There’s a beautiful old melody, made famous by Nat King Cole, which begins, “It was fascination I know…” sharing the love story of an encounter that made a lasting impression. Perhaps, each of us has met someone who has touched us in a most special way…someone unforgettable, who has helped to shape our outlook and our life. Perhaps, today is an invitation to remember that person, savor the encounter, and give thanks for this blessing.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Lord’s presentation. We read in the Lucan Gospel about Simeon who waited a life-time for this holy encounter, and upon realizing this life-long goal, is most grateful for the blessing he has received, and is ready for the next phase of life.
Christ continues to be “presented” to us. We don’t need to ask when? Where? We know…in each and every moment of life…in everyone we meet…in ourselves. What will it take for us to realize our dream and not only believe He is here, but of embracing this holy encounter, and to move on with the next phase of our journey…to affirm His presence (and the impact He has had on our life)...and to make Him present by how we treat one another…by how we treat ourselves?
Of course, this is nothing new. We've heard it countless times...but we forget. A dear friend of mine, Fr. Gabriel, a Franciscan Friar who died a couple years ago at 95, loved to tell jokes. But he would always forget the punch-line, and would always say the same thing, "My memory is good. It's just short." So, too, is ours. Perhaps, more than our words and actions today, what we most need to do is take a moment to reflect on our life, and when we have experienced the Holy Mystery...and let that inspire our life...to make it truly UNFORGETTABLE.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
NOW IT BEGINS
It has been an early, and too long an agonizing Good Friday in Haiti. In these days gone by, every part of our being screamed, “Enough is enough.” Yet, as in prior tragedies, we have seen that the human spirit will not be defeated. We saw it in New Orleans after Katrina, and after the great tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, both cities now built anew, life flourishing once more. This gives us hope. Haiti’s cities can be rebuilt. There will be a resurrection.
But nowhere is resurrection more essential than in the human corpus – new life for those grieving with a heavy heart…and for those whose hearts have melted. Though the worst seems to be over, our faith and love will continue to be tested. What will happen when the headlines subside? Perhaps even more than in these last two weeks, we will need to persevere in our faith…and our generosity. As in the movie, “Jesus of Nazareth”, after the crucifixion and empty tomb - the unthinkable and the uncertainty - which ends with the words, “Now it begins”. So, too, in Haiti, and with us...Now It Begins.
Indeed, we have already seen a new beginning in progress – signs of a resurrection – new life, new-found hope. We have seen it in the miraculous unearthing of those buried alive for days. We have seen it in the heart-pouring generosity of rich and poor alike. After a recent appeal, a woman came out after Mass, told me she did not have her checkbook with her, but took off her sterling silver necklace and bracelet and her diamond rings, and said, “Father, build as many houses as you can.”
And we have seen it in the collaboration of nations, politically at polar opposites – Israel and Cuba, Venezuela and Italy, China and the U.S., and so many more, working hand-in-hand, each with something to offer: a hospital flown in and built in one day, numerous clinics and medical staffs provided, food pantries and fresh water tanks, temporary shelters, the heart-warming embraces of little ones, many opening their hearts and homes for adoption, people of good will reaching out in a common cause of concern and compassion to bring relief…to share in the suffering…and to share our love.
We ARE family. And we ARE Easter people. We have experienced death. But it has also been life-giving to give our all and to see the ripple effect of so much magnanimous goodness. Jesus said that his mission was “to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to give sight to the blind, to set the captives free” (Lk 4:18). Then he commissioned us to do likewise. And that is precisely what we have witnessed: bringing love and healing to those in need, opening the eyes of those who are blind to the presence of goodness, releasing those in a prison of hopelessness and despair.
The “resurrection” has begun. Still, much more will be asked of us…for the sake of our sisters and brothers in Haiti, and for our own sake…our own resurrection. When will it end? After helping out in the missions in Jamaica during Holy Week, when I returned to the U.S., I greeted the customs official in Miami, saying, “Good morning. How are you?” His response blew me away. With a radiant smile, he said, “I am resurrected!” Easter will come to Haiti…and to us…when they, and we, can say, “I am resurrected!.”
Though, it has begun.
