Have you considered what’s large, grey with a trunk but doesn’t matter? It’s irrelephant.
And did you know, no matter how kind you are, German children are Kinder.
A GCSE in German or a quick Google Translate will open the door to the hilarity of that last sentence. It’s a significant segue from there to considering why ‘matter matters’ but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Growing up, I was made aware of the need to interact in spiritual realms. Prayer was important and finding ways to incorporate it into the corporate activity of the church as well as your personal life was stressed. In teaching I grew up with, much of the emphasis seemed to be on actions of the will and the mind. Self-control was focused on policing your thoughts.
My understanding is that Celtic Christianity had a different emphasis. Creation was viewed as revelation. A deep connection was viewed between the land and the people who lived on it. It feels pertinent at a time when the government are issuing advice about how people should ensure they have enough supplies of food and water at home in case of an emergency. It makes me wonder how separated we as a civilisation have become from the land, the earth, the soil where our nourishment comes from. The Psalmist declares, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” but do we individually or collectively seek to look after it? What is the church’s voice amid climate change?
It feels intuitive that using our senses to experience the divine is what a God would want us to do. Our minds, souls and intellects may feed into this too but most of us are fortunate enough to be able to experience the warmth and comfort of a bed to rest, the refreshment of water whenever we want, the taste of a variety of foods on a daily basis and the beauty of creation not far from our doorsteps, if we choose to look with intention. We have the chance to thank the creator, the orchestrator of these experiences and to recognise their source.
Our thoughts and minds are important conduits to our understanding of God and what God is like. But matter matters too. Our senses can open us to sensing more of the divine, increasing our awareness and gratitude for what we see, taste and touch. We can join with those saints of the past by choosing to notice God’s everyday presence. And as we do so more often, maybe it will change us and increase our sensitivity of God’s handiwork in more and more places.
