VESSELS OF CLAY

Back in the dark Ages when I was in seminary (1957-1969: high school, college and theology), every day from 12:00 noon to12:15 there was a time set aside for what was called “Spiritual Reading”. If our Spiritual Director did not have a meditation for us to ponder before lunch, one of the students read from a spiritual book that was to give us some food for thought.

The only book I can remember anything about from all those years was one that was read when I was in high school. It was written by a priest, Leo Trese, and was called Vessels of Clay. The point of the book was that even though priests were, by their vocation, to be role models for the people they were called to serve and even though this was a tremendous responsibility, anyone aspiring to become a priest needed to be reminded that he (always and only he back then and still now in the RC Church) was still a very fallible and fragile person – a vessel of clay.

Over the years I have come to realize just how true that is. Clay vessels are easily cracked and even broken into pieces. They are not like bronze vases that can be slightly dinged and then re-polished or hammered back into their original shapes. They are not almost unbreakable and even everlasting like those made of metal. All earthen vessels, all vessels of clay must be handled with care and sometime even with kid gloves.

Trese was trying to remind his readers, and especially us young seminarians, that as great a vocation as everyone said we were called to fulfill in being a priest was, that was no guarantee that fulfilling it would be easy and that simply because we were priests we would be automatically holy people and inspiring leaders to the various flocks we were called to lead and serve.

Over the years I have learned from experience that it has not been easy and that I have not always, if ever, been that holy and inspiring person. Every one of us, every priest and every lay person, we are all, each and every one of us, a vessel of clay. The older we get, the more nicks and cracks. Some of us, perhaps many of us, have been broken and then pieced back together almost as good as new, but not quite.

The fact that I am just like everyone else has given me some consolation even as I recognize my many failures and shortcomings. It should give all of us consolation. No one of us is perfect. We are all fragile human beings. We have all made our share of mistakes and committed our fair share of sins, maybe even more than our fair share. But with the help of others, with our own self-will and determination and with the grace of God, we have been pieced back together.

Trese’s book has been a constant reminder over the years, if only in the back of my mind, that it does not take much for the vessel to be cracked and even broken into pieces if I am not careful. But that is true for all of us no matter who we are, what our vocation or how old or young. The truth is that “Handle with Care” should be stamped on all our foreheads and into all our brains.

MINISTRY

A while back during the announcement time one of our members, Ted Popovich, reported on traveling to Selma, Alabama, with a group of people who re-enacted part of the march led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. many years ago. Ted said something to the effect that while this march was led by other ministers and he was not a minister, he felt privileged to be able to take part.

In my off-the-cuff thanks to Ted for telling us about this adventure, I corrected him by telling him that he was indeed a minister in no less a way than those who had been officially ordained by their various denominations. Afterwards Ted thanked me for saying that even as he still felt humbled both by what I said and by his ability to take part in the march.

The truth is that we are all ministers, whether we are ordained or not. Ministry comes from our baptism and the promises made for us when we were baptized and which we renew at every baptism. And, yet, our ministry is even more fundamental. It arises from our basic humanness. Ministry, very simply, is the participation of we human beings in the work of God in this world – no more and no less.

What that means is that we, all of us both individually and collectively, are the vehicles of God in this world. We are God’s hands and hearts. Yes, there are times when God, in some miraculous way, intervenes and does what needs to be done, but not always and not as a rule. That is our job, our ministry. When we think about that, it can seem like a rather frightening responsibility.

It is but it does not have to be such. To be God’s ministers in this world we, first of all, have to know our God. That means we have to be in relationship with God. That demands a good prayer-life. It means that we have to be in contact with our God in no less a way than we are in contact with one another. No, we cannot see God as we see others; but we can still see our God with the eyes of our faith. That is not always easy but it is certainly easier when we keep in touch with God through thought and prayer.

When we think about our participation in God’s work in this world, as frightening and overwhelming as that may seem at times, we need to step back and remember the past and those who were God’s ministers and how they shaped and even changed the world for the better – Dr. King and those who marched and even gave their lives to right the injustices that racial prejudice allowed and fostered. God always works though God’s children to get God’s work in this world accomplished.