But nowhere is resurrection more essential than in the human corpus – new life for those grieving with a heavy heart…and for those whose hearts have melted. Though the worst seems to be over, our faith and love will continue to be tested. What will happen when the headlines subside? Perhaps even more than in these last two weeks, we will need to persevere in our faith…and our generosity. As in the movie, “Jesus of Nazareth”, after the crucifixion and empty tomb - the unthinkable and the uncertainty - which ends with the words, “Now it begins”. So, too, in Haiti, and with us...Now It Begins.
Indeed, we have already seen a new beginning in progress – signs of a resurrection – new life, new-found hope. We have seen it in the miraculous unearthing of those buried alive for days. We have seen it in the heart-pouring generosity of rich and poor alike. After a recent appeal, a woman came out after Mass, told me she did not have her checkbook with her, but took off her sterling silver necklace and bracelet and her diamond rings, and said, “Father, build as many houses as you can.”
And we have seen it in the collaboration of nations, politically at polar opposites – Israel and Cuba, Venezuela and Italy, China and the U.S., and so many more, working hand-in-hand, each with something to offer: a hospital flown in and built in one day, numerous clinics and medical staffs provided, food pantries and fresh water tanks, temporary shelters, the heart-warming embraces of little ones, many opening their hearts and homes for adoption, people of good will reaching out in a common cause of concern and compassion to bring relief…to share in the suffering…and to share our love.
We ARE family. And we ARE Easter people. We have experienced death. But it has also been life-giving to give our all and to see the ripple effect of so much magnanimous goodness. Jesus said that his mission was “to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to give sight to the blind, to set the captives free” (Lk 4:18). Then he commissioned us to do likewise. And that is precisely what we have witnessed: bringing love and healing to those in need, opening the eyes of those who are blind to the presence of goodness, releasing those in a prison of hopelessness and despair.
The “resurrection” has begun. Still, much more will be asked of us…for the sake of our sisters and brothers in Haiti, and for our own sake…our own resurrection. When will it end? After helping out in the missions in Jamaica during Holy Week, when I returned to the U.S., I greeted the customs official in Miami, saying, “Good morning. How are you?” His response blew me away. With a radiant smile, he said, “I am resurrected!” Easter will come to Haiti…and to us…when they, and we, can say, “I am resurrected!.”
Though, it has begun.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
HAITI
Emptiness and tears,
An aching heart,
A speechless tongue,
Thoughts and words not to be found.
The body is numb...weary...broken.
Images upon images...
Of rubble and devastation.
A sharp contrast to prior memories.
Bodies - two hundred thousand and more -
It boggles the mind...
Frozen in time...forever.
Others scurrying, crying, screaming.
Eyes of hopelessness and disbelief,
Desperation, frustration, and anger.
When will it end?
How does one begin anew? When? Where?
If the heart is the womb
Where we are one with God,
Then God must surely be hurting
...a lot.
An aching heart,
A speechless tongue,
Thoughts and words not to be found.
The body is numb...weary...broken.
Images upon images...
Of rubble and devastation.
A sharp contrast to prior memories.
Bodies - two hundred thousand and more -
It boggles the mind...
Frozen in time...forever.
Others scurrying, crying, screaming.
Eyes of hopelessness and disbelief,
Desperation, frustration, and anger.
When will it end?
How does one begin anew? When? Where?
If the heart is the womb
Where we are one with God,
Then God must surely be hurting
...a lot.
Monday, January 18, 2010
OH GOD, WHERE ART THOU?
Last year, when I came back from a mission in Haiti, I shared with Sr. Marcan, a dear friend, the misery and suffering I had witnessed. She asked, ”Father, why is there so much suffering in the world?” My response, without thinking, was, “Perhaps, to help us open our hearts.” In light of the earthquake that has devastated this poorest of nations in the Americas, perhaps, both the question and my response seem even more applicable today. The latest report today from Food for the Poor colleagues in Haiti says that the actual condition there is at least 100 times worse than we see on TV. Additionally, some of you have said, if there is a God, why do we have such a painful history of genocide, atrocities of war, inexplicable inhumanity?
Those wiser than I have stated that God does not micro-manage our lives; that God has granted us freedom (otherwise we would be mere puppets, less than fully human); not unlike perhaps forcing another to drink a love potion so as to be enamored of us. But without their freedom of choice, it would be an illusory relationship.
Is there a God? What is the proof? Why believe?
