Saturday, April 18, 2009

What is Normal but a Setting on a Wash Machine?


I have been thinking a lot about how many of us get comfortable with the way things are. Many of us do not like change at all. For instance, about a month ago a new coffee shop in the Glendora area closed its doors. This coffee shop had become a home away from home for me. I knew almost every employee by name and I had many good spiritual conversations with the owner. Sadly, the coffee shop had to close its door because a lack of funds. This news made me really sad, not only for the owner and his employees, but for myself. I had gotten into such a routine and when I was forced to change that routine I became uncomfortable.
I think many of us are like me, we get use to going through our daily life becoming more and more comfortable with our routines and the normalcy we see around us. We almost never take the time to raise questions concerning our routines and the normalcy around us, we just accept it for what it is.
The musician Conor Oberst has a song called, "I must belong somewhere." The song raises questions about normalcy. Oberst sings, "Everything it must belong somewhere, they locked the devil in the basement and threw god up into the air, yea everything must belong somewhere..." Obsert seems to be asking if everything, even himself, are where they belong and as they should be.
Reading through the gospels I cannot help but notice that during Jesus' ministry he never really stays in one place for very long. It makes me wonder if he did this to avoid normalcy to avoid life become to routine. Instead it seems that Jesus fought against everything that seemed normal, routine, and just the way things are. I mean the man walks into the temple and just goes nuts! He turns over tables, kicks people out and questions the way things were during his time.
I have to wonder if during all of life's normalcy, somehow I have allowed my life to become clogged up by money changers and sellers? Maybe I have failed to take the time and question what has become so normal to me? Maybe I have allowed my life to become to much of a routine that somehow I have missed the beauty lost in every moment? I even wonder if the Church, like myself has become like this?
You see, I think we all need times where we turn over some tables, whether it be in our own life or even in the Church itself. I think we all should fight against what seems normal and start asking questions. Why is this, this way? Is this right? How did things get this way?
May we all start raising questions about what seems normal. May we all turn over some tables. May we all begin to be uncomfortable. May we all begin to question what seems to belong. All in hopes of growing, hearing, and being as God has called us to be at that moment, until we let another one pass us by in the midst of our routine.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Question: If we have normal in life Why would we need Christ? Christ did nothing that was Normal - he did not conform, he as you said did not stay in one place. Back up a bit, He did conform to the message that His Father gave him and that was all His life was about, His Father's business. We have to look at our life and make sure what adventure God wants to send us on, so that we can be more about His business and not our own comfort zone.