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Mettle maker #493: Sensorium Orientation
Do do you know which way you’re facing? Where you’re headed? Try this exercise:
Sensorium Exercise: Go outside at night. You can also do this exercise during the day also, but you may find that the darkness makes it easier to focus on non-visual input. Stand there for awhile. Breathe deeply, smell and taste the air — breathe like you’re snoring, allowing the air to flow through your nose and throat. Which direction is a strong smell coming from? Listen for birds, dogs barking, distant traffic, and so on.. Feel the wind and note which cheek is coolest.. What landmark is straight ahead? Note a distant light, constellation, etc.. Now close your eyes tightly and turn yourself around several times, turn the other way a few times, and disorient yourself. Without opening your eyes, using just smell, sound, and the feel of the wind on your face, attempt to point yourself in the direction of the landmark you noted before you closed your eyes. When you are as certain as you can be, open your eyes. How accurate are you?
The old-timers never got lost because they oriented themselves using every faculty at their disposal. No instruments. No compasses, no GPS, no astrolabe. Just five senses. The navigation feats of Vikings, Polynesians, American Indians, Australian aborigines, and others are legendary. How are our skills? Do we practice them?
Skills take practice, and they are perishable.
The other night Verizon had a major outage. I had to run an errand and, for a brief moment, I thought, “No GPS? How do I find it? I’ve only been there a couple of times!” But I stopped and pondered for a minute: I couldn’t even remember the address of the place! What is it near? What street is it on? It took all of two minutes for me to map it out in my head and start driving. I got there no problem, but I’m sure there was a shorter way.
I am disappointed in myself because navigation and orientation are my weakest skills and, to enhance them, I’ve resolved to give up using GPS navigation several times. But I always get sucked back in by the ease of it.
So I worked the exercise above, and I will work it often to foster and ingrain it. And I resolved again to ditch the GPS unless traveling cross-country. This time I’m sticking with it!
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Homily for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday 1/18/26 – Father Mitch
Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6, Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10, 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, John 1:29-34
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 World English Bible
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ† through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 to the assembly of God which is at Corinth—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 1:29-34 World English Bible
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold,§ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’ 31 I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.” 32 John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
“Peace be with you” is a very common greeting in the Middle East. The traditional Muslim greeting is salam alaykum, which is “Peace be with you” in Arabic, often shortened to just salam. This is a very common greeting among all religions in Arabic speaking countries. The traditional Jewish greeting is shalom, Hebrew for “peace.” With everyone saying “peace” to one another, we might expect the Middle East to be a very peaceful place, a virtual Eden. But to quote Patrick Henry, “Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace.” Despite the common greeting of “Peace to you” there has been very little peace in the region (or anywhere else for that matter).
In Christianity we have done something very strange by Eastern standards. We have decided to greet one another with phrases like, “What’s up?” “How are you doing?” or “Good morning.” We have clipped the phrase “Peace be with you” out of the everyday and elevated it to the liturgical level.
We have made peace sacred.
The common practice among all major Christian churches of the West, the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox, and many others, is that during worship services the priest says, “The Lord be with you” whereas only a cleric of bishop’s rank and higher will say, “Peace be with you.” The congregation only says “Peace be with you” when encouraged to do so during the Rite of Peace.
This is because, as Christians, we have come to understand that peace is only possible through Christ. Peace is not a substance that we can possess and share. It is not like a tray of cookies we can gift to another, or a spray can we can use to clean and deodorize human relationships. Man can wish peace upon another man, but there is never going to be peace because we do not possess any peace to give. Only if we trust in Christ, cooperate with him, and let him live in us, can peace become a reality.
Our readings today bear out the unique Christian viewpoint regarding peace. In our Gospel reaching St. John the Baptist testifies to the Holy Ghost’s descent upon Jesus, the Son of God. St. John baptizes with water. The Son of God baptizes us with the Holy Ghost, the true source of peace.
Our epistle reading for today is simply the opening greeting of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. From St. Paul’s greeting we can learn a great deal about how we are to think about peace – what it is, and how it works. St. Paul refers to the members of the church in Corinth as, “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus.” St. Paul is reminding them that, as members of the Church of Christ, only through Christ are we reconciled to God and sanctified. He adds, “who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” All good things come from God in Christ through the indwelling Holy Ghost upon whom we constantly call in prayer. And St. Paul concludes, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Not peace from him and his companion Sosthenes – no no! – but rather, peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through God alone is peace bestowed – through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
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†1:1 “Christ” means “Anointed One.”
§1:29 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.