A Conversation Between a Lion and His Master, Somewhere in North America.

T: Hi dude, long time no see! Where have you been?

F: Well, all over the place…enjoying myself.

T: Tell me more! I have missed you.

F: For starters there are many things to do here in Ann Arbor. So I have enjoyed going to the opera and to some concerts. Then we had an art fair last week, which gave me a chance to walk around town and see lots of interesting art work. I also have many friends here, so most evenings I have been out for dinner, visiting old acquaintances and making new ones. Not sure I can handle any more barbecues for a while though.

T: I understand- lots of rich food, big portions, and soon you will have outgrown your shorts, little guy! But since I have not seen you at night either it seems that you have also been further afield, no?

F: Very observant. I have gone to Lansing, an hour north of Ann Arbor. This is where you served from ’86 to ’88, at Michigan State University. So again, many old faces worth seeing. A highpoint though was going even further north, to the Leelanau peninsula. That little piece of land is surrounded by water, creating a micro-climate favourable to wine-growing. So I went wine tasting and had a more than average bottle of local Auxerrois, accompanied by barbecued (here we go again) salmon.

T: Man, for a little lion, you get around.

F: This is not at all. I also went to Minnesota, eleven hours by car. St. Paul and Minneapolis, also known as the Twin Cities, sit right on the Mississippi river. Apart from re-connecting with old friends I also toured the place: beautiful cathedrals, three superb art museums, and a play on a showboat. Very cool! What about yourself?

T: Well, I have been trying to figure out what a sabbatical is.

F: And…?

T: It’s not simply a vacation, that much is clear. It of course comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat” which means Sabbath, day of rest. But when look more closely, for the Jews that day is not a day to be spent on the beach, but a day of prayer, study and relational interaction. In doing those things, you get refresh, restored, re-created. And then (stop me if I am boring you) academics have taken over that term to describe periods when they don’t need to fulfil their normal teaching and administrative responsibilities, so they can concentrate on research and writing.

F: So how does that apply to you?

T: Not sure, Fritz. I have tried to take more time to pray and reflect, and that has been wonderful. Simply sitting and not feeling guilty for taking another hour to read or write. I have also followed a church history course “Church and State in Europe from the French Revolution to the Present”.

F: That does not sound very restful!

T: It has been incredibly stimulating. Every week I need to do some reading, mainly original sources, and then produce a five page essay which I then discuss with my tutor Dan Keating. It has sparked many very interesting conversations.

F: My goodness, I am glad I am too young to qualify for sabbaticals. Don’t you do any fun stuff?

T: Not to worry, I do. I have had a chance, almost every day, to do some art: both reading some art history (Sister Wendy Beckett) and actually doing some painting. It has been hugely restorative, and lots of fun. For example I now know that your fur is yellow orange, but not very bright, so I need to dull it with purple to match the exact tone- if I ever paint your portrait, that is.

F: Are you ready to go back to work then? After all it has been almost two months now.

T: Not really…One interesting book I have been reading is called “Transitions”. It speaks of the need to allow the old to die before something new can grow. I feel like I have gradually been able to let go of old stuff, almost like lightening the grip on a handle. As I have done so, new ideas, inspirations and thoughts are beginning to come to me. I think that is part of what a sabbatical is supposed to be: a neutral zone allowing you to think outside the box.

F: Don’t tell me! I don’t believe Tino needs any more “thinking outside the box”.

T: Be quiet. So what are your plans for the next little while?

F: After all this socializing and travelling I feel l need of a vacation. What about yourself?

T: Same here. How about if we go off to somewhere quiet and nice, say Cleveland? I know some nice people there.

F: It’s a deal, provided you stop talking about church history and help me watch some good movies.

T: I think I can do that.