Rectory notes – Curious cats
Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. Not so Grey, our first family pet. A milk-float was the unwitting
culprit, young Grey’s tragic final act being to nestle underneath beside its wheel prior to its silent
departure. I was about 5. We subsequently got a dog, a wonderful companion through my
subsequent childhood. No lasting trauma.
Curiosity. Young children starting school this month will brim with it (once early nerves have
settled). A child’s natural curiosity is a joy to behold, is it not. Those starting university courses will
also be curious: about their studies (hopefully), and about the wider social world they will
encounter (that parents may worry they indulge in too much). From the taming of fire and
invention of the wheel, to today’s science and technology, curiosity has been integral to human
prosperity.
Spiritual curiosity too threads through human development. Where did we come from? Who
might ‘god’ be? Might our lives fit in a bigger picture? The world’s religions evolved in response to
such questions. ‘Answers’ help to settle us; a framework for understanding the world offers secure
walls.
But do those walls sometimes hem us in? Back to the curious cat. Cats often roam around the
Rectory, and I watch amazed (occasionally fearful) as they clamber over the rooftops. Seemingly
stuck, they always somehow get down. Dogs, by contrast, are trained to stay where they’re put,
obedient and faithful. Does the church, I wonder, encourage us to be more ‘dog’ than ‘cat’,
spiritually obedient more than curious? I suspect so.
I have recently been caused to ponder – to be curious! – how the church can be more welcoming
to the spiritually curious. A place where the ‘spiritual cats’ amongst us can clamber the rooftops,
rather than having the cat-flap locked (or told to be dogs!). Today’s younger generations show
much spiritual curiosity, particularly about life’s purpose.
Meanwhile I am encouraged by Christ’s encouragement to ‘ask, seek, knock’ (his own ‘cat side’
perhaps). We can clamber those spiritual rooftops with courage.