In “The Brothers Karamazov”, Feodor Dostoyevsky includes a story about a young widow with child, distraught at the loss of her husband, who goes to a holy man, Father Zossima, and says, “All my life I have believed in God. Now I am in such sorrow, I do not know what to believe. Prove to me that there is a God.” The holy monk responds, “I cannot prove to you that God exists. But you can. If you give what you have to help the needy you will find proof of God’s existence. And the more you give the more certain you will be. Until you have nothing left to give, and then you will have no doubt whatsoever that God exists…and is with you.” Some of you said as much, stating that your faith is the result of such a holy encounter…in yourself…or in others.
Perhaps, this faith is one born of necessity. About 40 years ago, a man dying of cancer wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book. The man was Ernst Becker. The book is “Denial of Death”, wherein he writes that all of life is a quest to cope with our struggles, difficulties, and suffering, but most especially with death. We seek to extend our youth (through exercise, medicines, cosmetic surgery, etc.); to take control and somehow find that holy fountain of eternal youth…to make ourselves like gods. He wrote that there are different coping mechanisms for the challenges of life: power, fame, wealth, sex, wisdom, religion. Each works to some extent. But the best response to life’s challenges and our daily deaths, he wrote, is…faith.
There is a difference between religion and faith. Perhaps it is best explained by a line in the 1932 movie, Shanghai Express, with Marlene Dietrich. In the story, she encounters a former lover on a train, one she had tricked 5 years earlier to test his faith in her love. He failed, and they moved on with life. Now on this encounter they find that they still love each other. On that same train is a warlord who also falls in love with Shanghai Lily (Dietrich). When he makes a pass at her, her former lover strikes him. Later the warlord takes control of the train and seeks to punish the lover by gouging his eyes out. Lily goes to him and tells him she will go with him wherever he likes if he will spare her lover. Though he is spared, when he finds out that Lily is going with the warlord – without knowing the reason – he becomes angry with her. A missionary traveling on the train guessing her reasons for going with the warlord asks her about it, and his suspicion is confirmed. Still later, the warlord is killed. The missionary wants to reconcile Lily and her lover by telling the lover of Lily’s act of sacrifice, but she says, “No. Love without faith, like religion without faith is meaningless.” (So as to not hold you in suspense, the lover finally has faith in Lily’s love and they go off arm-in-arm.)
What is the faith that gives meaning to our life and how does one get it? Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish Philosopher and Theologian, who was born some 200 years ago, wrote that faith begins with “a leap of faith”…a desire to believe. In this leap of faith we discover more fully what we want to believe; the beliefs that make us who we want to be.
Faith in God may begin with this. But it is more. True faith is more than religious adherence to the standards of one’s Church, and more than a cold response of the mind to commit one’s life to a set of convictions, to set a course of action that shapes our life as we might desire…it is a love affair…that gives fullness of meaning to our life, and gives life to us...and through us...even to God.
Where is God?...in every life-giving act of true love.
Those wiser than I have stated that God does not micro-manage our lives; that God has granted us freedom (otherwise we would be mere puppets, less than fully human); not unlike perhaps forcing another to drink a love potion so as to be enamored of us. But without their freedom of choice, it would be an illusory relationship.
Is there a God? What is the proof? Why believe?
In “The Brothers Karamazov”, Feodor Dostoyevsky includes a story about a young widow with child, distraught at the loss of her husband, who goes to a holy man, Father Zossima, and says, “All my life I have believed in God. Now I am in such sorrow, I do not know what to believe. Prove to me that there is a God.” The holy monk responds, “I cannot prove to you that God exists. But you can. If you give what you have to help the needy you will find proof of God’s existence. And the more you give the more certain you will be. Until you have nothing left to give, and then you will have no doubt whatsoever that God exists…and is with you.” Some of you said as much, stating that your faith is the result of such a holy encounter…in yourself…or in others.
Perhaps, this faith is one born of necessity. About 40 years ago, a man dying of cancer wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book. The man was Ernst Becker. The book is “Denial of Death”, wherein he writes that all of life is a quest to cope with our struggles, difficulties, and suffering, but most especially with death. We seek to extend our youth (through exercise, medicines, cosmetic surgery, etc.); to take control and somehow find that holy fountain of eternal youth…to make ourselves like gods. He wrote that there are different coping mechanisms for the challenges of life: power, fame, wealth, sex, wisdom, religion. Each works to some extent. But the best response to life’s challenges and our daily deaths, he wrote, is…faith.
