From the Rector…
I’m sure they are on their way, but does anyone know when the cicadas are actually coming? I mean if Armageddon is about to happen and we’ve actually been warned about it, it might be nice to have a few more specifics. All I know is that there is to be some cosmic disruption in the force that will allow the perfect space-time continuum to open up a wormhole that allows two swarms of locust to rise and cause havoc throughout the nation, but no one seems to be able to give me any specifics on the timing.
Sure, I’ve seen plenty of folks post sightings on Facebook—one bug sitting on a leaf or several holes in the ground that seem like they could have been dug by a stick—but no mass hysteria other than that created by social media feeds. It makes me wonder if this is just more fake news or the latest attempt to stir up some fear and suspicion that would affirm the whole cosmos is really just out to get us.
To be honest, I don’t know of anyone who is actually afraid of cicadas. For the most part, they are relatively harmless though stupidly annoying. They are the epitome of the worst-case teenage nightmare—sleep for thirteen years and when you wake up and finally come out of your room you fly around like you are the center of the world without cause or care for anyone else’s comfort or needs. I mean these insects have lived under ground in a dormant state for ump-teen years, obviously when they emerge they have no clue what they are doing, who they are, or who we are. They fly into everything and everyone because they don’t have the sense to avoid things. They haven’t got any street smarts because no one is around to teach them any differently. We are annoyed by them but that’s not really fair. They simply don’t know better. As my momma would say, “They ain’t got no home training.”
Sadly, cicadas aren’t the only ones without “home training” in this world. I meet a lot of people like that too. They aren’t necessarily bumping into me, but they haven’t been given the basic schooling in common courtesy and decency as a way of navigating the world. We get annoyed by the disruptions they cause in our lives, but we don’t care enough to offer them a better path either. Instead, we avoid them or make excuses for their behavior or cover up their wrong doing—anything so that we don’t have to face the truth about them, much less about us.
Jesus had a different way of approaching those who were annoying. He didn’t ignore them or even try to change them—he simply reminded them of who they truly were and then believed them into that themselves. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He betrayed his fellow Jews by consorting with Rome, the enemy. Jesus called Zacchaeus to him, went to his house and broke bread with him, treated him with decency, and reminded him that he was a son of Abraham. The transformation was remarkable—not only did Zacchaeus respond to Jesus, he sought reconciliation with those he had harmed. Jesus taught Zacchaeus what it meant to be an Israelite simply by reminding him of who he truly was. Zacchaeus finally got some “home training” and found a new way of being in the world.
Ignoring those who are annoying doesn’t make them any less annoying. Engaging with those who annoy us, even if it is simply by trying to understand their perspective—their reason for behaving the way that they do—makes us less annoyed. Maybe not when it comes to cicadas, but who knows?
Light and Life,
Candice+