The Mundane
It’s a normal part of human existence to allow the normal to become… well… normal. The things we see every day, the sounds by which we are constantly surrounded; they fade into the background. In fact, it’s a part of our survival to let the normal become mundane. If we didn’t allow some things to become background, we would be constantly overwhelmed by the world. Nothing would stand out as important. Yet, today’s readings call us to become aware of the sacred in that which is mundane.
In the first reading, Naaman is called by Elisha to bathe in the waters of the River Jordan, plunging in it seven times to cleanse Naaman of his leprosy. Naaman finds this to be absurd. What could be special about the Jordan? In fact, most large rivers do not exactly evoke images of cleanliness. My very muddy Mississippi and Missouri Rivers come to mind. Naaman wanted something extraordinary as a sign of God’s power over his leprosy. Yet, Elisha asks Naaman to do something most of us do regularly.
In the Gospel, Jesus calls himself a prophet and teaches of the wonders of God to his friends and family, the people of Nazareth. Do they appreciate him? They knew Jesus. They had seen him grow up from a little child. It was impossible for them to look past what was mundane to see God.
What is it about the normal? Why does God seem to want to reach out to us in what really amounts to the blindspots in our lives? Maybe it’s because God wants to be attainable. It seems that God calls us in the normal, not to be challenging, but to be accessible. The challenge is being receptive to those moments when they do happen to appear before us.
How have I been the people of Nazareth, unwilling to see God in the moment? When have I been Naaman, willing to embrace the normal? As Lent continues, how can I balance the noise of the mundane with the sacredness that comes with it?
Matt Keppel