STUFF AND SPIRITUALITY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Stuff and Spirituality.”

Stuff and spirit … the visible and the invisible … the concrete and the abstract….

The stuff of spirituality is often mystery, concepts, ideas, ideals, virtues, etc. etc. etc. Notice they are abstract. Notice the stuff of spirituality is invisible.

We can read body language and guess what another is feeling or thinking, but we can never know for sure. 

Motives, judgements, reasons are all invisible and many times we’re just guessing - until the other tells us what they thinking - till they explain their “why” or the “what” they were trying to say or do. 

The stuff of spirituality has the possible trap of being or becoming a Pharisee.

And at times even people explaining themselves  - are not that sure of themselves in the first place.

Honestly, our motives can be tricky - mixed - sneaky - unsure - or even dishonest.

So the stuff of thinking and communication and the stuff of spirituality is often invisible.

This hit me in a reverse way - when I began to notice last night in today’s 2 readings and the Psalm in between - that the stuff of these 3 readings mention lots of stuff we can see and taste and get our hands on.

FOR EXAMPLE

The first reading from  1^st Kings 17: 1-6 mentions specific objects: rain, a brook, land, the entrance of a city, sticks, a cupful of water, a bit of bread, a handful of flour in a jar, and some oil in a jug. We can picture each item.

The Psalm, Psalm 4, mentions a face, some shining on that face, beds, grain and wine. It mentions the heart - but I assume the song writer is talking about the heart as the center of a human being - which is invisible.

The gospel - part of the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5: 13-16 - mentions salt, a light, a city, a mountain, a lamp, a bushel basket, a lampstand, and a house. We’ve seen them all.

THE STUFF OF SPIRITUALITY

Can we see some spiritual realities in these visible objects?

I can remember hearing someone describe what our Redemptorists in Colombia, South America do when preaching a parish mission. They gather in a church building - and then take a crowd for a tour of the city or the town - like one sees folks in colonial outfits and costumes taking folks around Annapolis for tours.

With a bullhorn in hand, these Colombian Redemptorists speak out. They point to a light on a building or a street light and proclaim that Jesus is the light of the world. They would go by a restaurant and point to the salt on tables inside and out. Then they would say, “Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth. We're called to season our homes and our conversations with the love of Christ.”  They would point to a door - like our doors of mercy here at St. Mary’s this year, and say Jesus knocks on our door.  Or they would point to an building with a second floor and mention that Jesus goes through the thick walls of our skulls - to our upper room - and proclaims peace to us. They would go by little children and repeat Jesus call for us to be like little children or not to hurt little children and if we give kids bad example, it would be better if a millstone was tied around our neck and we were tossed in the sea to drown.  Serious messages.

I like to write Irish Blessings and I noticed in studying Irish Blessings and Irish prayers how down to earth they can be. They  bring in stuff: rocks, bogs, wind, ankles, roads, canes and crutches - to show us sightings and sensings of God.  

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

So my thought for the day is to pause from time to time and look around and see God and messages in what surrounds us - to go from the known to the unknown.

We have lots of alleys and streets - and the water -  all around Annapolis - and lots of restaurants - and ice cream places - and gift shops - trying to get tourist dollars. In my search for God am I on the broad way or the narrow alley? What am I looking for? Am  I a gift? Am I sweet? Am I a treat to be with? Is Christ the living water I am thirsty for? What am I hungry for?

I am sure if the Redemptorist priests of Colombia were preaching here in Annapolis, they would say something about the Alex Haley statue and the kids sculpture at the edge of Ego Alley and talk about slavery’s impact on the United States and our Civil War.  I am sure they would say something about all the Latino and Hispanic workers in so many kitchens of the restaurants of Annapolis - and the value of migrations. For the sake of transparency my mom and dad came to America from poverty and did tough jobs.  My mom cleaned hotel rooms in Boston and was a maid. My dad worked for Nabisco in New York and New Jersey and never made over 100 dollars a week.

Do these specifics - about stuff - a salary - cooking and cleaning - get us to be a better Christian when it comes to concerns for our brothers and our sisters.

Do we see the waiter or waitress at every restaurant doing what the widow does for Elijah in today’s first reading - bringing the customer some water and some bread?  Do we see ourselves as Jesus calls us to be - salt and light for each other? Amen.