The Elephant In The Room

A Reflection on the First Reading for July 14th, 2019:
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deuteronomy 30.10-14

Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the Law; turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

“Surely this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’

“Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’

“No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”

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Things are not always easy — usually because I make them that way.  It was my Dad’s birthday the other day, and he likes pie.  I figured there’d be about 14 people over, so I needed three pies.  For some reason I felt it was necessary to make three different kinds of pie.  That’s how it goes.  I complicate things and get myself into messes.  Physical messes.  People messes.  Time-crunch messes.  Emotional messes.  Spiritual messes.  

But I do know that when God is with me in the mess, it changes things.

When I read this slice of scripture from the end of Moses' life, I started to cry. Taste of it in my mouth. The nearness of His word.  And the nearness of the Word.  Not too hard for me, and not too far away.

God placed this word in my hands just as I cried out to him from the middle of an emotional mess… shouting as if He were far away, when He was right there.  And as we played with this passage together, I had this picture of myself sitting at the bottom of the well — how it feels because of the pain and self-imposed loneliness of my mess. And then Jesus comes to sit next to me in the well. And it’s not the bottom of the well anymore, it’s a secret hideaway. And the picture shifts with me being alone at the top of the mountain, looking down from a dizzying height. The whole place is isolated, exposed, and terrifying. And then Jesus comes and stands beside me and it’s spacious, free, and exhilarating. Wherever I am changes when when I’m with Him.

"But I do know that when God is with me in the mess, it changes things."

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The Word who was with God in the beginning. The Word who is God. No one has to go up to heaven to get Him; He came down. No one has to travel half way around the world to find Him; He’s never more than a hair’s breadth away.

Not that I can keep track of this truth permanently.  In my mess-making, I tend to miss it. Miss Him. He’s right there, larger than life and more available than air and I don’t even see it. It’s like I’m walking around the elephant in the room as it’s a coat rack.   

‘Hold this for me will you?’ I say, while hooking a jacket on it’s tusk, even while failing to acknowledge it exists. Sometimes I get so lost dithering around in my own messes, happy or hard ones, that I don’t even realize the massive Presence I’m skirting around. Then He meets me mid-stride and hands me His Word to put in my mouth and my heart and I’m stopped in my tracks. Looking up at the Wonder I’ve been walking around all day. 
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Noreen Smith

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