quarantined Monasticism
As I’ve been thinking about other Christians who have found themselves “separated from the world,” I remember the monks. Now, I don’t agree with the monastic principle of intentionally separating oneself from the world. However, I have a lot of respect for their intense desire to dedicate every aspect of their lives to Christ.
In this season, when we find ourselves forced to be separated from one another, I think we could learn a lot from the monks—how we can pass our days in ways that honor the Lord.
Liturgical Living
One aspect of Monastic living is their liturgical lifestyle. Every day has a rhythm, and every rhythm has a purpose. They design each aspect of their day to shape every aspect of their life into conformity to Jesus Christ. They schedule their day around these activities: communal and private prayer, sacred reading, study, manual labor, service to the brethren, and hospitality.
Typical Monastic Schedule
Prayer and Scripture reading are scheduled morning, noon, and evening. They set aside two times for manual labor: in the morning and afternoon. A time for intentional scripture study is scheduled in the afternoon. Meals are considered an opportunity for hospitality.
Monks and Astronauts
This morning, I read an article about an astronaut who has to practice 2 weeks of quarantine before every space expedition. He was asked to give some advice for those of us having to “quarantine” for the first time. He said, “Well, setting a routine, I think, is the biggest thing. We have no choice in that matter; the mission control folks tell us what that routine is going to be. But I have experienced that in the military on deployment. There were times on my Navy deployments where I had a lull in operational activity, and we found that it was really healthy for the group to stay in some sort of normal routine. If everybody just kind of lounges around and doesn’t get up until 11:00, and nobody’s brushing their hair or their teeth, not only do you look crappy and you feel crappy, but you just get in that funk. So sticking to a Monday-through-Friday routine is probably the most basic thing that I would recommend to folks.”
Temporary Monks
So, I suggest we all come up with our own monastic schedule during this time of “quarantine.” Obviously, put in some work to make this your own and make it work for your personal situation. Yet, I still want to give you a suggested schedule to change as you see fit.
Morning Routine: Wake up, Breakfast, Prayer & Scripture Reading, Be Active Outside Somehow.
Afternoon Routine: Lunch, Prayer & Scripture Reading, Call 2-3 People, Be Active Outside Somehow (Look for service opportunities).
Evening Routine: Supper, Family Prayer & Scripture Reading, Write a Card to 1-2 People, Rest, Prayer, Bedtime.
Gaining Christ
In a time when many things have been stripped away from us, we have a great opportunity to diligently seek Christ. Paul said, "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” (Philippians 3:8-9). Yes, we should always be seeking Christ, but we have a unique opportunity to seek Christ in a unique way. Let us not grumble and moan about it, but do what we can to draw nearer to Christ than we’ve ever been. Let us count everything as rubbish so that we can gain Christ.