Leisure is a value whose roots go deep into scripture, spirituality, and contemporary society. Mindful of this rich heritage, I want to consider four aspects of leisure as a value in our contemplative and communal life: relaxing our bodies, resting our minds, connecting leisure and prayer, and connecting leisure and community life.

Let us look first, however, at how scripture speaks about leisure. Scripture celebrates God’s delight in us and our delight in God. Describing wisdom as creator, the author of Proverbs writes: “I was daily God’s delight, rejoicing before God always, rejoicing in God’s inhabited world and delighting in the human race” (NRSV, Proverbs 8:30). Nan Merrill translates the line in Ps. 37: “Take delight in the Beloved, enjoy the bountiful gifts of Love” (Psalms for Praying, Ps. 37:4). Delight fulfills for me an aspect of leisure.