{"id":4274,"date":"2014-07-02T16:59:10","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T21:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2014-07-04T23:12:42","modified_gmt":"2014-07-05T04:12:42","slug":"richard-rohr-homeboy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/?p=4274","title":{"rendered":"Richard Rohr, Homeboy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently finished reading Franciscan friar Richard Rohr’s book \u201cFalling Upward<\/a>\u201d. I’m not exactly within the Roman Catholic fold these days, not even at heart. I still see Jesus in a different way than even the most liberal Catholics try to see him. But nonetheless, having grown up in the Roman tradition and recognizing that is has been a force for much good in the world despite all the bad that it is also responsible for, I still feel some affinity to \u201cgroovy Catholic writers\u201d like Rohr. His book tries to cheer up those of us who know that we are \u201cover the hill\u201d and are approaching the final phases of our life here on earth. He tries to say that if we can let go of the things that obsessed us in the early days of youth and young adulthood, and learn about the deeper things, our final years might be the best of all, despite all the decay and inevitable discouragement as we see our bodies fall apart.<\/p>\n

But to be honest, much of what Rohr writes doesn’t stick with me. It’s sort of like cotton candy writing. Still, here and there Rohr makes a point that hits home with me. One of those points was about the idea of what \u201chome\u201d means<\/a> to us. Turns out that \u201chome\u201d means a lot more than the particular place where we usually take shelter for the night. Home is a much bigger idea, and it has inspired various social bromides such as \u201ca house is not a home\u201d and \u201chome is where the heart is\u201d. <\/p>\n

So Rohr includes a chapter on home and homesickness in Falling Upward. He claims that the \u201chome idea” is a Jungian archetype<\/a>, or pretty close. There are many cultural factors<\/a> involved in what we mean when we say \u201chome\u201d. For example, in a modern culture, the Home archetype might present itself as a house or apartment; in another type of culture, the Home archetype might present itself as a tipi, tent, cave, or another type of housing. While the collective unconscious is shared by all of humanity, groups of people create their own “group unconscious”; in any sub-culture such as a family, ethnic group, religion, or corporation, there are shared myths, symbols, legends, heroes, and other indications of the presence of archetypes which are being expressed in a manner which is unique to that group. \u201cHome\u201d is one of those things.<\/p>\n

Rohr makes the point, quite accurately, that \u201chome\u201d is bigger even than those cultural interpretations; this is an all-humankind matter, or even a trans-humankind thing. A hint can be gleaned from an old story<\/a>, as follows: <\/p>\n

\nA great caravan arrived at a certain place where they found no habitation and no water.There was a deep well, but no bucket and no rope. To test for fresh water, they tried a kettle to a rope of their own and let it down. It struck something, and they pulled, but the kettle broke away. They sent down another and lost it too. After that they lowered thirty volunteers from the caravan, but they also disappeared.<\/p>\n

There was a wise man there. he said, \u201cI wil go down.\u201d He was nearly to the bottom when a terrible dark creature appeared. \u201cI can never escape from you,\u201d said the man to the monster, \u201cbut I hope at least to stay aware, so I can see what\u2019s happening to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t tell me long stories! You\u2019re my prisoner. You\u2019ll never leave unless you answer one question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is the best place?\u201d<\/p>\n

The wise man reflected, \u201cI am totally helpless here. If I say Baghdad or some other beautiful place, it may be that I will insult his hometown by not mentioning it.\u201d So he replied, \u201cThe best place for someone to live is where he feels at home. If that\u2019s a hole in the middle of the earth, then that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell said. You are a rare human being. Because of your blessing, I\u2019ll set the others free in youre care and give you authority over the world. I\u2019ll take no more prisoners, and I\u2019ll release the waters of this well.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rohr, Catholic spiritualist that he is, says that home not only points to the past, but to the future. Regarding the \u201chome in the past\u201d, Rohr makes the point \u2013 an important point \u2013 that even people who never had a good \u201chome\u201d in their earliest years (due to family dysfunction, substance abuse by parents, materialist parents, overly judgmental and demanding parents, etc.) still seem to imagine and long for a home somewhere in a past that never was. This says \u2013 maybe \u2013 that reality itself primes our minds to expect a \u201chome\u201d, somewhere, somehow. And if God is the author of reality (a BIG IF), then perhaps God might be calling us to a \u201ctrue home\u201d somewhere down the line. <\/p>\n

Well, wouldn’t that be nice. But for now, we have to put up with all the static and confusion of daily life. Nonetheless, the concept of \u201chome\u201d is a strong one, almost as strong as love and sex. There are scads of songs, both classic and pop, about love and sex. But come to think of it, there are a fair amount of songs involving \u201chome\u201d. So here’s a partial list to ponder:<\/p>\n

Home on the Range<\/p>\n

When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again<\/p>\n

Massachusettes \u2013 BG\u2019s<\/p>\n

Been to Caanan \u2013 Carole King<\/p>\n

Almost Home \u2013 Howard Markman<\/p>\n

Goin Home \u2013 Rolling Stones<\/p>\n

My Father’s House — Bruce Springsteen<\/p>\n

Mama, I’m Coming Home –Ozzy Osbourne<\/p>\n

When I Get Home \u2013 Beatles (maybe also \u201cHard Days Night\u201d)<\/p>\n

Closer to Home \u2013 Grand Funk Railroad<\/p>\n

The Letter — The Box Tops<\/p>\n

Carolina In My Mind \u2013 James Taylor<\/p>\n

Who Says You Can’t Go Home — Bon Jovi<\/p>\n

Sweet Home Alabama \u2013 Lynard Skinnard<\/p>\n

Take Me Home \u2013 Phil Collins<\/p>\n

My Old Kentucky Home — Johnny Cash<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then there are all the Christmas songs about \u201chome\u201d \u2013 just a small sample:<\/p>\n

Please Come Home for Christmas \u2013 Aaron Neville<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Be Home For Christmas — Bing<\/p>\n

Baby Please Come Home \u2013 Bono<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One last thought \u2013 in my life, I never think about \u201chome\u201d when I’m in my apartment. But for every working day, right around 4:30 or so, the idea of home becomes clear and present. Home is one of those things that comes into clear focus, whenever you ain’t got it.<\/p>\n

P.P.S. — Just saw the movie “Jersey Boys”. Notice in the soliloquy scenes at the end that Franky Valli (or the actor playing his part) says that the career of the Four Seasons was “trying to get back home”; somehow trying to re-capture those moments back in Newark long ago (NOT Belleville as the movie inaccurately claims; they lived in the Crane Village housing<\/a> complex, just south of the Newark-Belleville border) when he and the boys gathered on a corner under a streetlight at night, put their voices together in harmony, and the world fell away from them and it was just the music. A Zen moment, a “home” moment. The kind of thing that we can spend a lifetime trying to re-claim. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently finished reading Franciscan friar Richard Rohr’s book \u201cFalling Upward\u201d. I’m not exactly within the Roman Catholic fold these days, not even at heart. I still see Jesus in a different way than even the most liberal Catholics try to see him. But nonetheless, having grown up in the Roman tradition and recognizing that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,23,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4276,"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions\/4276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimgworld.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}