There is a difference between religion and faith. Perhaps it is best explained by a line in the 1932 movie, Shanghai Express, with Marlene Dietrich. In the story, she encounters a former lover on a train, one she had tricked 5 years earlier to test his faith in her love. He failed, and they moved on with life. Now on this encounter they find that they still love each other. On that same train is a warlord who also falls in love with Shanghai Lily (Dietrich). When he makes a pass at her, her former lover strikes him. Later the warlord takes control of the train and seeks to punish the lover by gouging his eyes out. Lily goes to him and tells him she will go with him wherever he likes if he will spare her lover. Though he is spared, when he finds out that Lily is going with the warlord – without knowing the reason – he becomes angry with her. A missionary traveling on the train guessing her reasons for going with the warlord asks her about it, and his suspicion is confirmed. Still later, the warlord is killed. The missionary wants to reconcile Lily and her lover by telling the lover of Lily’s act of sacrifice, but she says, “No. Love without faith, like religion without faith is meaningless.” (So as to not hold you in suspense, the lover finally has faith in Lily’s love and they go off arm-in-arm.)
What is the faith that gives meaning to our life and how does one get it? Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish Philosopher and Theologian, who was born some 200 years ago, wrote that faith begins with “a leap of faith”…a desire to believe. In this leap of faith we discover more fully what we want to believe; the beliefs that make us who we want to be.
Faith in God may begin with this. But it is more. True faith is more than religious adherence to the standards of one’s Church, and more than a cold response of the mind to commit one’s life to a set of convictions, to set a course of action that shapes our life as we might desire…it is a love affair…that gives fullness of meaning to our life, and gives life to us...and through us...even to God.
Where is God?...in every life-giving act of true love.
Monday, January 11, 2010
OLD MAN...
In the movie, "Cool Hand Luke", Paul Newman, as he enters an old church after running for his life, says, “Old Man, whadaya got planned for me? What’s next? Whadaya put me on earth for?”
As we begin a new year, even before making our resolutions, it‘s worth asking, “Why am I here?” Perhaps, like Jerry Kramer, an outstanding football player with the Green Bay Packers of old, there are times when we, too, say, “There’s got to be more to life than this.” Which perhaps is another way of asking, “How meaningful is my life?”
We want to find meaning in what we do…why we are here. Finding meaning in life begins with believing in who we are and whose we are. For the moment, I would like to focus on the first part…Who Am I? Though we strive to put up a beautiful façade, what most defines us is what’s inside our heart. God says to us, “People look at the outside appearance, but I look at the heart.” (1Sam16:7). And nothing reveals what’s in our heart more than our dreams, our convictions, what we stand for.
Most of us are familiar with Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and convictions from his “I Have A Dream” speech, which speaks of equality and brotherhood and hope. But there was a private dream he shared, just as inspirational, wherein he said just a few days before he was killed,
“I’d like for somebody to say that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody…that I did try to feed the hungry…to clothe the naked…that I tried to be right on the war question. And all the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.”
What are you committed to? To what do you want to give your heart?
As we begin a new year, even before making our resolutions, it‘s worth asking, “Why am I here?” Perhaps, like Jerry Kramer, an outstanding football player with the Green Bay Packers of old, there are times when we, too, say, “There’s got to be more to life than this.” Which perhaps is another way of asking, “How meaningful is my life?”
We want to find meaning in what we do…why we are here. Finding meaning in life begins with believing in who we are and whose we are. For the moment, I would like to focus on the first part…Who Am I? Though we strive to put up a beautiful façade, what most defines us is what’s inside our heart. God says to us, “People look at the outside appearance, but I look at the heart.” (1Sam16:7). And nothing reveals what’s in our heart more than our dreams, our convictions, what we stand for.
Most of us are familiar with Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream and convictions from his “I Have A Dream” speech, which speaks of equality and brotherhood and hope. But there was a private dream he shared, just as inspirational, wherein he said just a few days before he was killed,
“I’d like for somebody to say that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody…that I did try to feed the hungry…to clothe the naked…that I tried to be right on the war question. And all the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.”
What are you committed to? To what do you want to give your heart?
