Fall Cleaning

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originally published in the South Jetty Newspaper

After Labor Day, I found myself wanting to do some cleaning and organizing for the seasons ahead. It probably has something to do with school starting back and shifting into a different rhythm of life. It also has to do with a busy summer with lots of guests and travel, and now finally having a chance to catch my breath. Some places, people do spring cleaning that may be historically associated with the Persian new year or churches preparing for Easter; it is probably associated with colder climate zones opening up their homes after a cold and snowy winter.

Fall cleaning makes good sense to me here where we live, and it does fit into the school year starting. It also works well with the liturgical year ramping up--walking through those seasons of Jesus' life. Advent doesn't start until December this year, but my mind is already mapping a course to Lent. I'm wondering: "What do we need to study for Sunday school?", "What are our Bible Study groups going to study?",  "What clutter do I need to clear away from my life to be able to focus on other things more intentionally?"

Our Bible Studies are starting this fall with St. Paul's letter to the Romans. He's writing to them about a lot of things, but at the core, he asks them to focus on the most important thing: to make sure their relationship with God is their primary focus. Idolatry is the thing that leads us away from God; it leads to all sorts of unhealthy practices that steer us away from the love of the true God. We translate the Greek word dikios into two English words: righteous or justification. Those words carry all sorts of connotations in our modern context, but the word is about setting relationships in good order. It's important in any relationship to check in from time to time, asking in one way or another, "Are we good?" We might fear the answer, and avoid asking the question with a friendship that is strained. We may busy ourselves with distraction. When we do that with our relationship with God, it's called idolatry, and it is, St. Paul teaches, a misstep that will lead us to an unhealthy life of sin.

So, what's behind my urge to fall-clean? Yes, my house and office are untidy and need work. There may also be a spiritual dimension to it: what's cluttered up my spiritual life, distracting me from checking in with God? It may be an outward and visible expression of the deeper urge to ask, "God, are we good?" Am I giving the space, time, and energy needed for God's righteousness to shape me? St. Paul is helping me keep asking that question; time in prayer helps, too; and most important is my church community walking alongside me through these changing seasons of life.

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