Valeriedoremi, someecards.com

‘It’s always easier to write someone else’s sermon’ is the motto of my preaching group.

On a Friday morning, all five of us might be squeezing one word at a time out onto the pages of our own sermons, but when an email comes through asking for a movie clip showing non-conformist children, a song about goats or what the Greek word in a text really means, well, it’s happy action stations. We all have heaps of ideas about the other homies’ sermons.

I find the same is true with housework. It’s always easier to wash someone else’s dishes than to get around to doing your own. And boy is it nice when someone else puts your rubbish out or organises your plastics drawer.

This is another way housework can be sacramental, something that brings a particular experience of God into our lives. Conscious generosity, practical expressions of love, unexpected kindness: sounds like God, right?

Even if, like me, you’re not the kind of person who ever feels on top of your own cleaning, you may find you have the capacity to give an hour or two at someone else’s house. It is a kind, generous thing to do someone else’s housework, an act of love and a participation in the grace of God.

This is part of an occasional series exploring the spiritual depths of what can seem like mundane jobs. You can read the first part and see my awesome home-made illustration here

You may also be interested in the Sacrament of Breastfeeding series.