Friday, December 11, 2009
HAPPINESS IS...THE GREATEST GIFT
Last weekend, in between a Sunday noon Mass and one at 5:30 at St. Charles Borromeo, in San Francisco, I took a walk to downtown (about a mile or two away) and saw many a shopper with arms or shopping bags full of Christmas presents. I reflected on Christmas gifts I’ve received and given. What is the best Christmas gift you ever received? Gave?
The gift that most of us yearn for more than anything else is…happiness! Christmas is a time when we especially want our loved ones to be happy. We sacrifice ourselves financially and in so many ways to make them happy. And, of course, their happiness also makes us happy.
Perhaps, Christmas is a time to celebrate that God not only gave us the perfect gift and the ultimate happiness, but treated Self to the best gift and happiness by becoming what God loves ~ one of us. Maybe that’s why the angels sang, “Glory to God in the Highest!” God got the gift that God longed for. And God and all the angels in heaven were joyously happy.
If our loved ones’ happiness and our own is our dream, how DO we make it happen? Wise, old Aristotle once said, “Happiness is a life well lived.” Other sages have penned their thoughts. In fact, there are more books on happiness than we probably have time to read. Some recent best sellers include: “The Secret”, “How We Choose to be Happy”, and “True Mentors”. Each of these seems to focus on “success”: setting a goal and then fulfilling it, whether it’s fame, power, wealth, knowledge, acknowledgment, affirmation, or the sheer pleasure of some achievement. Often we find vicarious happiness in the success of our kids or favorite team(s). If we’re honest with ourselves, we cannot deny that all these things do make us happy.
We must also note, however, that studies have been done which show that there are various levels of happiness. For some, happiness is winning the Mega Lottery. For others, it is health. If we get up in the morning and feel no pain, we feel happy. If we have a job, the job we want, if we get a bonus, we are happy. But the studies show that the highest level of happiness is when we make another person happy. Of course, this is what Jesus told us…and showed us.
This is the essence of Christmas: making others happy (which in turn makes us happy). A billboard on a drive from Green Bay, WI to Menominee, MI boldly advertised this message: HAPPINESS IS…HELPING ANOTHER. Precisely what Jesus said, “I came not to be served but to serve.” Those of us who follow him know his message quite well. In fact, we end each Mass with the words, “Go in Peace…to Love and Serve.”
Sadly, there is often a large gap between knowing and doing. There is an expression, “Show me how you live and I’ll tell you what you really believe.” Which should prompt us to ask, “What do we really believe?” Do we really believe that giving/serving is the secret to our happiness here and now (not just some far off reward in heaven)?
Some years ago, I tried an experiment with eighth graders at St. Paul, in Chicago. We lived in a poor, violent neighborhood. There was much senseless violence: shootings, broken store windows, vandalized cars, graffiti on homes, businesses, and even the church. All done for no apparent reason ~ just senseless violence.
So I challenged the students. I asked how many wanted to be happy. All the hands went up. I told them I had the secret to happiness. The first step of this secret was to go home and do a “senseless” act of kindness for their parents or brothers and sisters. Just do something nice for no reason at all, and see the other’s response. I told them to take notice as well of how they themselves felt.
The next day, I asked how many had done the assignment. Most of the hands were raised. I asked them to share their experience. Some helped a younger brother or sister with homework, or Mom in the kitchen, or Dad washing the car, etc. What response did they get? In most cases, the other asked, “Are you OK? Are you sick? What is it you want?” All were smiling and happy. And the students said they, too, felt good, felt happy.
I then asked if they wanted to continue the project. They said, “Yes”. So I told them that the next step was to do something nice for a stranger, because when you do it for someone who knows you, they will usually pay you back. The following day I asked how many had done the assignment. This time only a few hands went up. I asked, “Why, if you saw the result of your kindness?” No one answered. Still, I asked those who did the assignment to share their experiences. Some had helped kids in the neighborhood or nearby park, another helped carry the groceries of an elderly woman, who wanted to give her $5. She had refused, but she was “forced” to take it. Those who did the assignment said that both they and the ones they helped felt happy.
Lastly, I said, “There is one last step to this experiment. Do a good deed for your enemy.” One of the students said she had no enemies. I said, “Do it for someone you like the least.” The next day when I asked how many had done the assignment, no one raised their hand.
