"Why Ceremony?" [Module # 90] (John 7:19-24)
Why ceremony? All these years of change
Has surely obfuscated need to so arrange
Our words and actions, gestures, smile, and glance,
To take from time all vagaries of chance.Time was, of course, it all appeased some god,
Which to our thought in modern times, seems odd;
More shifting us to come in line with God,
Than making God align himself with sod.Dramatic are our ways as humankind –
Our rituals have place, and serve to us remind
Of days gone by; good fortune in our time;
Of styles of life, and thought to bring to mind.But stick with men, not women, Stu, in this,
And you will walk much farther than the kiss
Of sentiment – for men set spirit’s tone
In daily life, in each and every home.Such actions pack with meaning, or its days
Quite numbered are, tied in with single phase
Of life together or alone with Him –
Keep meaning core from day you first begin.And never let it trump a need in life;
If it can’t help, forget it – deal with strife;
Sometimes its constancy can calm the day –
Such ritual can all our fears allay.My life in past is filled with samples clear –
Of laid on hands, group hugs, and music clear;
The Catholic mass, Larch homes, that girl of Bill’s,
The sacraments, duck-feast, in morning still –Those quiet times of prayer, and morning watch;
Fun April fools, tooth fairy, New Year’s clock;
Our Halloween, vacations in the sun,
Each ritual embedded in the fun.So Lord, as we press on this week once more,
Enrich our lives as You have done before;
Each ritual of bed and board now bless,
And in our time attend as we confess –The times when form trumped function over time;
When ritual just served to numb the mind;
When people suffered from our thoughtless moves;
When life was less in us than life in You.Thanks Lord for this.
navigation