Recently my wife, Lynne, and I had a chance to take in a lot of great music at the Jazzfest (in fact, we saw quite a few Spiritus folks down there!). The vibe downtown is just electric on some nights, and one of our favorite parts of the festival are the free shows that the whole community shows up for. We just love to be signing and dancing amidst a crowd of people – speaking the universal love language of music! One of our friends calls the Jazzfest his “holy week,” and I can totally see why.
Something I have always loved about the Catholic faith is that it is a sensual tradition. By this I mean that it relies on the things of this world – the stuff we can touch, smell, see, hear, feel and taste – and says that God moves through all of it.
So in this spiritual framework, dancing can lead us to God. Singing can lead us to God. Food can lead us to God. Music can lead us to God.
Most of us, however, were not taught this. We were taught that God is “up there” or in a particular building. Furthermore, we were often taught that the things we could see, smell, touch, hear and feel – basically everything associated with our bodies! – was somehow of lesser value and needed to be controlled, avoided or managed. This is just not healthy theology in my opinion.
In today’s first reading from Hosea, the prophet (who is speaking for God) says, “I will allure you into the desert and there I will speak to your heart.” The first time I heard this passage really broken open was by poet and mystic, Edwina Gateley. Edwina focused on the idea of God alluring us and then speaking to our heart. The word “allure” has its roots in the French words meaning to “attract or captivate” and the word is meant to have mysterious and even seductive qualities.
Our God wants to allure and captivate us in order to speak to our hearts. This was not the God I was taught about in Sunday school, and it has taken me decades to begin to unlearn some of the unhelpful religious “programming” that I received when I was young.
What I appreciate about today’s reading is that it takes us back into the realm of the sensual – with all the stuff that can attract and captivate us – and says that this, too, can be a vehicle for God speaking to our hearts. We don’t need to run away from the world. In fact, it’s probably just the opposite – we need to fall in love with it.
From this vantage point, a Jazzfest can be a vehicle for God to speak to us and is very likely a holy week! And so is every other week!
As we move through our summer, I invite you to pay more attention to your sensual experiences. Let them pull you deeper into this incredible world. Let them reveal to you something about God, yourself and this world. Let them lead you to gratitude and appreciation. Let them lead you to joy. Let them lead you to beauty. Let them lead you to freedom.
For all these are meant to be part of our spiritual path.
How (or in what ways) have you fallen in love with the world lately?
Has God allured you somewhere and spoken to your heart there?
Are there any sensual pleasures that you have really enjoyed that opened you up somehow? (art, music, food, etc.)
3 Comments
Sebastian Petix
I was only at the jazz fest very briefly this year but what I recall most is seeing you and Lynn in the crowd and how you pushed your way through to give me a big, welcoming hug. Yes, life is full of sensual experiences every day if you are open to them. Thank you for the reminder.
George Dardess
Again, beautifully put, Mike. So much of Catholicism today seems to be Gnostic, or even Manichean— separating sensuous pleasure from bodiless abstraction. And condemning the first while elevating the second. The Church has struggled with this heresy right from the beginning, and still does. Or another way to put it is that we continue to prefer the “either/or” to the “both/and.”
Claire Benesch
I love sitting out on my deck taking in the beauty of this world; the beautiful green trees, colorful flowers, singing birds at the bird feeder, etc. Last night, after taking a walk by the canal, my sister and brother-in-law and I sat on my deck, enjoying a glass of wine and some munchies. We then had some pizza and salad. I remember a time when I would feel guilty enjoying the great time we had last night. Now I thank God for these times. Thank you, Mike, for your perspective.
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