We all want to be happy. Perhaps, we need to ask ourselves, “How badly do we want it?” But even more importantly, I believe, is the question, “What IS happiness for us?” For example, for me, it is bringing out the Christ in me and helping others to give birth to Christ as well. There are still a few shopping days left. Why not finish your Christmas list by completing the statement: FOR ME, HAPPINESS IS…And then go out and “buy” yourself the greatest gift. This Christmas may we not settle for less…may we give and get the very best gift…true happiness.
The gift that most of us yearn for more than anything else is…happiness! Christmas is a time when we especially want our loved ones to be happy. We sacrifice ourselves financially and in so many ways to make them happy. And, of course, their happiness also makes us happy.
Perhaps, Christmas is a time to celebrate that God not only gave us the perfect gift and the ultimate happiness, but treated Self to the best gift and happiness by becoming what God loves ~ one of us. Maybe that’s why the angels sang, “Glory to God in the Highest!” God got the gift that God longed for. And God and all the angels in heaven were joyously happy.
If our loved ones’ happiness and our own is our dream, how DO we make it happen? Wise, old Aristotle once said, “Happiness is a life well lived.” Other sages have penned their thoughts. In fact, there are more books on happiness than we probably have time to read. Some recent best sellers include: “The Secret”, “How We Choose to be Happy”, and “True Mentors”. Each of these seems to focus on “success”: setting a goal and then fulfilling it, whether it’s fame, power, wealth, knowledge, acknowledgment, affirmation, or the sheer pleasure of some achievement. Often we find vicarious happiness in the success of our kids or favorite team(s). If we’re honest with ourselves, we cannot deny that all these things do make us happy.
We must also note, however, that studies have been done which show that there are various levels of happiness. For some, happiness is winning the Mega Lottery. For others, it is health. If we get up in the morning and feel no pain, we feel happy. If we have a job, the job we want, if we get a bonus, we are happy. But the studies show that the highest level of happiness is when we make another person happy. Of course, this is what Jesus told us…and showed us.
This is the essence of Christmas: making others happy (which in turn makes us happy). A billboard on a drive from Green Bay, WI to Menominee, MI boldly advertised this message: HAPPINESS IS…HELPING ANOTHER. Precisely what Jesus said, “I came not to be served but to serve.” Those of us who follow him know his message quite well. In fact, we end each Mass with the words, “Go in Peace…to Love and Serve.”
Sadly, there is often a large gap between knowing and doing. There is an expression, “Show me how you live and I’ll tell you what you really believe.” Which should prompt us to ask, “What do we really believe?” Do we really believe that giving/serving is the secret to our happiness here and now (not just some far off reward in heaven)?
Some years ago, I tried an experiment with eighth graders at St. Paul, in Chicago. We lived in a poor, violent neighborhood. There was much senseless violence: shootings, broken store windows, vandalized cars, graffiti on homes, businesses, and even the church. All done for no apparent reason ~ just senseless violence.
So I challenged the students. I asked how many wanted to be happy. All the hands went up. I told them I had the secret to happiness. The first step of this secret was to go home and do a “senseless” act of kindness for their parents or brothers and sisters. Just do something nice for no reason at all, and see the other’s response. I told them to take notice as well of how they themselves felt.
The next day, I asked how many had done the assignment. Most of the hands were raised. I asked them to share their experience. Some helped a younger brother or sister with homework, or Mom in the kitchen, or Dad washing the car, etc. What response did they get? In most cases, the other asked, “Are you OK? Are you sick? What is it you want?” All were smiling and happy. And the students said they, too, felt good, felt happy.
I then asked if they wanted to continue the project. They said, “Yes”. So I told them that the next step was to do something nice for a stranger, because when you do it for someone who knows you, they will usually pay you back. The following day I asked how many had done the assignment. This time only a few hands went up. I asked, “Why, if you saw the result of your kindness?” No one answered. Still, I asked those who did the assignment to share their experiences. Some had helped kids in the neighborhood or nearby park, another helped carry the groceries of an elderly woman, who wanted to give her $5. She had refused, but she was “forced” to take it. Those who did the assignment said that both they and the ones they helped felt happy.
Lastly, I said, “There is one last step to this experiment. Do a good deed for your enemy.” One of the students said she had no enemies. I said, “Do it for someone you like the least.” The next day when I asked how many had done the assignment, no one raised their hand.
