Thought
for the Day: March 19-24
March 19
At present many Christians
are observing the season of Lent. This is a period of spiritual and physical
preparation looking forward to the season of Easter. I wish to reflect not only
on the significance of Lent but other seasons in our lives in my Thoughts for
the Day. One favourite reading for funerals states: “For everything there is a
season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Eccles 3: 1) It continues:
“a time to be born, and a time to die.” (Eccles 3: 2) This can apply to physical living and dying.
We are often amazed at the wonder of new life when there is an addition to the
family. The time is counted down and there is no stopping the baby when he or
she decides to arrive. We wonder what the infant will become with a sense of
promise, hope and excitement as we anticipate the future. Physical death is often more challenging.
Early or unnatural death seems to be a violation yet this is not so for the
elderly and infirm who feel that their time has come. Such a death is felt to
be natural and even welcome even as we, who are left behind, mourn the
separation and loss. At funeral services laughter and tears coincide: “… a time
to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccles 3:
3-4) More difficult than this, however, can be the birth of my dreams in hope
and their death through disappointment.
March 20
The death of dreams is
associated with middle age when we have already seen many seasons. Having
established ourselves through educational attainment and relationships/family
we find that we construct only to tear down later on: “… a time to break down,
and a time to build up; … a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather
stones together.” (Eccles 3: 3, 5) We tell our children to shoot for the stars
and that they can fulfill their potential, which is unlimited, but what do we
think about ourselves? At the start of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities, says
the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain from all
the toil at which they toil under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation
comes, but the earth remains forever.” (Eccles 1: 2-4) Surely, life is more
than the raising of hopes to have them dashed? We long for eternity and meaning
even as we live in a society where, most of the time, it is cheaper to purchase
a new object than to have the old one fixed. This is evident in the desire of
many people on the internet to have their brief moment of fame or notoriety. I
may make a complete idiot of myself but at least I am now famous! It remains
that there is “… a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” (Eccles 3: 3: 7)
The answer to our predicament lies not in distraction but reflection.
March 21
The truth of the matter, when it comes to
dreams, is that I would be dissatisfied even if they do come true! “Paradise
Syndrome,” refers to the deep down dissatisfaction that occurs when I achieve
everything I dreamt of. It is associated with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame.
We intuitively know that we are more than our appetites even as we buy another
Lotto ticket. A document of the Catholic Church, written during the 1960s
states: “Now, man is not wrong when he regards himself as
superior to bodily concerns, and as more than a speck of nature or a nameless
constituent of the city of man. For by his interior qualities he outstrips the
whole sum of mere things. He plunges into the depths of reality whenever he
enters into his own heart; God, Who probes the heart, awaits him there; there
he discerns his proper destiny beneath the eyes of God. Thus, when he
recognizes in himself a spiritual and immortal soul, he is not being mocked by
a fantasy born only of physical or social influences, but is rather laying hold
of the proper truth of the matter. (Gaudium
et Spes, 14) The season of Lent helps Christians to strip away the harmful
habits and distractions which keep us from recognizing what is truly important
in our lives: “… a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a
time to sew.” (Eccles 3: 6-7)
March 22
As a result of looking into
the meaning of our existence the conviction grows stronger that what is truly
important is what cannot be seen. When people are on mobile phones during
disasters or about to die in a mass shooting the only thing they is to
communicate is love usually to those to whom they are closest. We cannot see
love nor do we have a scientific experiment or mathematic equation to prove
love yet it is the most important thing in the world. St Paul wrote: “So we do
not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature
is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing
us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at
what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary,
but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Cor 4: 16-18) He also points out: “For
while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a
good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us
in this that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 6-8)
The key to our lives lies, therefore, not in our success or lack of it but in
God’s love for us and our acceptance of it.
March 23
The previous reflection
leads us to the point that the season of Lent is an invitation to purify and
magnify love: “… a time for love, and a time for war; a time for war, and a
time for peace.” (Eccles 3: 8) We are called to love God and to hate sin.
Religion is not about self-absorption but rather to be perfect, merciful and
compassionate just as the Father is all of those things. The realization that I
am loved by God impels me to love others: “We love because he first loved us.
Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for
those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God
whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is his: those who
love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” (1 Jn 4: 19-21) The ashes
which are bestowed on believers at the beginning of Lent speak of a desire to
turn from worldly futility and see the love of God for what it really is. Our
own sufferings and frustrations are not absurd rather they can be offered up as
a sign of our identification with Christ and his sufferings: “I am now
rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what
is lacking in Christ’s afflictions or the sake of his body, that is, the
church.” (Col 1: 24)
March 24
It is sounds wonderful - we
should love God and love one another! As you are all aware this is not so easy!
The apparent futility of our lives brings us up short as does the accumulated
effects of my sin and failures. The hard news is that I need to also come to
terms with myself. Jesus summed up the law: “‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God,
the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength,’ The second
is this, ‘’You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other
commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12: 29-31) Our Lenten exercises bring us
face to face with precisely with our failures and invites us to love ourselves
even as we recognise our shortcomings and broken dreams: “… a time to seek, and
a time to lose.” (Eccles 3: 6) Jesus tells us: “Therefore do not worry, saying,
‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’. For it is
the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father
knows you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt
6: 31-33) The providential love of God remains as a source and inspiration in
every season of our lives.
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