A Holy Feline Ritual
I’m not a morning person, but I get up around 430am on Sunday.
Our two cats love this.
Once I hit the stairs, they emerge from my daughter’s room, pass me at full sprint, slide to stop at the foot of the stairs, and take a hard right toward the kitchen. Then they stop at their food bowls and wait.
Once I arrive, the ritual hits another level. One cat does this stylized stretch against my thigh. The other sits on her haunches and waves her front paws in the air. It’s a dance that confesses, “I desire tasty sustenance. From you. Now.” They purr as they await the food and the petting. They enjoy themselves.
They do this ritual the same way every Sunday morning, whether there is already food in their bowls or not. What they do is both play and work. It’s a celebration of faith and life and relationship. It centers upon a meal that appears to be sacred to them. (And kinda sacred to me too).
Then, later Sunday morning, I do something similar through a ritual also centered upon a meal, in this case Communion at the Table of Christ. Through this meal I trust I receive the sustenance of the love of God. Maybe you do that ritual too.
When I think of my worship and place it beside that of my cats, I know I want more of their excitement, joy, and freedom to run and dance.
Why shouldn’t I? I have a better Lord, after all. I have Jesus, and the cats, well, they have me. And Jesus said in John 15, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love so my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”
I’m not a morning person, but I get up around 430am on Sunday.
Our two cats love this.
Once I hit the stairs, they emerge from my daughter’s room, pass me at full sprint, slide to stop at the foot of the stairs, and take a hard right toward the kitchen. Then they stop at their food bowls and wait.
Once I arrive, the ritual hits another level. One cat does this stylized stretch against my thigh. The other sits on her haunches and waves her front paws in the air. It’s a dance that confesses, “I desire tasty sustenance. From you. Now.” They purr as they await the food and the petting. They enjoy themselves.
They do this ritual the same way every Sunday morning, whether there is already food in their bowls or not. What they do is both play and work. It’s a celebration of faith and life and relationship. It centers upon a meal that appears to be sacred to them. (And kinda sacred to me too).
Then, later Sunday morning, I do something similar through a ritual also centered upon a meal, in this case Communion at the Table of Christ. Through this meal I trust I receive the sustenance of the love of God. Maybe you do that ritual too.
When I think of my worship and place it beside that of my cats, I know I want more of their excitement, joy, and freedom to run and dance.
Why shouldn’t I? I have a better Lord, after all. I have Jesus, and the cats, well, they have me. And Jesus said in John 15, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love so my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”