Stuff

July 14, 2024

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

MK 6:7-13

I have often been accused of not being able to see the forest for the trees. Well, actually, I’m often blamed for not being able to see things right in front of my nose. How often do you go to find something “right where you left it,” only to not be able to find it all. How does that happen?! In my house it is usually because she moved it. Something about, “it wasn’t where it belonged.” She is now known as The Keeper of All Things, because she knows where everything is. And too often I have to ask for assistance. The answer is generally to “look a little lower” and, wouldn’t you know – there it is.

Part of the problem, I think, is that I am moving too fast. I put something down, intending to remember I placed it there, but when I go back to find it, it’s not where I remember putting it. I can get frustrated and usually blame my lousy short-term memory. Whether or not she moved it. I suppose if I got into the habit of actually putting things where they belong in the first place, I wouldn’t get so frustrated.

However, I will readily admit that part of the problem is that I have too much “stuff.” If I didn’t have so much stuff, then I wouldn’t loose stuff in the middle of all the other stuff that is taking up so much space where I need to store all my really important stuff. Having lots of stuff seems to be a societal issue too, at least judging by the number of self-storage places being built around town.

So, imagine the panic the apostles felt when Jesus told them to go out on the road with “nothing for the journey but a walking stick - no food, no sack, no money in their belts,” no credit cards, no ear buds, no cell phones. I mean, that’s not much stuff at all! Not even the important stuff. When Jesus told them not to take a second cloak, he knew they would be too cold to sleep outdoors, thereby forcing the apostles to ask for a place to sleep from strangers. They were expected to live off the kindness and generosity of the people they encountered for all their food and lodging.

But they were not alone. Jesus sent them out in pairs. They had each other for company, encouragement and protection. I can only imagine the conversations along the way of each pair as they got to know each other really well. The Gospels are silent on the issue of any turnover in staff among the apostles, so we’ll never know.

As I reflect on this reading, and all the stuff that I would want to take with me on a journey like that, (no toothbrush??) I am reminded, once more, that I have been blessed with all that I want and much more than I need. I am offered opportunities each day to assist people who are surviving with so very little. I’ll be just fine with less stuff.

And I am never alone either. Certainly, she is with me in my journey, but I am also keenly aware that God walks with me as well. I feel the calming presence when I get nervous or scared and I see the results of little things that mean so very much to others. That’s God at work.

And with all the stuff I've got, me and God have a lot of work we can do.

Every Day.

© 2024 by Timothy J. Doppel

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