Each of us has a place in this world and in accomplishing God’s work in this world, a very unique place. We have to find that place, that ministry, a place and a ministry which no one else can fulfill. For most of us, perhaps for all of us, that ministry may seem mundane and trivial, but it is not. There are very few Martin Luther Kings and a whole lot of marchers-along. But without those marchers there would be no movement and God’s work would not be done.

DEMOCRACY

The political season is now full speed ahead now that the nominating conventions have concluded. It does seem, however, that the season began months ago if not four years ago. Be that as it may, I, for one, am not looking forward to the next eight weeks or so, for what we will see and hear is what we have been seeing and hearing for a very long time now: negatively piled upon negativity. To me, that is very, very sad.

For anyone who values democracy, the political atmosphere is toxic and not worthy of this great nation of ours. Parker J. Palmer addresses this situation in his latest book, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. Politics, contrary to prevailing practice, is not dirty. In fact, it is quite the opposite, or at least it is supposed to be.

Here’s what Parker has to say: “Politics is the ancient and honorable human endeavor of creating a community in which the weak as well as the strong can flourish, love and power can collaborate, and justice and mercy can have their day.” Sounds like something Jesus would say were Jesus asked to comment on what politics is supposed to be about because that is certainly what Christianity is all about.

We are a diverse people in this country. That is what makes us so great and that is also what often causes problems and certainly why there are differences of opinion when it comes to politics. Diversity, according to Palmer, can be detrimental or beneficial but it is up to us as a people to which it will be. What we need, of course, is what has been lost in today’s political atmosphere: a change of heart so that we become civil one to another.

Being civil to another with whom we disagree does not mean simply watching our tongues. It comes, reminds Palmer, from valuing our differences. The reason our country had become the greatest nation on earth, even with all our failings and shortcomings, is that we are made up of all sorts and conditions of people and because we have learned from one another.

Even more, given that no two of us thinks exactly alike simply because we are all unique individuals who bring are personal histories to each situation, we will have differences of opinion on all sorts of issues. That’s normal. That’s human. That’s to be expected and even demanded if a democracy is to flourish. What a dull world we would live in if we all thought and acted alike.

Partisanship is not a problem. The political parties arose and exist because of partisan politics. There is nothing wrong with that. It is good. It is a good as well. We grow as a nation and as a person because we can learn from others who think differently than we do. They have something to teach us just as we have something to teach them. The problem that we have today is that instead of valuing our differences we demonize those who think differently, just listen to the political ads. That is sad.

Even more sadly is that nothing will change until we have a change of heart.

TEN THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

One of the blessings of the internet is that friends send you stuff that they find interesting and that you might also. I found the following ten thoughts for today sent to me, by whom I do not remember, that I think deserve to be shared – with my reflection in italics.

1. Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel” that directs the right path throughout. Prayer should be part of our daily life/routine even when it becomes routine. That’s the point!
 
2. Why is a car’s windshield is so large and the rear view mirror is so small? Because our past is not as important as our future. So, look ahead and move on.  We cannot undo the past. We can only learn from it by moving on. We can’t if we live in the past.
 
3. Friendship is like a book: it takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write. We need to cultivate friendships because., in this life, we need one another. We cannot go it alone no matter how much we sometimes think we should.
 
4. All things in life are temporary.  If all is going well, enjoy it; that will not last forever. If all seems to be going wrong, don't be overcome with worry, that can't last long either. Nothing in this life lasts forever even when, in bad times, we think those times will never end. They will. The only thing that lasts forever is our life with God in eternity, and nothing will beat that!

5. Old friends are gold! New friends are diamond! If you get a diamond, don't forget the gold! Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold! We build upon old friendships because old friends will always be there for us, and vice versa.
 
6. Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles from above and says, "Relax, it's just a bend, not the end! There is always resurrection and new life. Always! Somehow in some way God helps us bring resurrection no matter how hopeless we think the situation is.
 
7. When God solves our problems, we have faith in God’s abilities; when God doesn't solve our problems God has faith in our abilities. God will not do for us what God expects us to do for ourselves; nor should God nor should we.
 
8. A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"  Without a vision, the prophet said, the people perish. So do we as individuals.
 
9. When we pray for others, God listens to us and blesses them, and sometimes, when we are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for us. We are in this together.

10.  Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles; it takes away today's peace. How often have we been obsessed, worrying about things that never happened?