Keeping Things Simple

Good Morning
It’s long time since (my own) childhood. These days children seem to leave innocence behind quickly. Life gets more complicated as you reach adulthood. It seems an inevitable necessity of growing up. Do you ever stop and wish things could be simpler? I do. A couple of Jewish words spring to mind; 'tamim' and 'heimisch', one Hebrew, one Yiddish. Tamim means, ‘pure’, ‘innocent’ and ‘whole’ - Moses uses the word tamim as he dictates his final thoughts in the book of Deuteronomy. Here’s a man who has ‘been up the mountain’ and spoken to his God almost face to face. Even so, he still hasn’t reached his ‘promised land’. He attempts to pass on wisdom about how to approach belief. The word 'Heimisch' was a favourite of my mother's it means 'homely'; simple, and wholesome like simple homemade chicken soup. To me, a bowl of it solves most problems.
Can you have ‘tamim’ and ‘heimisch’ in our sophisticated world? I like to think, that in spite of growing up, you can still keep things simple. Most of us wonder about life's mysteries without finding definitive answers, even through prayer. The truth is, none of us will ever know everything. In the end, no matter how much you know, belief and faith must be taken on trust. As Moses said, it is best done in a simpler frame of mind.

Lord, in a world of complexities and sophistication, help us to seek out life’s simpler truths. Give us the grace to know the limits of knowledge and the shallowness of human understanding. Where all this fails, give us the courage to leap forward in faith.
Amen