Wednesday, June 26, 2013

ANOTHER FURRY GUEST: FLUFFY

GUEST COLUMNISTS

Baxter’s friends won’t allow him to enjoy his vacation in peace.  They are hounding or making other sounds and gestures toward him to give them a chance.  Since he is on an hiatus from his literary production, they want to fill the gap.  Baxter, being the affable and easy-going fellow he is, has agreed.  So for the next few weeks, while Baxter basks in the sun and lays about the pool, some of his friends will put their “two cents worth” of wisdom to the pennies worth of Baxter’s thought.  Hopefully, our thoughts about God, ourselves as God’s people, and the practicality of the parish will grow.  Enjoy these other voices from the pew. We need to listen to each other as we try to find our way to God in this crazy world.


ANOTHER FURRY GUEST:  Fluffy

The latest furry friend who wants his chance to share some wisdom is Fluffy, our rabbit.  Fluffy’s relationship to our family is unique.  He is definitely part of the family.  We feed him and care for him and spend time with him.  However, unlike our house cats, he has a life separate from ours.  He has his own house in the back yard.  Most of the time we have no idea what he is up to, and he doesn’t have the faintest idea what goes on in the house.  Often, he will jump to the front of his “front yard” to greet us; other times, he stays in his house.

Recently, we have been in closer contact than usual with Fluffy.  We built him a bigger house.  He has gone from apartment living to a nice straw-filled condo.  He loves his new home, but during construction he was very annoyed.  We upset his routine and got way too far into his personal space.  That same week we found out that Fluffy had a cut on his face, and he needed salve applied once a day.  When it comes to physical contact, a little rub behind the ears is one thing.  However, being lifted up, held tightly, washed off, and having stuff rubbed on your face, are quite another thing.  He communicated this clearly by the scratches I have on my arm and an unfortunate incident that befell my wife’s shoes.  (You really don’t want to know.)

Fluffy reminds me of a lot of people in our lives.  They may not be in our immediate family, but they are connected to us in real and strong ways.  Maybe they are relatives, neighbors, co-workers or fellow parishioners.  We are called as Christians to keep those connections strong, to be there and help when we can. Sometimes our loving kindness in welcomed, often it surprises people.  And sometimes we will even be pushed away, because we are getting too close.  It seems to me we must always respond when these opportunities arise.  Fluffy knows that we are nearby when he needs us.  Hopefully, our two legged neighbors feel the same way.

Scott Martin
Director of Faith Formation