Weighty matters

For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart
with which he has labored under the sun?
All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation;
even at night his mind is not at rest.
This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 2)

Brothers and sisters:
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3)

But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.” (Luke 12)

This past weekend I was given a “pearl of great value.” I was given a new treasured memory with Dad. This past weekend my dad was able to travel again to Kingston to spend the weekend with us and despite one of his heart episodes Friday night, he made it to Mass with us on Saturday evening. There in the front pew sat Dad, Jeff, Mom, myself, and Emma. The beauty of the moment was not lost on us. There is something profound and beautiful about sitting beside a hospice patient while the Mass readings point to our earthly mortality. Vanity of vanity, all things are vanity! The greek word for vanity is not how we modern westerners recognize it, it means vanishing. All things vanish. Fr. Bill opened his homily with two bumper stickers that apply to the gospel. The first: He who dies with the most toys wins. The second: He who dies with the most toys, still dies. This however was not where Holy Spirit spoke to me on Saturday. Fr. Bill spoke to something that is near and dear to the heart of a Physical Therapist. It is okay to enjoy this life. This life is a gift, every breath is a gift. We are each called to make a weight shift. We are called to shift our weight from the foot that is firmly planted in this life and shift it over to the foot planted in eternity. As a Physical Therapist I have facilitated countless weight shifts for my patients. After a stroke or after orthopedic surgery, there is one limb that is weak and one limb that is strong. Our human tendency is to keep the majority of our weight on the strong limb, the one we subconciously know will hold us up. When we do this we are unable to walk under our own power. You can’t move forward on a foot that is firmly planted. We need devices like walkers and we need helpers like PTs. As a physical therapist I would stand behind my patients with my hands on the gait belt and help the patient to shift the weight off of the “good” side over to the weak side. This would allow them to take a step forward. With repetition the weak side becomes strong and the patient’s ability to shift weight and step forward becomes automatic. Our readings this past weekend are spiritual physical therapists encouraging us to take steps forward. They are not meant simply to make us feel guilty about enjoying the gift of this life, they are meant to help us begin the process of weight shifting. The next morning at breakfast my dad demonstrated his own weight shift. The day before he had also been blessed to fish in the pond and in the boat with Jeff. And, his fishing had been successful! Normally our breakfast talk would have focused on how many fish he caught and the ones that got away. This however is not what my father reflected on. At breakfast, breaking into tears and unable to continue for a moment, Dad reflected on the incredible gift of being able to go to Mass, to be able to receive Jesus along with his gathered family: weight shift accomplished!

Isaiah 30:21 states, "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left."

The Holy Spirit stands behind each one of us and seeks to direct our next weight shift, invite Him into your day and week asking Him to guide you safely and surely step by step away from the vanity of this world and toward the eternal of heaven. Amen.

As I was searching for a song to inspire, I was led instead to a talk that was given by Sr. Miriam James Heidland. Someone who reads this blog is meant to hear this talk, What do you still lack? Sometimes we can’t shift our weight because we don’t remember who’s love we are walking toward and there are things of this life that hold us back. If you feel nudged by God, take the time to watch this.