Sabbatical Musings at the Hermitage - Ticks

Theological Reflections on Ticks

Pastor’s Log - Sabbatical Date 3.2.1

While spending time at the Hermitage for Silence and Solitude, one of the practices that I find meaningful is the use of the prayer labyrinths there.  I deeply value the theological symbolism that they hold for our faith and I personally find that I pray better while I am moving; but I digress.  The significance and value of prayer labyrinths, while a worthy topic in and of itself, is for another posting.  This posting is meant to be in response to a question posed to me when I posted pictures of the prayer labyrinths at the Hermitage and Gilchrist noting how meaningful they are.  Beth responded to that post with the question, “But what is your theological leaning on ticks?”  Ticks being an unavoidable consequence of being out in nature in that part of Michigan in May.

That question led me to consider more deeply the significance of ticks in God’s created order.  As I reflected upon this, I came to the conclusion that the existence of ticks amid the beauty of nature is primarily to serve as a tangible metaphor for sin in our world.  Don’t believe me?  Well, perhaps I am too negative about ticks, but consider the following…

One can simply be walking along enjoying God’s creation or even spending time in focused prayer such as in a labyrinth and a tick may jump upon the traveler at first unbeknownst to the traveler.  Much of the sin in our world is not that which is at first obviously evil to our perceptions.  Rather, it is that which we encounter in passing, that which at first glance is seemingly innocent and unbeknownst to us leaps upon us and clings to our clothing.

Knowing that one is in an environment that is prone to ticks, how does one avoid this parasite?  Before going out, choose the appropriate attire, spray yourself with bug spray to dissuade their approach, and upon return from the journey; do a through tick check to remove them before they embed themselves and become a more serious matter.  Likewise, as we go out into the world in which we know that sin is lurking we should clothe ourselves with the appropriate attire (the armor of God (Eph 6:10-17) and God’s robe of righteousness (Is 61:10 & 2 Cor 5:21)), we should marinade ourselves in the word of God and prayer which may act like a bug spray to dissuade sin’s approach, and upon our return from our journey; we should do a thorough check to remove any sin that we have come in contact with before it embeds itself more deeply with in us and becomes a more serious matter.  Sin like ticks cannot long endure without a host upon which to feed.  Do not allow it to feed on you.

Of course, there is always the risk that while out in an area ripe with ticks, that one of the parasites will get past our guard even if we are vigilant and embed itself in our skin.  When this happens, it is important that we properly remove the tick rather than allowing it to remain and that we treat the site of the embedding in order to avoid further infection or sickness.  Likewise, there are times that sin embeds within us before we even realize what is happening.  We rationalize, deny, blame and make excuses all the while the sin is feeding off of us and growing stronger in its hold upon us.  And like a tick, we should be vigilant in properly removing it and spiritually treating the wound to avoid further spiritual infection.  Unfortunately, many of us are far to prone to observe the tick/sin that has imbedded and to allow it to remain unchecked.  And unfortunately, though we know the tick/sin is there, we tend to blame God for the deeper spiritual illness that develops rather than to own our own unwillingness to address the issue.  We cast blame rather than take ownership.

And so in answer to Beth’s question, my theological leaning on ticks is that they are a temporal representation of the spiritual reality of sin in the world.  And I would encourage us to deal with the sin in our lives in the same way that I dealt with the ticks that I encountered while at the Hermitage.  Upon discovering them outside, I flicked them off and moved on.  Upon discovering them in my regular tick checks, I picked them off and flushed them down the toilet, the place where sin too belongs in my estimation.  And if they happen to embed themselves and begin feeding off of us, that we not ignore them hoping they will go away; but rather properly address them by removing them and treating the affected site.

Note: 4 out of 6 ticks discovered during the time at the Hermitage were harmed in the preparation of this blog post.  The one I discovered during dinner, I went outside and flicked off.  The one I discovered while journaling outside, I went over to the tall grass and flicked it off.   The other four that I discovered during my regular inspections, I flushed down the toilet.  Thankfully, no ticks embedded in me this time.