I built a tiny house several years ago and trailered it up to Finland, Minnesota where I had previously purchased a small lot close to town. I use it as a basecamp from which to launch my many North Shore hiking and paddling adventures.  The tiny house is eight by sixteen feet. It has no electricity and no running water.  I use candles for light and plug into a big battery when I need to charge my phone or computer. It has no air conditioning, and heat is by way of a small woodstove.  My toilet in Finland is a five gallon bucket.  Clearly, this arrangement is not everybody’s cup of tea.  

There is no question that by modern, first world standards, my tiny house is inconvenient. I have to haul in my own water. I have to cut, split, and stack my own firewood. If I want light, I must strike a match. Instead of a vacuum, I use a broom and dustpan. I have come, however, not only to tolerate but actually to embrace the several inconveniences. I feel more connected to the rest of God’s creation and more human when I have to put more effort into my daily living.  Clean water feels more precious; light to read or work by is more valued; heat to stave off a cold winter’s night feels as a gift. Yes, I have come to embrace the inconvenience of it all… at least for a few days.  

Jesus’ world was so different from our own. His and others’ lives were filled with multiple inconveniences, at least as compared to ours. A middle class American has a set of conveniences in their life that the wealthiest of ancient kings and queens could only dream about. Could it be, however, that these same conveniences fail to bring us the abundance of life that Jesus dreams for us?  Could it be that these very conveniences of our lives threaten to disconnect us from God, from God’s creation, and from each other? 

Jesus says, “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” How much of our lives, I wonder, are consumed with acquiring and maintaining the many conveniences of our lives? I wonder whether the toll that our conveniences take on our lives and on God’s world is really worth it.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not so sure I’m ready to live my tiny house life as my day to day existence. I’m not going out tomorrow and yanking the air conditioner from my house.  I’m not going to call up the city and disconnect from water and sewer. But I just wonder whether I need so many conveniences. I wonder whether doing without may actually help me to value what I have. I wonder whether I could handle a little more inconvenience in my everyday life if it meant that I was able to get in better touch with my humanity and the rest of God’s creation. I wonder whether, by embracing the inconvenient, I may become a more loving person and a more faithful walker in the Way of Jesus.

~Father Art