"Being a Lutheran can be a cross, especially in trying times. Why insist on believers having citizenship in two distinct kingdoms—earth and heaven—when one of them, the world around us, is so dysfunctional? So I took a three-day leave of absence to join an Amish congregation whose bishop, Vernon Raber, told me, "We are citizens of one kingdom only, the kingdom of Jesus Christ!" I thought they were an excellent group to escape to, good Christians singing and praying in German, my mother tongue, and avoiding the vulgarities of politics. I liked it.">> Article continued in Christianity Today.
What do you think, you who like me walk a media-rich, multi-tasking, ever-outward-reaching way. Do you sometimes long to get away from the fragmentation and ambiguity of modern life? Should we go spend some time with the Amish?
3 comments:
We have a lot of Amish in Northern NY and I don't think they are necessarily 'stress free.' Farming, for me anyway, is a stressful occupation. Personally, my time spent in an Amish home, was VERY stressful. (I was having my third child in the Amish midwife's home!)
I suppose one man's stresser is another's...what? Pacifier?
Or maybe the Buddists?
Pat, as I was looking for photos to suggest Amish-ness I remembered how much work farming can be!
Dad, you're right - if I wanted to get serious about disengaging from pain, the world, unmet expectations... Buddhism would be the road to take! I can see the appeal.
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