“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6 ESV
Have you done any “rummaging” lately? By that I don’t mean sorting through your neighbor’s curbside pickup or dirt diving at the landfill. Real rummaging happens, I think, more by accident than by design. You begin by announcing one Saturday morning, “I’m going to clean out the garage (…or the attic…or the closet in the guest room…).” Soon what started out as a cleaning exercise becomes a rescue mission. You find a box of old photos or the love letters your spouse wrote to you when you were dating or the kids’ Vacation Bible School crafts that were packed away so carefully many years ago. Rummaging can be fun, exciting—and sometimes scary.
Recently, I ran across a box that contained the remnants of my study carrel from seminary, still sealed from the day I left the campus. There were assorted books, papers, wall decorations and knick knacks—all things I was sure then that would be necessary to my success in the ministry. One paper entitled, Misogynism in the Early Church, caught my eye. As I read through the maze of theological mumbo-jumbo, it occurred to me that I had once written a paper that I no longer understand. Now, that’s a scary thought.
Another type of “rummaging” that is becoming more popular is probing through old computer files. I’m not talking about snooping in someone else’s computer, but rather reading through old files on one’s own hard drives. I’ve learned the hard way that it is a good idea to rummage before you delete and absolutely essential before you re-format!
Did you ever rummage through the Bible? Who knows what nuggets and gems you might find. For example, did you know…
- In Old Testament times, wedding ceremonies were quite elaborate. They began with a procession by the groom and his friends to the home of the bride. The wedding party then returned with great fanfare to the groom's house for a feast that often lasted a week (Judges 14:12) and sometimes as long as two weeks!
- Engaged men were exempted from military service (Deuteronomy 20:7).
- In early Old Testament times, whenever two Israelites finalized a real estate transaction, one of the men would take off his sandal and give it to the other to seal the deal (Ruth 4:7).
- Newborn babies were rubbed with salt (Ezekiel 16:4).
- To symbolize his desire for a permanent working relationship, a slave would have his master take an awl and stick it through the slave's ear into the master's doorpost (Exodus 21:6).
- Newlyweds were commanded by God to honeymoon for a solid year (Deuteronomy 24:5)!
- Ben-Hur is found in the Bible (1 Kings 4:8).
- The longest name in the Bible is MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. It means, "quick to plunder, swift to spoil" (Isaiah 8:1).
- The shortest prayer in the Bible is Peter's: "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30).
- Matthew 18:10 indicates that children have personal angels.
Fr. Dennis Hamm, SJ, a Jesuit priest, once suggested that we use these types of searching to “rummage for God” in the midst of our daily lives. It’s all based on a process of daily examination of conscience (usually at the end of the day) using the following format:
- Pray for light or illumination as to how the Spirit of God is leading us.
- Review the day in thanksgiving with gratitude being our whole foundation with God.
- Review the feelings that surface in the replay of the day.
- Choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it.
- Look toward tomorrow.
Lent is a good time to try it! Happy rummaging.
Blessings,
Fr. Steve+
