Sit Back, Relax, Enjoy the Flight
I'm by no means a road warrior. I don't have thousands of frequent flyer miles. I have, however, heard the "important safety information" spiel from the flight attendants, enough times I'm fairly certain I could now deliver the information on their behalf. At some point in the pre-takeoff routine, the pilot or co-pilot gives the weather conditions at the destination city (temperature, wind speed, ceiling and precipitation). There's also an estimated flying time ("wheels up to wheels down").
And the doxology at the end of this pre-flight liturgy? "Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight". I suspect it is the airline equivalent to "have a nice day" -- an afterthought that pilots perpetuate from one generation to the next because it sounds hospitable.
These days the phrase rings a bit hollow. How can we sit back when the seats are so close together that to recline the seat at all will immediately place us on the knees of the passenger behind us? How can we relax when we are literally shoulder to shoulder with the person next to us -- a bit phyiscally closer than we're used to being for extended periods of time, with loved ones, let alone complete strangers. Given these questions, "enjoying" the flight seems to be reduced to getting from point A to point B with as little turbulence and as close to "on time" as possible.
This is the time of year we liturgically-minded clergy have our own version of the offending pilots' phrase. We are busy "bidding" folks to "a holy Lent". And even as I have used the phrase over the past few weeks, I've begun to wonder (thanks to my four flights over the weekend), exactly what I mean by saying such a thing.
What is a "holy" Lent? Why is it important to attempt to "have" one? What are the ways someone could actually engage the season in a "holy" fashion? Why bother? What's the point? Who cares? How can this invitation possibly become more than ecclesiastical "filler" with no discernible traction in/impact upon people's lives?
From unreflective stained glass language...
Good Lord, deliver me!
I'm by no means a road warrior. I don't have thousands of frequent flyer miles. I have, however, heard the "important safety information" spiel from the flight attendants, enough times I'm fairly certain I could now deliver the information on their behalf. At some point in the pre-takeoff routine, the pilot or co-pilot gives the weather conditions at the destination city (temperature, wind speed, ceiling and precipitation). There's also an estimated flying time ("wheels up to wheels down").
And the doxology at the end of this pre-flight liturgy? "Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight". I suspect it is the airline equivalent to "have a nice day" -- an afterthought that pilots perpetuate from one generation to the next because it sounds hospitable.
These days the phrase rings a bit hollow. How can we sit back when the seats are so close together that to recline the seat at all will immediately place us on the knees of the passenger behind us? How can we relax when we are literally shoulder to shoulder with the person next to us -- a bit phyiscally closer than we're used to being for extended periods of time, with loved ones, let alone complete strangers. Given these questions, "enjoying" the flight seems to be reduced to getting from point A to point B with as little turbulence and as close to "on time" as possible.
This is the time of year we liturgically-minded clergy have our own version of the offending pilots' phrase. We are busy "bidding" folks to "a holy Lent". And even as I have used the phrase over the past few weeks, I've begun to wonder (thanks to my four flights over the weekend), exactly what I mean by saying such a thing.
What is a "holy" Lent? Why is it important to attempt to "have" one? What are the ways someone could actually engage the season in a "holy" fashion? Why bother? What's the point? Who cares? How can this invitation possibly become more than ecclesiastical "filler" with no discernible traction in/impact upon people's lives?
From unreflective stained glass language...
Good Lord, deliver me!
posted by FrGaryB | 10:49 PM
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