Readings for Sunday, July 31/ 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalm 90
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Luke 12:13-21
This
week the Holy Father has been in Poland for the celebration of World Youth Day.
2 Million youth and young adults from around the world have gathered for Mass,
prayer, catechesis, and to share in the joy of being a universal Church. What
intrigued me in watching the various celebrations was the face of Pope Francis.
In the majority of the encounters with people he was his usual jovial self -
smiles illuminating his eyes and the joy of the Gospel written on his face.
When he went to the concentration camp at Auschwitz it was different though.
His face as he walked around the grounds and prayed at the various sites was
one of a solemn and somber nature. You could see in his face and body posture
the weight of a profound mystery, the great sufferings endured by so many
people.
Some
of the survivors of the Holocaust have written and spoken of the horrors that
took place within those gates. Many recall how some of the most faithful people
among them lost all faith as they endured and witnessed the suffering and death
of their friends, families, neighbors, and their own selves. Many, it is said,
were the ones who cried out in search of the meaning of it all – What is the
point of this?! Why is this happening?! What is the meaning of it all?!
Viktor
Frankl was a man who himself endured great suffering in Auschwitz. He lost most
of his family there and was subjected to the inhumane conditions that claimed
the lives of so many. But as he endured it all, he also reflected on it. Victor
Frankl was a psychologist and he continued his labor as such even in the camp.
He tells of how the Nazi guards would intentionally starve the prisoners for
long periods of time and then throw a small bit of bread into the middle of the
yard so they could watch the prisoners tear at each other in hopes of getting a
few scraps. Many did so, seeking to feed themselves before others who were more
in need. But Frankl also noticed that in the face of these attempts at
dehumanization, there were many who kept their dignity and some who were able
to attain a piece of bread that immediately brought it to others more in need
of it than themselves. This made him think about the differences between people
in the camp, particularly in how they viewed their future. He came to realize
that if one had lost hope and had nothing to look forward to, they often died
in the camp. On the opposite end, many who were subjected to great trials
endured them on account of their desire to fulfill some hope they still clung
to. Ultimately Frankl survived his time in Auschwitz and was freed, after which
he wrote a book called “Man’s Search for Meaning” in which he provided an axiom
that described his experience: if we have
a why to live, we can endure almost any how. Or in Christian terms, if we
have hope, we can carry any cross.
The
readings this weekend help us to grapple with this mystery a bit too,
particularly in regards to the reading from Ecclesiastes, which is rather
jolting. This is the one and only time we hear from Ecclesiastes in the
three-year Sunday readings, so I encourage you to go read through it yourself.
What you will likely experience as you start to read through it is a sense that
it is quite different than the rest of the books of the Bible. While many have
historical or a more positive theological tone, Ecclesiastes is the gut-wrenching
cry of an anguished heart: Vanity of vanities! Everything is vanity! The Hebrew
word for ‘vanity’ is ‘hevel’ and is also translated as a waste, a breath,
vapor, useless, meaningless, and the like. Qoheleth cried out in frustration as
he sees that he works and labors with skill and all he works to attain will be
left behind to another person who has done nothing to deserve it. He goes
through an contemplates how he can have all wealth, power, honor, health, and
worldly wisdom, and in the end he will die the same as someone who has none of
it. What is the point of this life? he challenges the invisible God. Vanity of
vanities! Like chasing after the wind. This litany of frustrations is not the
end of the book, however. In response to all of these things and the vanity of
being consumed with the things of the world, the writer concludes that we ought
simply to enjoy the things that come our way and to follow the way of the Lord.
So if you have wealth, health, wisdom, power, honor, and the like, enjoy it and
use it well. But don’t make that your goal. These are not what matters to God
and this is what he New Testament passages clearly remind us.
St.
Paul tells the Colossians to set their eyes on the things that are above, not
the things that are on earth, and the same applies to use. Do you not know,
brothers and sisters, that you have died in Christ? Then think of heavenly
things – the Blessed Trinity, the glory of the saints, the joy of the angels,
the beauty of heaven. Set your hearts there and store up those riches. The
earthly riches are nothing in comparison. The wealthy man in the Gospel who
stores up great quantities to permit himself years of rest and relaxation is
met with the voice of the Lord telling him he won’t even survive the night. Be
rich, then, in the things that actually matter to God. And what is it that
matters to God? What’s most important to God? You might rephrase it with that
of another Gospel narrative: What is the greatest commandment? You know the
answer. Love God, love neighbor. So what is it that matters to God? Love God,
love neighbor.
St.
Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan priest who himself endured suffering and
death within the gates of Auschwitz. One of the norms at the camp was that if someone
tried to escape or actually escaped, 10 or so men would be killed as a sort of
penalty. The purpose was to dissuade trying to get out of the camp, using the
possible death of family and friends as a deterrent. One day someone did escape
and so a group of men were chosen to be killed. One of them began to weep and
cry ‘My wife! My children!’ He had a ‘why’ to endure the ‘how’ of life there.
Hearing this plea, Maximilian stepped forward and volunteered himself to take
that man’s place. The guards, unconcerned about who was killed, agreed and
Maximilian went to his death and the martyrs crown. Love God, love neighbor.
The man survived and was later reunited with his family because St. Maximilian
had a purpose and it ended in a heavenly union.
Viktor
Frankl himself chose on many occasions to love God and love neighbor instead of
caving to his own desires and giving up hope. When he could have tried to rest
and care for himself, he instead spent many nights talking to the men who
surrounded him in the bunks. As they would begin to despair he would simply
begin asking questions to them one by one. Do
you have an family left? And if they said yes, he would encourage them to
think about being reunited. Do you have
friends somewhere? Again, wouldn’t it be great to be reunited. Is there some place you’d love to travel to
or some activity you’d love to do? What joy to be able to do so! Over and
over and over again, by loving God and his neighbor Frankl gave hope to
countless men in the camp and encouraged them to find meaning in the life they
lived. As those men began to love God and love neighbor – whether outside or
inside the camp – they grew in the health, wealth and wisdom that matters to
God: love.
All
of those is simply a shadow and reminder of the great love shown to humanity in
the person of Jesus Christ, who loved God and neighbor even unto His death on
the Cross.
So
the end point is this: if you have worldly riches and blessings, enjoy them.
But remember that out goal is not earthly pleasure but heavenly joy. Every
human heart must face that reality at some point. Whether in the past, present,
or future. Whether it is us personally or someone we know or even someone we
don’t know. All of us are faced with those questions at times that make us want
to cry out Vanity of Vanities! What is the meaning of all of this?! In those moments,
when hope seems to be waning and despair increasing, when confusion seems to
triumph over reason, remember your purpose. Remember the ‘why’ of life that can
help you get through any ‘how’. Love God, love neighbor.
No comments:
Post a Comment