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| Brother Lawrence in the kitchen |
“This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).
"Life's
a Bitch and Then You Die". (DancingQueen).
Entropy:
a : the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an
ultimate state of inert uniformity b : a process of degradation or
running down or a trend to disorder (Merriam-Webster).
“The
time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and
in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at
the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great
tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection – passage translated from the
original French. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Lawrence).
Sometimes
technological advances do not thereby uplift the soul of man.
Tonight I was washing dishes and felt some responsibility to choose a
positive attitude as I did so. I pictured my mother and father doing
dishes together at the kitchen sink after a meal when I was a youth.
The dirty pots, pans, knives and forks were methodically washed and
dried in a matter-of-fact but cordial and loving atmosphere. It
dawned upon me that in this Easter season Christ intentionally chose
to respond redemptively to forces of degradation. It is not
stretching it in the least (in fact it can hardly be seen otherwise)
that washing dishes participates along with many other chores in
affirming positive redemptive forces over the weight of entropy. It
occurred to me that the automatic dishwasher appliance acts as an
interloper within the family circle displacing what in fact had been
a shared daily ritual of redemption. If one cannot learn to do small
acts of redemption joyfully and with a willing spirit, how can one
expect to master weightier ones?
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