By Amelsegre on Pixabay
Years ago, when I was training to become a OneSpirit interfaith minister there was a lot of discussion in the group around the title ‘reverend’—some of it heart-rending, some of it joyful, some of it blazing in anger. We all received that title upon ordination (yet another contentious word!). Each of us could choose to use it or not.
The discussion covered a lot of ground. Some of us were brought up in faiths where the title “Reverend” doesn’t exist. Others who grew up acknowledging that title no longer felt connected it. Yet others, who had abusive relationships with people using that title, most certainly didn’t want to own it.
What to do? How to resolve this dilemma?
The lead tutor on the training asked us to turn our thinking around. What does it feel like to hold that word to mean “the one who reveres” rather than the “one who is revered”?
That question lead me, along with my classmates, to contemplate the very question of what do we revere. What do I respect and honour? What do I hold sacred? What can I revere in each day, in each breath? Does something have to be designated as ‘holy’ in order to be revered? Can I revere the mundane, the ordinary, the usual?
By Chris Liu on Unsplash
My heartmind turns to nature each time I contemplate this question…a leaf falling from a branch in autumn…a bud bursting into flower in spring…the cry of a gull…the bounding of a puppy…the grandeur of mountains…the pristine flake of snow…sound of the sea. These all I revere.
My heartmind also turns to the ordinary events and objects of daily life…a handcrafted bowl…the smile of a passer-by…the joy of my lover’s kiss…the aroma of brown basmati rice…the comfort of a sofa…the warmth of a winter cardigan…the gift of friendship…the miracle of my ageing body.
These all I revere.
In this way, I am reverend.
In this way, all who revere are reverend.