We all want to be happy. Perhaps, we need to ask ourselves, “How badly do we want it?” But even more importantly, I believe, is the question, “What IS happiness for us?” For example, for me, it is bringing out the Christ in me and helping others to give birth to Christ as well. There are still a few shopping days left. Why not finish your Christmas list by completing the statement: FOR ME, HAPPINESS IS…And then go out and “buy” yourself the greatest gift. This Christmas may we not settle for less…may we give and get the very best gift…true happiness.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
RIVER OR LAKE
There is an illuminating book about the condition of humanity, its downfall and ultimate redemption. It is entitled, "Cry, the Beloved Country", by Alan Paton. Its central character is a poor black pastor, Stephen Kumalo, in the back-country of South Africa. He is troubled because of the lack of news from his son and sister who left for Johannesburg to find work. As the story begins, the land is parched, the plants in the field have wilted, and there is an air of hopelessness – reflective of the brokenness in the relationships among the family members and society.
Kumalo travels to the big city, where his worst fears are realized: his son stands accused of murder; his sister surviving as a prostitute. After much struggling to put his house in order, saving the soul of his son (if not his life), he returns home a broken man, expecting all to reject his ministry and tribal leadership. Instead, they welcome him with jubilation, sensitive to his loss, and appreciative of his sacrifice and loving efforts. The book ends with life-giving rain pouring upon the fields, symbolic of new life and hope.
In our Advent and Christmas readings, we hear of the desert that Mary and Joseph traversed on foot, and of John the Baptist’s heralding the coming of the Messiah at the river Jordan. The landscape not only transports us to the time and place of the miracle of miracles, it is a reflection of the state of our being. The harsh terrain that is prominent at the birth of Jesus is symbolic of the evil in “our land” and our need of salvation. The river that cuts through the desert provides hope and life, and a lesson as well on how we might navigate our journey of life.
It is noteworthy that the Jordan River, which begin near the north of Israel, close to the border with Lebanon, flows to the Sea of Galilee, and continues south, near Jericho, and into the Dead Sea. Since the waters flow into and out of Lake Galilee, there is abundant life within the lake, and much vegetation surrounding it. However, the Jordan does not flow out of the Dead Sea…and there one finds neither life within it nor on the surrounding banks.
Some 1,500 years ago, a Chinese poet wrote:
I, like a river,
with a love as great as the sky,
gave my all to you,
flowing and changing into you.
You, like a lake,
caught in the delusion of your self-importance,
gave me no notice, but instead remained stagnant,
and failed to be transformed into me.
As we continue our Advent journey through the “desert” of our life, in preparation of the greatest miracle within us, and take stock of our personal geography, are we more like a river or a lake?
Kumalo travels to the big city, where his worst fears are realized: his son stands accused of murder; his sister surviving as a prostitute. After much struggling to put his house in order, saving the soul of his son (if not his life), he returns home a broken man, expecting all to reject his ministry and tribal leadership. Instead, they welcome him with jubilation, sensitive to his loss, and appreciative of his sacrifice and loving efforts. The book ends with life-giving rain pouring upon the fields, symbolic of new life and hope.
In our Advent and Christmas readings, we hear of the desert that Mary and Joseph traversed on foot, and of John the Baptist’s heralding the coming of the Messiah at the river Jordan. The landscape not only transports us to the time and place of the miracle of miracles, it is a reflection of the state of our being. The harsh terrain that is prominent at the birth of Jesus is symbolic of the evil in “our land” and our need of salvation. The river that cuts through the desert provides hope and life, and a lesson as well on how we might navigate our journey of life.
It is noteworthy that the Jordan River, which begin near the north of Israel, close to the border with Lebanon, flows to the Sea of Galilee, and continues south, near Jericho, and into the Dead Sea. Since the waters flow into and out of Lake Galilee, there is abundant life within the lake, and much vegetation surrounding it. However, the Jordan does not flow out of the Dead Sea…and there one finds neither life within it nor on the surrounding banks.
Some 1,500 years ago, a Chinese poet wrote:
I, like a river,
with a love as great as the sky,
gave my all to you,
flowing and changing into you.
You, like a lake,
caught in the delusion of your self-importance,
gave me no notice, but instead remained stagnant,
and failed to be transformed into me.
As we continue our Advent journey through the “desert” of our life, in preparation of the greatest miracle within us, and take stock of our personal geography, are we more like a river or a lake?
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