I'm a 'thinker'. I enjoy meditating on things, and looking at the layers past the surface. I've always been wired like that.
Today at Mass, I had a few of those moments where I gained a little deeper insight into a few things...
What is a musical instrument, but a useless contraption without the master's skills putting it to its proper use? What is a tool without the owner's skillful use of it?
It is the same with us. We have bodies--are they merely ornamental? Are they merely there for our own pleasure? God gave us physical bodies for the highest of all purposes--to show love and to reflect God in our lives.
If we use our hands to care for the sick, our tongues to comfort the afflicted, our feet to carry us to the needy...these are the noblest uses of our bodies. We express affection for others, we feed our families, we work to earn a living. This is why we own the instrument we inhabit--our bodies.
It's very easy to fall prey to the selfishness of using our bodies to attain inordinate sexual pleasure, to indulge ourselves in gluttony, to be lazy when we should be doing something productive.
With the instrument, music is the fruit that we appreciate. Music is a language, a delight, it touches us and moves us. We cannot have music without the instrument. It is the same with love. If we do not have bodies, we cannot experience or give love. It is not the body that we seek, but the love that our bodies can express.
The other thing that occurred to me was this:
I have a friend who is an atheist. He argues against religion because it does not make 'sense'. He believes that reason should guide us.
I realized something about reason today. It's relative to our age, our experience, our station in life. For instance, a child within the womb has such limited experience, he would never choose to be born if someone were able to communicate the idea to him. He would probably object, "But, I'm warm. I'm soothed by the sounds of the womb. I am never hungry or uncomfortable." He cannot fathom that outside the womb, his whole life begins.
What if we are at a stage that is not unlike the womb? We have progressed to this point, but what is beyond the veil of this existence? What if we are like the fetus and do not yet have the ability to understand what will happen when we move from this world to the next?
What if a whole new life awaits us, something beyond our comprehension?
How can we be absolutely certain that we have piqued as adults? Perhaps there is much, much more for us to learn and experience.
Of course, as a Christian, I do believe, wholeheartedly, that there is a life after this one. I guess I wonder how it is that a person could be so certain, that he wouldn't at least open the door and question these things, wrestle with them, give them a moment's thought.
Just my thoughts...
Add some of your own if you feel inclined.
HUGSxxxAnnie
