A Different Perspective (12/30/2024)

I am allergic to poinsettias – very allergic. So, when Christmas comes and the sanctuary is full of them, I must get as far away from them as possible. I need to sit in the last pew of the nave. And yesterday, that is where I planted myself. And by the end of Mass I was well aware of why I don’t sit in the back of church. Let me explain.

1. I am short. I always sit in the first two or three rows of church so I can see the sanctuary and what is happening. Even that close, I must bob and weave to see around those in front of me who are taller than me and everyone older than 10 is taller than me.

2. I am easily distracted. If I sit toward the front, there are fewer people in front to distract me. When I sit in the back, there are rows and rows of people with pretty sweaters and fancy hair ribbons doing things other than praying quietly and my eyes find every one of them.

Yesterday, as I sat in my back pew, I realized that the local Catholic population was extraordinarily tall. I spent a lot of time wondering why that was. Then I noticed the apparel of the members of the community. I found a sweater I’d like to have in my own closet. There was a young woman with braided hair. How I wished my hair had been the color of hers, dark and luxurious. I remembered that I’d never been allowed to have long hair, and I found myself envying this young woman. I watched the ushers take up the collection. I watched the people stand and make their way to communion and back to their pew.

Notice that I didn’t notice a thing in the sanctuary? That’s because I couldn’t see the sanctuary. So, I hope you can understand why I don’t like to sit in the back and why I choose to sit in the front. It isn’t a sense of entitlement. It isn’t a snobbish gesture. It is 100% genuine need.

But the LORD writes straight with crooked lines, don’t you know. As I sat in the back, I also noticed things I don’t usually see. I noticed how full the church was and realized how our community had grown. I noticed the diversity of those present: young families with small children, families with teens and young adult children, a few young adults worshiping by themselves, middle aged couples, older individuals sitting alone. I noticed the different expressions of piety of those gathered for the Eucharist. And my understanding of the living Body of Christ was greatly enhanced from the back pew.

In the end, I thanked the LORD for time together. I thanked the LORD for gracing me with new understanding of my present faith community. I thanked the LORD for challenging me and for the grace to meet the challenge. And I thanked the LORD for the short shelf life of potted poinsettias that meant I’d be able to go back to my front seat in a few weeks.

Sometimes the LORD’s way is to change our way just a bit to help us take in things we have been missing because of familiarity. Sometimes the LORD asks us to take a new perspective, a different perspective so that we might realize more clearly the experiences of others. Sometimes the LORD takes away something we want in order to give us something we need.

We tend to wrestle with the LORD, seeking our way. As we learned from the biblical story of Jacob who wrestled with the LORD, wrestling is okay, but in the end, may the LORD prevail.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.