John 13:31-35
Fifth Sunday of Easter
I think that
learning to wear clothes is just part of the growing up process. When I
was ordained a priest, I did not feel comfortable in my priest
vestments or black suit. Suddenly, I am ordained, but it takes time to
grow into the "priesthood" and clothes are a metaphor for that. When I
worked in the business world, I never felt comfortable in a suit and
tie. My Dad did. He belonged in the business world. He was
comfortable there. I was not.
Some people
simply do not see themselves in the world of glamour or dress up or
business wear. They tend toward clothes in which they feel comfortable.
Our comfort clothes will tell us something about who we are and who
we are not. To "dress up" for me would be to get out of my comfort
zone. I do it when it is appropriate for the occasion, but I feel like I
am an actor in a play. When my Dad "dressed up", he was at home in
his clothes.
I think that prayer comes in various
styles. Some people are at home in "getting all dressed up" and we call
this high liturgy. It has lots of pomp and circumstance. In those
settings I feel like an actor in a play. I am more comfortable in my
monastery where we wear jeans and flannel shirts most of the day, and
our liturgies are very simple. I prefer prayer settings of silence and
solitude. I don't need to so much to stare at the tabernacle, as to
close my eyes and look at no image at all. In this prayer setting we
even use terminology such as, "Strip yourself of ego," and "Become naked
before God." When you are glamorous, everybody notices you. In
contemplative prayer you become anonymous. You disappear into the
Divine. It is my style.
