Right with God

entropy
“a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder”
--Merriam-Webster

I was praying in the chapel the other day before Mass, and the silence was interrupted by someone tapping on a microphone. The choir “loft” in this church is on the left and to the rear -- I could see it directly to the side from where I was kneeling – and I observed a woman going from microphone to microphone and testing them by tapping on them with her finger. I thought to myself how easily I was distracted from Jesus by a little noise, and returned to my prayer. However, the woman continued going from microphone to microphone – tap, tap, tap, tap….tap, tap, tap, tap… -- and I felt compelled to watch her.

The woman tested all the microphones, stopped, looked around, smoothed her dress… and then she began testing microphones again – tap, tap, tap, tap… Finally, apparently satisfied that all the microphones were working, she stopped, smoothed her dress, and surveyed the choir loft. She walked over to one of the music stands, moved it a little, stepped back, and then moved the music stand back to its original position. She smoothed her dress and surveyed the loft again. Next she sat on the piano bench and picked up a stack of song sheets. She counted all the microphones, pointing at each one with her finger, and then she counted the song sheets. She dropped all the song sheets on the floor and then picked them up again. She recounted. The woman stood, collected her shoulder bag, and clutched it tightly to her side. She again surveyed the choir loft, and then stood there, a look of concern on her face, as if wondering what she could possibly have forgotten. Apparently unable to think of anything, she walked off, clutching her bag tightly. She stopped in the doorway, turned and stood looking back at the loft. I bowed my head and returned to the silence.

It occurred to me as I watched this woman, that her desire for everything to be perfect -- her anxiety and her fear -- were a reflection of the world we live in. We are bombarded with messages that we need to have perfect hair and perfect teeth, a perfect house and yard and a perfectly detailed car, the perfect job and perfectly behaved kids. Really, people want to have a perfect life, and when things don’t go right, this causes a lot of fear and anxiety.

This desire for a perfect happy life is really a desire to create heaven on earth, but that’s never going to happen because we live in a fallen world. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the universe is moving from a state of order to a state of disorder. I had the realization once that entropy (disorder) came into existence after the fall from grace.

…"Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return."
--Genesis 3: 17-19

In their disobedience, Adam and Eve brought disorder to the world, and it is the same for us today. A secular and materialistic world tells us to follow our own desires, and when we make choices that are selfish and indifferent to others, we cause pain and bring disorder to the world. When the Earth’s resources are exploited for profit, the environment is ravaged and it wreaks havoc on nature. But when we listen to God, we can find understanding in the disorder; when we seek to follow His ways and make the right choices, then we bring kindness, and love, and hope to the world.

On retreat this weekend, on Sunday morning I walked down to the shrine and sat in front of the statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus. I’d brought along my Rosary beads and a little volume by Pope John Paul II, but as I sat in the quiet and peace of the early morning, I felt that little Jesus wanted me to sit and listen. I heard the buzz of wings of the little birds in the oaks, and all around me little tweets and chirps and birdsong, and the gentle whispering of the wind. And in my heart, a still small voice…

I watched beautiful, delicate little yellow birds flitting about the branches. One of the little birds landed on a branch directly over my head, and I remembered once that a pigeon pooped on my head. Then I felt the Spirit speaking to me in my heart: He was telling me that, yes, this is a fallen world and there will be times when the birds poop on your head. We are going to have troubles in this life; it’s a disordered world and things very often aren’t going to go right, but they are small things really, and we can know that Jesus will be right there with us, and we will get through it. There is one thing we have control over: we can choose to be right with God, and if we are seeking righteousness, there is no need for any anxiety or worry or fear.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
--Matthew 6: 25-34