Boat Time: A Guided Prayer for Liminal Space

Today I facilitated a time of meditation and guided prayer for the Vanderbilt Divinity School community during their online worship.  Since we're all in this 2020 boat together, I'm offering the same to you! ​
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Mark 4:35-36 (NRSV)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.
 
Mark 6:31-32 (NRSV)
31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
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After days full of crowds and constant activity (& sometimes during days full of crowds & constant activity!), what did Jesus and his disciples do?  They climbed into a boat. 
 
The boat offered refuge—it was a safe place to teach from, to take a break from the pressing crowds, to find rest.    
 
It was also a safe place to wrestle—to struggle with and against the waves, to puzzle with what had just been learned or witnessed.
 
And it was a threshold place—floating on the surface of the deep unknown, in-between where they’d come from and where they were going (which also meant into the unknown).  It was a vehicle of both transportation and transformation. 
 
If we were to continue on with our particular Scripture passages we would know what they didn't know.  They were about to face a furious storm (although it wouldn't disturb Jesus' sleep which would disturb them even more!) and their plans for their place of rest were going to be thwarted.       
 
Boat-time was liminal space for them, kind of like 2020 is for us. 
The boat itself was a liminal place for them, kind of like Vanderbilt is for many, kind of like this worship time is for us.
 
So what might happen in this time of liminality?  Will we discover an invitation to rest in the middle of the storm?  If we loosen our grasp on our plans for the future, what will we do now?  Let’s climb into the boat for some guided prayer and find out! 
 
I invite you to close your eyes, maybe raise your shoulders and sigh deeply allowing your shoulders to drop and other places of tension in your body to begin to release. Giving yourself permission to continue to be here rather than the task or place you’re headed to after worship.  As you allow for some slow, relaxed breaths, let each one draw you to the present, this place where you experience the Sacred Presence. 
 
Now in the quiet, listen to Jesus speak the same words to you that he spoke to his disciples, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.”  (2x)
 
Imagine yourself leaving whatever or whoever has kept you busy, worried or even excited today or whatever or whoever is presently keeping you preoccupied, imagine leaving it, leaving them, and climbing into the boat with Jesus. 
 
Take a moment to notice what the boat and your surroundings look like (they might be old or modern day).  You might notice where you choose to sit, who else may be in the boat, just take in the scene with all of your senses, what do you hear, see, touch, taste… 
 
What is the weather and water like in this moment?  What time of day is it?  What state are you in—mind & body?     
 
While you’re looking forward to going to a place of rest, you don’t know what will be waiting for you in the future, all you have right now is this boat and this moment.
 
What do you need and what is being offered to you?
    
Let the scene unfold.  Maybe you voice your need to Jesus and a conversation happens, or maybe there’s an opportunity to rest awhile in the boat just as you are, or you might become aware of wisdom being offered you in regard to something you’ve been wrestling with.  How is rest being offered to your body, mind, and soul, right here, right now? 
 
After a few moments in the silence you'll hear music playing and once it ends I'll offer a Benediction.  

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Benediction: 
May you continue to climb into the Boat wherever you are with your situation however it is, and in this liminal space, may you find rest for your body, mind, and soul.
In and through Christ and all our names for God, Amen.