Trivial pursuits

       When I met my husband it was after 50 years of living. That included years of schooling, raising children, a lengthy marriage, time in therapy coming out and several years in seminary, though not in that order. When you meet someone later in life I think it is safe to safe you are in many instances 'set in your ways'. 

       The trick in living together is always to know what is important. Our relationship has  been blessed in that regard. Each of us arrived at the same place by different means but we both knew to focus on how blessed we were and that we should focus on what really  matters.

        How many times have you heard of people arguing over how the toothpaste is squeezed, the toilet paper is over or under, the way the dishwasher is loaded or some other frighteningly trivial matter?  So many of us fixate on the minutiae of life and if this were a solo flight, that might be fine. The world God has placed us in is such a diverse place and with diverse peoples, we have to learn how to adjust, compromise and know what is of fundamental concern.

        Being raised and educated as a Roman Catholic both pre and post Vatican II, I know about the minutiae of religion as well as the rules and rubrics. At the same time I have been graced with the wisdom to know what is important and what is not. One of our generations great religious, Thomas Merton, was accepted by multiple denominations of Christianity as well as myriad religions throughout the world. He had said that if we tried to find unity based on the rules and rubrics of religion we would never find a consensus or harmony. If however we focused on the fundamentals of God which he could so easily elucidate, we could all, as he did, find harmony with everyone. His understanding and love was acknowledged and he was well accepted and sought out by many holy people. Closer to home, would we find unity if Jesus is hanging from the cross in your Christian church or not?  How about the proper way to make a sign of the cross or dipping your fingers in holy water? What is the specific 'formula' for creating the Eucharist? Do you think it has changed from the time of Christ? Did Jesus' followers get the recipe down pat as one of the first things needed for acceptable worship?  How would we compare the practice of using an elevator on the Sabbath only if someone else pushes the button for you?   Trivia abounds in our lives and especially in religion.

       What do you think is the most important?  If your answer promotes unity, love, acceptance and harmony, then I think you are on the right track. If your compulsive, righteous self supports rules and rubrics that  promote hatred, divisiveness and  marginalization, then I think you may have some more soul searching to do.

        God loves every one of us all over the globe and beyond, God reveals herself in different ways and at different times. How can we see the unity in it all if we focus on trivial pursuits?        

Matthew 23:13-24

 ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

 ‘Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.” You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, “Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.” How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it;and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

 ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practised without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!