Nativity Catholic Church
|
|
Stuff That Will End Up in a
Yard Sale The parish office and priest residence have been abuzz with activity over the past couple of weeks, as we watched (and tried to gingerly assist) Fr. Hank in his packing to move to Ohio. Fr. Hank is now on his way, his “stuff” having preceded him by a few extra days, and some mismatched token remnants of his 13 year collection are strewn about his old office and room at the house. Anyone who has ever moved, packed, or helped a friend do these things generally cringes at the sight of someone else unfolding Office Depot boxes and unraveling strapping tape. We cringe because we know that sometime, hopefully in the way-distant future, it will be our turn again. And there is one thing as certain as the sun rising in the east about our next move—we will have accumulated incredibly more things that need stowing away than we had the last round! Would that we could put the blame on genetics, you know, something like the way rabbits breed in the dark, but alas, it’s really all our own fault. Somehow we just can’t seem to get enough of whatever it is we collect, “need,” receive as gifts, or find on sale. As Fr. Hank was slowly and methodically packing his treasures, as well as his how-do-I-possibly-part-with-this kind of stuff, I tried not to get too close—at least not while others were looking. I’m sure they would have seen the beads of sweat gathering on my face, as well as the bulging vein that protrudes from the middle of my forehead every time I get anxious or upset about something—all because I tremble at the thought of the day when it comes to be my turn to pack up and move on from Nativity. Somehow I have the sneaking suspicion that the little Budget Rent-a-Truck I used to transfer to Florida from Chicago 11 years ago wouldn’t be able to handle even half the stuff I now own! A cute cartoon appeared in the Orlando Sentinel comic pages last week. A husband and wife are pictured in front of a retail outlet whose marquee bears the name “STUFF THAT WILL END UP IN YOUR YARD SALE”. As they both look at the sign, the husband says to the wife: “Finally a mega-store with an honest name.” I’m sure if tomorrow we started taking inventory of only one major room or space that each of us occupies, we likely will find a fair amount of “stuff” that is nothing more than high quality yard sale contributions. Amazing where it all comes from, right? And it’s just not that we are running out of room that gives us twinges of discomfort…there’s also those nagging Gospel passages about “possessions,” which Jesus seems to discuss far more frequently with his followers than he does the items we generally offer up as our sins in sacramental confession. All those scripture passages—carrying no extra supplies on our journey of discipleship, the fact that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head, all we have is really a gift, not a “possession,” the warnings about the needle’s eye and the camel—have a haunting quality to them, if we don’t simply tune them out or ignore them. While I enjoy a lot of my “stuff” as much as anyone, especially the things that bring beauty and grace into my life, or at least put me in touch with beauty—pieces of art, music, writings, special gifts that reconnect me with loved ones, items that reincarnate significant events in my life, photos that stir memories—I still can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of possessions. In reality, as Jesus would attest, it’s not merely the possessions themselves that are dangerous, nor the exact amount of them that causes problems, it is their ability to “crowd out” other, more important things in life that we need focus upon. And of course, the maintenance of all this stuff sometimes leaves us little opportunity to maintain our health, relationships, and spiritual balance. One of the things I miss in our parish is our annual Rummage Sale—particularly because it provided an easy excuse for sorting through and unloading some of the stuff that gets in the way. Even though we’re most likely more familiar with the term Spring cleaning, perhaps there is no time like the present Summer months to revisit our “stuff” and begin to unclutter our space, one little corner at a time. The less stuff, the more room—the more room, the less pressure—the less pressure, the more freedom we have to live and move and have our being in God!
|
