How many times do we enter into moments that cause us fear because we are uncertain of how we are to act, which decision is the right one to bring about the right result, what to say when we sense that something in front of us is morally wrong, etc? What if I were to tell you that this is NOT the Will of our God?
I have to begin the OTHER POSSIBILITY with the death of Jesus Christ. I have to reach towards your sense of “wonder” and ask you why you think so many people worship this man who was nailed to a tree and left to die a death of thieves. Could they all be ridiculously misinformed? Could this two thousand year continuation of belief be the result of poor parenting skills? Could this be an opiate, as Karl Marx said, purposely designed by man for man in order to ease anxiety of unknowing? Or could it be True that He actually was the Son of God and He, as God, took on our human nature knowing that the world would rebel against his ministry and he would be placed in the hands of the powerful to be tortured and hung to die upon this wooden cross all because he loved us? If for one moment I have perked up your interest to ask yourself “What kind of Love is this?”, then maybe we have a chance to discover just a little more fully why our lives remain so hard for us today.
This Love that sacrifices so much for the spiritual life of all of our lives is Divine. It is infinite and we cannot understand its mystery fully with the intelligence that God has created in us. Some of the saints have been and are “graced” with a gift of “seeing” within their mind’s eye a greater understanding of what this all means. Some have written about it so that the rest of us may gain more knowledge, grow in understanding ourselves, and through this be drawn to God for His Love and His Mercy. These saints, these ones that God said “Will you do this?” and they answered “Yes” have been the hands and feet of Christ leaving us gifts of understanding; gifts of lives, normal as ours, given through desire to do whatever God’s Will was for their lives. They felt compelled to seek out their authentic nature and shower the world with its refreshment. They gave miracles for people to be astounded by. They gave messages that when shared spoke to the souls of millions. They, after their deaths, bring a continuation of a faith community that remains active and consoling when called upon. They have told us, witnessed to us, and show us that life “doesn’t have to be this hard”.
We can find peace in the midst of uncertainty brought on by chaos, divorce, and loss of job. We can find joy in the midst of living loved ones after the sorrowful death of someone we loved so very dearly. We can look forward to the mornings and the evenings and the “aloneness” that they may bring. We can be poor and thus be rich. We can be rich and thus be blessed to assist the poor. Christ told us that He came so that we may live and not only live but live abundantly.
So, how do we take this uncertainty and this death and this chaos and this aloneness, all that makes life “hard, and discover the abundance? We have to begin by “wanting”it. Yes, we have to begin by intentionally desiring the “abundant” life that Christ spoke of and felt compelled to die for. You may think this sounds too simplistic but truthfully we have a tendency to lose the desire for the joyful, loving, and peaceful life when we stand in the midst of these situations and we are drowning in our human selfishness and demand for divine consolation. We become snared in our surprise that difficult things have occurred in our lives and turn from living that only moments ago had been occurring to confusion, and fear, and indignation, and resentment and we enter into a fog of disbelief and anxiety. So, by clarifying for ourselves and in our prayers to God, that we want the clearness of His life for us over our present state of human suffering becomes the beginning of seeking our strength to persevere in Him. Job became aware of this in himself. He wanted answers as to why he was being afflicted. He thought and thought and spoke with others and pondered God’s reasons and His relationship to men and how life should look when we are faithful and on, and on, and on. The end of the story, though, goes something like this….God says to Job “Stand up, look me in the eye, and tell me what you know.” Job hesitates and God says again “I said stand up and tell me what you have discovered about Me”. When Job continues to hesitate, God tells him “Were you there when I made the heavens and the earth and the snowflakes and the mountains? Were you there when I told the seas their boundaries and the fish where they could swim? Have you figured out how I have power over behemoth? How I can order him to do my will?” As God speaks Job gains self knowledge. He begins to understand that God is God and he doesn’t have a clue. The best he can do in this dialogue is to face the Truth and be sorry for trying to go where he never should have gone. He hadn’t gotten any answers and he hadn’t ended his suffering. It was only now when God stepped in and took over the ruminating that Job was enlightened and found some peace.
Any life event, any life hurt, and decision we have to make was never meant for us to do alone. How is that for a simple answer. We were to find our consolation in our desire to be in relationship with God, through our active prayers that were our placing these situations upon the altar of God, through our strengthening within the Sacraments that God infused with His Grace to give us strength to endure, and with one another as a community of ones grateful for that ultimate Sacrifice of Christ and through our sights set on Him we care for the needs of each other. If it is too hard, maybe we, like Job, are trying to find answers too hard for us to find alone. It is God’s realm and we were never meant to rule it. May God’s Peace enter into your hearts all of you who mourn and suffer this day. May your mind “wonder” about all of this and your soul respond with its created desire to be in relationship with the One who loved us so much that He suffered, died, and rose so that we could have life and have it abundantly!
