Sitzfleisch

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I have recently become the recipient of a "Word of the Day" email. I have actually quite enjoyed learning new words such as atticism, conversazione, and aperçu. The challenge is not only remembering what these words mean but also trying to work them casually into a conversation to impress one's friends.

The other day, though, there was a word that got me thinking. The word is "sitzfleisch," a yiddish word which has two meanings: 1. Buttocks (sits flesh - get it?) and 2. Perseverance as in "he demonstrated real sitzfleisch when he was studying for his exam." At first I wondered what buttocks could possibly have to do with perseverance but as I reflected, I realized that there are two types of perseverance. The type of perseverance that I most commonly think of is an active type where a person is, for instance, persevering in a marathon. And then, there is a perseverance that requires the prolonged use of the buttocks, sitting in one spot for a long period of time. This perseverance brings to mind the 1960s Vietnam War protests, the “sit ins” with participants persevering on their buttocks as they were being dragged towards police vehicles. This dogged, dug-in persistence reminds me of a worship chorus we used to sing, derived from the Psalms: “I will not be moved, I will not be shaken.”

Much of our perseverance in the Christian faith is related to this kind of staying put, to being still, to practicing prolonged sitting on one’s sitzfleisch. Numerous examples come to mind. I think of Jesus commending Mary who had latched onto the "only one thing" that was needed according to Jesus, by sitting at his feet, in relationship, listening and interacting. This was contrasted with her sister Martha's active persistence in the kitchen, serving but distracted from that necessary "one thing."

There are wonderful agrarian and other nature images in Scripture of sitzfleisch or persisting in staying put. I think of the Lamb in Psalm 23, made to lie down in green pastures, satiated, enjoying the rest in the beauty of creation. I think of the image of the tree flourishing beside the streams of water, the root system reaching deep into the refreshing and restoring liquid nourishment. Or of the one who waits upon the Lord being renewed and restored like an eagle soaring high above on a thermal. With all of these images there is a sense of deep stillness and rest, a kind of intentional active passivity. The author of Hebrews says that we should make every effort to enter into his rest, to actually work at persevering in this sitting, restful activity. The psalmist encourages us with the words of our Lord to “be still and know that I am God.”

I wonder how many of us are too busy, too distracted (sometimes in good, kingdom-related activities) to actually have the sitzfleisch to spend time on our sitzfleisch, to sit for a while in his presence, to be nurtured and restored, to simply be. I wonder if persevering in this restful, relational space would become a solid platform from which we could, at the urging of our Lord, launch into the other, more active type of perseverance, the running the race of our Christian faith. Maybe then this more active perseverance would feel like an invitational drawing towards rather than a driving duty.

At the risk of introducing yet another metaphor, I love these words written long ago by Bernard of Clairvaux: “The man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself ... Today there are many in the Church who act like canals, the reservoirs are far too rare ... You too must learn to await this fullness before pouring out your gifts, do not try to be more generous than God.”

Thanks Bernie. I think I’ll spend some time on my sitzfleisch pondering that!