Adavuruku,
“In
celebration of the ordinary”
I wonder about the state of
our own souls in the battle against the need to feel special and outstanding. We
have tied up the inherent feelings of value and self-worth to the great flaw of
intense competition and seeking to have a special place over the fate of
others.
Everything is designed to
make us compete and compare. We judge our progress with our years and our place
in the rat race by social mobility. It is not enough to be your-self if that
makes you no better than anyone else.
I am not even speaking of
the world when I say this. I am talking about the church. The cathedrals of
holiness have become harbingers of self motivation. You go there to get a fix, to feel uplifted and
to be told how special you are in terms of the “plans God has for you. Plans of
good and not of evil. To bring you to an expected end.” But the end is in the
now, we are told, and the end is a high building and a corporate jet or two and
travel and money and holy things like that. And of course it works for some
because it motivates them to reach out into the ether of the world and claim a
piece of that space for themselves. It is motivational but it is not always
truthful.
That the human soul is
special is unquestionable. That one soul is superior to the other is as
nonsensical as those who believe that God has mansions for some and bungalows
for others. We want to believe that it counts to the exclusion of others and
this stops us from being brothers and sisters in the true sense of the word. We
are trapped in the idea of competition so we forego companionship and read into
the holy script our own ideas of being the main character in the reel of our
own lives.
I imagine on the other side
there must be a celebration of being ordinary going on all the time. I know the
extra-ordinary gospel has come from our restless hearts finding solace against
the solid putdowns that attend the normal life span on earth. Up there, where
all is bright, there is no need to stand on ideas about yourself. You are fully
alive and so need no other lights to take you home. You know and you are so
there is no need for other definition. I imagine.
Here we live in loud
desperation to make an impact. But the impact has already been made. No other
foundation can be laid. We are either disciples or apostles to the truth. Mostly
we are both. We have to unlearn this need to be exceptional at the
expense of ourselves and others. I do not mean we cannot be brilliant but that
brilliance can only take us so far. Genius does not create eternity. And purpose
is not to build towers of Trumpness with a Christian twist. We are here to
accept God’s love and then to share it. The rest is cannon fodder and window
dressing. The church is not going to shine because we own the biggest businesses
but because our businesses reflect the heart of God. And I don’t mean charity
and honest accounting. I mean a place that radiates that palpable glory of the
Divine Heart and Will. This is being worked out in men and women across the
world as the clock winds down. We are not here to be shiny but to radiate the
light of all ages. We should be doing that not building monuments to ourselves.
Well, I have gone on for a
bit. I know you know this so I am not preaching to the choir but to the book of
books. I will stop now.
We keep looking up to gain
the peace you have already attained.
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