@HomewithDean – Homily 10/22

I suppose the one question that begs to be answered after a conversation about a haunted house is … Do you believe in ghosts? To which my honest confession is … I don’t know.I find the conversation fascinating but I’ve never felt a compulsion to defend a position for or against. I know, kinda boring, but in exchange I will tell you three things I do believe about such things …I believe in not jumping to conclusions or forcing explanations. The older I get the more comfortable I’ve become with unanswered questions. History is littered with unexplained phenomena which we often attributed to the supernatural but later, as our grasp of the world grew, we understood as natural. But while those phenomena remain outside our grasp it’s perfectly appropriate to call them paranormal, because that’s exactly what that word means. I don’t have much use for the word supernatural because as I see it something is either real or it’s not. If it’s real then somewhere, somehow it’s part of the natural, even if we can’t see the connection. And by the way, finding out where a phenomena plugs into the natural world doesn’t rob it of its wonder the way a magic trick is ruined when you learn how it’s done. For me this life is nothing but wonder, so discovering its truths only takes you deeper into the magic.So the second thing I believe is keeping myself open to mystery and wonder. Hamlet regularly haunts the grey matter between my temples and often reminds me, “Dean, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”Lastly, I am utterly dogmatic about one thing when it comes to spooks and specters. I absolutely, passionately, fervently believe in ghost stories. From Hamlet, to Sleepy Hollow, to Dickin’s Christmas Carol, ghost stories are some of the most enduring and meaningful stories. I believe in ghost stories because they have so much to teach us and are so good at doing so. They don’t just communicate dispassionate truth. They get under our skin. They stir us up; push us off balance; make us uncomf