Jumble
Sale Spirituality
Fr.
Tony’s Midweek Message
August
14, 2019
“Anxiety
is the mark of spiritual insecurity.”
―
―
Reducing
things can be hard. After the death of a
loved one, going through their belongings and deciding what to keep and what to
let go of, and how best to dispose of them, or simply moving from a larger
house to a smaller one and deciding what to get rid of—it’s hard
emotionally. In some ways, getting rid
of things emotionally stands for letting go of past arcs in our life, putting
aside (forever?) past hopes and passions, and seems we are cutting of little
(or large) bits of ourself. The exercise
can make us anxious.
Elena
and I lived in the U.S. Foreign Service for 25 years: that meant a permanent
change of station (PCOS) every 2-4 years, and a lot of downsizing for each
move. Now living in Ashland for soon 8
years, this is the longest we have ever lived anywhere. And with no “Zen exercise for the movers”
during that time, things accumulate.
But
it is important to not link ourselves too closely with our “things.” Periodically reducing the inventory is an
important spiritual exercise that helps us order our lives and priorities, and
see what our hearts find truly most important.
This
weekend is the Trinity Ashland Rummage Sale.
Getting rid of things—preferably nice things—and selling them at a
premium so that others can enjoy them without going beyond their means is the
core transaction of this ritual way of fundraising. If at private homes, we call them “Yard
Sales” because of where the goods are displayed. North Americans call them “Rummage Sales”
because of how the buyers must search through barely sorted piles of things to
find the specific treasure they seek or some unexpected pleasure inducing object. I prefer the British name, what we used to
call the main event at the Cathedral Michelmas Fair in Hong Kong, the “Jumble
Sale,” named for how we actually set the
things out—half sorted piles, with little regard for the provenance or history
of the objects themselves.
Elena
and I intend to make the Rummage Sale our annual chance for simplifying and
unencumbering our physical belongings. I
invite you all to do the same. The main
beneficiaries of the sale are impoverished students entering into classes and
members of the community with constrained budgets. It is a community service. And it raises a good chunk of change for the
Trinity Budget, which now includes the Music ministries.
Trinity
is accepting Rummage Sale goods from today through Friday. Don’t see it as losing your stuff. Think of it as sharing it with others, and
helping the Church in the process.
Grace
and Peace. Fr. Tony+
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