Grounded spirituality can be very earthy
Yesterday was not turning out to be a great day. Although I always enjoy the conversations and musings of the Spirituality and Prayer Group which I lead each Thursday morning, I was immediately brought down by news of my father's continuing health problems. Despite all of the new insights gained in our discussion of Eugene Peterson's Christ Plays in 10,000 Faces, I was really bummed out by the phone call I received right at the end of our discussion.
So, after praying for the group and sending them out in God's name in the power of the Holy Spirit to see what ministry God would have them participate in, I tried to discern what it was that God would have me do in that time and place.
My prayers turned to lament. Like David of old, I opened the pain in my heart to God, figuring that God is big enough to handle my anger and woundedness and disappointment. And the prayers helped as I sensed that God did indeed hear just how troubled I was. But my mood did not brighten. There was no lifting of burdens. Just a heavy silence in the presence of a God who understands and cares for me.
But then I walked into one of the bathrooms in the church and noticed that the toilet was clogged. Fortunately there was nothing smelly or yucky about the sight that greeted me. Just a toilet that refused to flush and was therefore not useful to me or the kids attending a daycamp at the church this week.
It occurred to me that I couldn't do anything about my father's health or any other of a number of problems I had taken to God in prayer. But I could fix this toilet. That was a difference I could make.
So I walked down the hall and found a plumber's helper in the janitor's storage closet and I did the one thing I was empowered to do at that particular time and place. And as the water swirled down in a satisfying gush, I laughed at the discovery that my burdens had seemingly been flushed away as well.
In that moment, I rediscovered something I knew but which needed to be reinforced for me in a very concrete way--that spirituality is a mixture of prayer and reflection coupled with down to earth actions that God puts before us.
If we seek to know God's will for our lives and do the simple things that God puts before us--no matter how simple, unlikely, or even detestable--God will then show us the next step to take toward an eternity of love.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
So, after praying for the group and sending them out in God's name in the power of the Holy Spirit to see what ministry God would have them participate in, I tried to discern what it was that God would have me do in that time and place.
My prayers turned to lament. Like David of old, I opened the pain in my heart to God, figuring that God is big enough to handle my anger and woundedness and disappointment. And the prayers helped as I sensed that God did indeed hear just how troubled I was. But my mood did not brighten. There was no lifting of burdens. Just a heavy silence in the presence of a God who understands and cares for me.
But then I walked into one of the bathrooms in the church and noticed that the toilet was clogged. Fortunately there was nothing smelly or yucky about the sight that greeted me. Just a toilet that refused to flush and was therefore not useful to me or the kids attending a daycamp at the church this week.
It occurred to me that I couldn't do anything about my father's health or any other of a number of problems I had taken to God in prayer. But I could fix this toilet. That was a difference I could make.
So I walked down the hall and found a plumber's helper in the janitor's storage closet and I did the one thing I was empowered to do at that particular time and place. And as the water swirled down in a satisfying gush, I laughed at the discovery that my burdens had seemingly been flushed away as well.
In that moment, I rediscovered something I knew but which needed to be reinforced for me in a very concrete way--that spirituality is a mixture of prayer and reflection coupled with down to earth actions that God puts before us.
If we seek to know God's will for our lives and do the simple things that God puts before us--no matter how simple, unlikely, or even detestable--God will then show us the next step to take toward an eternity of love.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
posted by Frank at 3:42 PM
5 Comments:
Maybe not. But so much of spirituality seems to be ivory tower experiences that never touch the ground or really see the light of day. Ancient prophets looked at a rotten piece of fruit full of worms and decay and saw the plight of Israel in it. Ignatius of Loyola says that God can be found in all things. So for me, I take inspiration whereever it comes--even in some very unlikely places.
Thanks for your comment.
Good Calvinist thinking here. As well as seeing to the spirituality of the Reformed Genevans, John Calvin also wanted to make sure that the sewer system was upgraded and working.
Unplugged toilet = Reformation breakthrough!
Nice, Andrew. Although I'd classify it more as an ivory throne.
Stushie,
Just goes to show how involved a Reformed pastor can be in every aspect of the lives of his flock. But it's also an object lesson in the attempts to create a working theocracy. Geneva wasn't exactly the Garden of Eden, despite all of Calvin's attempts to shape life there.
Thanks for your comment!
Great post. When life is going very very badly, it's all we can do to manage "the next thing" and then, "the next thing." In that context, the need to declog a toilet becomes a gift -- a "next thing" that is actually doable.
I'm very sorry about your father's situation.
Thanks, Gannet. Dad's still hanging in there and I got some encouraging news yesterday.
Your comments remind me of something I mentioned in an earlier post.
Catherine of Siena talks about how it's a blessing that we are only given one step at a time. She says that if we could see God's hopes and intentions for us, we would either be crushed by how far we have to go or become so full of ourselves that no one could stand us.
I think she's right. As you put it, we just need to do the "next thing." And that is sufficient for the day.
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