Emily Lyons
Dear Friends,
In today’s passage from Isaiah, the Lord mocks those who bring ritual sacrifices and offerings, showing favor instead to those who are humble and contrite and tremble at his word.
The Lord asks: “what is the house that you would build for me? and what is my resting place?”
This house is not a literal house, for there is no house we can build that is worthy of the Lord, except that which, by his grace, we furnish for him in our hearts.
Our own houses do say things about our lives and our beliefs, however.
A recent visit to the Center for Creative Photography made me reflect on this. The current exhibition showcases the photography of Louis Carlos Bernal. In his work, Bernal sought to capture the lives and experiences of working-class Chicanos from the barrio, like himself.
One photograph of Bernal’s that stuck with me is of the room of Señora Espinosa.
On the wall behind the elderly woman hangs a print of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a decorative plate with an image of the Last Supper, a plastic fly swatter, and a construction paper jack-o-lantern—an art project made for her by a grandchild, perhaps?
With my first glance, mediated by Bernal’s camera lens, a gallery wall, and the distance of race, class, and time, I judge the collection of objects on Señora Espinosa’s wall as shabby, haphazard, and a little bit funny.
Looking longer, I see the choice of objects as practical rather than aesthetic, reflecting the daily life of someone for whom mundane concerns are interwoven with devotion to faith and family.
In today’s Gospel reading, the widow’s meager offering speaks of more abundant faith than the ostentatious, lengthy prayers of the scribes.
Reflecting on this, I’m reminded of Señora Espinosa’s room. I can’t really know whether Senora Espinosa was a pious or righteous person, but the photograph of her room did make me think about whether I am.
Do the ways I express faith outwardly reflect sincere inner faith, or do I confuse outward expressions with sincere faith?
Do I, like the conceited and envious sinners mentioned in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, “imagine that godliness is a means of gain?”
These questions invite me to turn my attention inward and ask how I can make my heart a suitable house for God.
In Christ,
—Emily
