All of Life is a Metaphor

I had a strange experience Sunday at church which seemed weirdly symbolic of our lives. During the sermon I got a bad taste in my mouth (literally, not metaphorically, I really enjoyed the sermon) so I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the sugar free gum I keep there for just such an occurrence. I popped it in, and happily chewed and freshened my mouth as the sermon drew to a close. After the sermon, Communion (i.e. the eucharist) was served. First, they brought around the bread. I hurriedly took the gum out of my mouth to chew the wafer. The gum wound up all over my hands, making a mess and requiring use of a tissue to resolve. Stupidly, I popped it back in afterwards (what was left). Then around came the cup. "Aha!" I thought, "I'll just wad up the gum in the back of my mouth and drink the grape juice." I did so. As the juice entered my mouth, I immediately realized my mistake. The minty gum and the juice were incompatible, and lead to a horrible taste in my mouth. Far worse than when I had started. And I simply wound up miserable.

I have a saying that "All of life is a metaphor," and this time it certainly was true. It was almost a parable. Thinking only of myself and of the moment, I grabbed onto a thing of the world. When I saw a Holy thing about to enter into me, I thought I could balance the two - enjoy the benefits of both. Instead, trying to balance God and the World equally lead to nothing but messy hands, and a bad taste in my mouth.