Meeting 1 — What Is Seeking?¶
Introduction¶
Allow us to start less piously:
Mr. Hilary runs and screams:“Where are my glasses?”He looks in his trousers and in his frock coat,In the right shoe, in the left shoe.He turned everything over in the wardrobes,He feels the bathrobe, feels the overcoat.“Scandal! - he screams - it’s unbelievable!Someone stole my glasses!”Under the sofa, on the sofa,Everywhere he looks, snorts, wheezes!He looks in the stove and in the chimney,In the mouse hole and in the piano.He already wants to tear up the floor,He already started calling the police.Suddenly he glanced into the mirror…He doesn’t want to believe… He glances again.Found! They are! It turned out,That he has them on his own nose– Julian Tuwim – “Okulary” (Glasses)
Who wrote this?
What does it tell us about?
Travelers - seekers¶
Note
read slowly paragraph by paragraph, in case they guess earlier
I will read you a more serious text now. It is a certain biography, guess who it concerns:
Born August 25 or October 31, 1451 in Genoa, died May 20, 1506 in Valladolid. European sailor and navigator.
Captain of the expedition that as the first expedition in modern history crossed the tropical Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
He was appointed admiral and the first governor of the Spanish colonies for his achievements.
Organizer and captain of four exploratory transatlantic expeditions from Spain.
The first sailed on three ships Santa María, Niña and Pinta under the flag of Castile in search of a western sea route to India.
—biography of Christopher Columbus
What do we know Christopher Columbus most for? [discovery of America]
What was he looking for? [new trade route to India]
Why was he looking for a new route? [in the hope that it would be simpler and faster]
Let’s record our discoveries [record on the prepared world map]
Motifs of seeking in literature¶
Do you know any literary works in which the heroes are looking for something? [e.g. “The Odyssey” by Homer]
List them. Tell so that everyone knows. What was the hero looking for?
Why do you think the hero was looking for this?
Let’s record our discoveries [record on the prepared world map]
Motifs of seeking in film¶
And do you know any films in which the heroes are looking for something? [e.g. “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Taken”, “The Bourne Identity” - the whole trilogy]
List them. Tell so that everyone knows what it was about. What was the hero looking for?
Why do you think the hero was looking for this?
Let’s record our discoveries [record on the prepared world map]
Listen to the text now:
Once upon a time there was a shepherd who owned nothing but a few sheep and a pipe carved from a branch of elderberry. Not a day went by without him playing on it, sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly, and sometimes sadly; depending on what mood he was in. When he played his melodies, a longing for something perfect overcame him. And new songs gave him hope that he would find it someday. One day, when he was playing his pipe again, he noticed a bird. It was sitting on the elderberry tree and listening. Its feathers shone with all the colors of the rainbow. “Oh - thought the terrified shepherd - this is finally the perfection I have always longed for”. He sneaked up to the tree to catch the bird. But when he almost had it in his hands, the bird flapped its wings, rose into the air and sat on the branches of a fir tree. The desire of the shepherd who wanted to possess this bird was so huge that he decided to follow it. When he approached the fir tree, the bird flew away again. In this place the shepherd found a wounded blackbird that was in danger because a cat was lurking for it. So he chased the cat away and at the same moment spotted the colorful bird on the bank of the pond. When the shepherd got there, the bird flew away. In its place he found only a fish tangled in nets, which asked him for help. When he had freed the fish, he spotted the bird on the top of the hill. He ran there, and when he was very close, the bird flew away again. In its place the shepherd found a flower dried up from drought, which asked him for help. He watered it and after a moment spotted the bird on the seashore. But when the shepherd got there, the bird rose up and flew away over the water towards the setting sun. “Ah - thought the shepherd - this bird made a fool of me”. Disappointed, he went back to his sheep. When he walked up the hill, a beautiful flower appeared to his eyes. On the bank of the pond the fish was waiting for him, happy that it could live on. And in the crown of the fir tree the blackbird welcomed him with joyful singing. Then the shepherd understood the sense of the lifelong longing for perfection, even if it cannot be caught in the hands.
—Willi Hoffsümmer – The Desire for Perfection
What was the shepherd looking for?
Why did he undertake his search?
Let’s record our discoveries [record on the prepared world map]
Children’s desire to know the world¶
Does anyone of you have younger siblings or have the opportunity to observe such a few-year-old toddler? [If there are no such people, one must share one’s experience or common opinion in this field]
What is important in caring for such a child? [you have to secure drawers at hand height because they want to look into all of them, remove smaller items from the mouth, etc.]
Why does the child act like this? [Desires to know the world surrounding them]
Holy Scripture¶
And do you know any fragments of the Holy Scripture speaking about seeking? Who, what and why is looking for?
Gen 3:9-10 [But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”] – God seeking man.
Lk 2:41-50 [Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”] – seeking 12-year-old Jesus.
Mt 18:12-14 [What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.] – seeking a sheep
Lk 19:1-10 [He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”] – Jesus came to seek what was lost
Mt 28:1-8 [Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.”] – seeking the risen one
Let’s record our discoveries [record on the prepared world map]
Summary¶
Let’s gather our discoveries.
What do people seek from material things?
What did we classify as the object of spiritual search?
From what motivations do people undertake searches?
What we discovered, let’s take with us to the evening prayer. At the end let’s pray with spontaneous prayer recommending those who experience various lacks not through their own fault.