Meditation: July 29, 2007

"Then Abraham came near and said, 'Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?'" Genesis 18:23    

Reflection:

This is the time of year when I sweep. I’ve swept a lot lately, using brushes, brooms, patio brooms, and my trusty old Electrolux. Nothing is safe from my sweeping: not my desks at school and at home, not the closet floor, not the patio, not even the workshop in the basement.

As Abraham and God discussed the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was concerned that God not make a clean sweep without consideration of any righteous people who happened to be in his path. But God answered that he would look over the city before he destroyed it, in search of people who merited saving.

“New brooms sweep clean,” my Aunt Babe used to say. Aunt Babe would grow so ferocious in her sweeping and cleaning that my cousin Barbie and I were ordered by our mothers to play outside until she was finished.

I have inherited my aunt’s passion for making a clean sweep. Regretfully, I sometimes sweep away an item of value: directions for the DVD player, the receipt for a pair of slacks (wrong size), the 1/3 cup measure, a screw needed to install the air conditioner. At these times, I wish I had heeded Abraham’s counsel.

Last Friday as I vacuumed under the bed, I heard the clunk, tinkle, ching-ching-ching of something metal and small flying up the wand. And I thought of the silver charm on a chain that I’d mislaid recently. I was fortunate. This clean sweep could be rectified by a tedious and dusty retrieval.

Why does this happen? I know full well! It’s because in my zeal to be thorough, I move in haste. I fail to examine carefully what is being swept away. This haste applies not only to weeding out the physical objects that accumulate and clog up the paths of traffic in my basement, but also to sorting through the store of beliefs and traditions and ideas that compose my spiritual life.

Just as I am again reminded to look under the bed before vacuuming, I must remind myself to examine a project before tossing it, to consider the value of a comment or idea before dismissing it, to look for the single, small treasure.

Prayer: Careful God, teach us to curb our haste and to examine our ideas and habits for value before we consign them to the dust heap. Amen         

Question of
the Week: As I clean my house of spirit, how often do I pause to look carefully for items of value that are in danger of being swept away?        

 Meditation written by Solveig Nelson of the St. John's Writing Team.