As a son of Missouri, corn cob pipes have always
been a part of my life. In the 1960's
and 70's you could not travel the roads of Missouri without running into the
obligatory tourist trap filled with the pipes and images of "hill
billies" smoking them. They were an
icon of Ozark culture. To a certain
extent, I am sure that this is still true today. As a pipe smoker, I have owned
my fair share of these simple pipes, but until today I never really thought
much of them. The words of St. Augustine
changed that for me.
You see, I was running my errands today I was
working on my homily for this weekend’s Masses.
Since the Archdiocese of Baltimore celebrates the Ascension on Sunday,
that is the subject of my preaching. To
help me with my ideas, I read Augustine's sermon on the Ascension. He starts by saying:
"Today
our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him.
Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your
hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand
of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth."
As I pondered these words over and over again, I
thought about my own life and the journey that has brought me from Missouri, to
Maryland, from an insurance executive and museum director to seminary
administrator and from non-practicing Catholic to Deacon.
When I was first married, I rarely went to church
and my life was truly conformed to the world.
Money, fine cars, nice houses and success in life were my main
goals. Even in my hobbies, I was trying
not simply to keep up with others, but to excel and be noticed. I loved to serve others, but only on my time
and in the ways I chose. Materialism was
more important to me than putting others first.
Thanks to my wonderful wife, that all began to change with the birth of
our first child. Irene realized that we
were missing God ion our lives and all of the cars, money and acclaim could not
truly fill the void.
Through her calling us back to God, we began to gain
strength and peace: a peace that was totally lacking. In a few short years, I was ready to cut my
ties to the family insurance business and try following my love of history and
music. Our financial house fell
apart. There were times over the next four
years when we did not know where our next grocery money could come from and
yet, we did not suffer. God kept us
together and kept giving us His peace.
Those lean and simple times are some of the most memorable of our thirty
year marriage. We were seeing, for the
first time, what it was like to "set our hearts on the things that are
above..." God was using my avocations to prepare me for something
greater. He was preparing me for
conversion and eventually ordination.
Well, all of this brings me back to that pipe. As I was hammering out the words of my
homily, the idea of elevating hearts to heaven and thinking of that which is
above kept rolling through my mind. I
must ascend to heaven with Christ....now!
What holds me back? The
world! Materialism! Pride! Sin! The list could go on and on. It is in
the quite of simplicity that we can let the world and ourselves go and ascend
with Jesus.
I started smoking a pipe at 17. I would love to have a fine Peterson pipe
from Ireland. I would love to have an
expensive meerschaum pipe intricately carved and finely finished. But the whole time I was reflecting in my
car, that plain corn cob sat on the seat.
I finally picked it up and said, "You are all I need". My desire for more is simply an impediment to
my ascension!
When I smoke a pipe I do so mostly
when I am with others. We smoke, in
moderation, as a community. It is the
love we share, the charity toward one another that is important. It is in seeing one another as mutually
supportive parts of the Body of Christ that we are drawn together by Him. It is in our love for God and all His
creation that is important. It is how we live our baptismal promises and how we
act as Christ's body on earth that matters.
Everything else is a distraction. And when I do smoke alone, I am bathed in quite. In that quite I can pray, but moreover, I can hear the whispering voice of our quite God.
So, I
am going to keep my corn cob. I don't
need a finer pipe; I NEED to elevate my heart and mind to heaven. Anyone up for
a quiet smoke and some good conversation?
George, there is a reason it is called a prayer closet (Matt 6:6). Having a quiet smoke, working with a hand tool, even doodling on an banjo gives us time away from the world, time to listen. Elijah did not hear God's voice in a strong wind, in an earthquake, or in fire. He heard it in a whispering. (1 Kings 19) Notice that God didn't tell us to build a sound proof room. He told us to shut our door. Close out the distractions of the outside world. There, in the quiet, we can hear what He is telling us.
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