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Dear Sisters and Brothers in the
Lord:
If I or someone else asked you the
question, “What are the only two things that exist?” how would
you answer? If you think about it for a moment then you realize
it’s not such an easy question to answer, although at first glance it
may seem to be. There are many apparent answers to the question. One
could say that living things and non-living things are the only two
things that exist. One could even say that only visible and invisible
things exist. You know things we can see and those we can’t see like
germs, molecules and atoms, for example.
All of these answers are good answers
and correct but I believe that the best answer, the one that resonates
the most with people of faith, the one that most profoundly impacts us
and has the most significance and importance in our lives is this
answer: What are the only two realities that
exist? God and everything else. That’s it.
Sounds so simple and in theory and in nature, it is. God is a simple
reality in that God does not have many parts. God is. That’s all that
can be stated about God. As He told Moses when asked for His name: ‘I
am who am.’
God is the foundation of all existence. Simple—yes—but
living in that light of that truth is something else again.
We all would agree, I presume, that
all sin stems from the refusal to accept this fact, a failure to put
into action that which we know to be true. You see when we forget that
God is God and we are not God, even momentarily, then we move to that
place where our thoughts and deeds begin to reveal an all too
prevailing and persistence attitude: ‘It’s all about me’ Again,
if you give this some thought, you see that it’s true. Our impatience
while waiting in line, driving in traffic, etc says to others, ‘It’s all
about me.’ Each time we use sarcasm, put downs and ridicule to make
ourselves look better we’re saying, ‘It’s all about me.’ Every
time we exploit and manipulate others at our workplace so that we can
get ahead we are affirming that ’it’s all about me.’
Insert any sin you want. Aren’t we
really saying that I am more important than you, than God? But truth be
told---it’s not about you at all, but about God.
God who created us; God who loves us and
sustains us. God who desires all be saved and draws all to Himself.
There are after all, only two realities:
God and everything else.
And yet God sent the Son to help us
move beyond this isolating attitude: “It’s all about me.” St. Paul
proclaims, ’Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.’ Our life on
this earth is about internalizing the realization that it’s NOT all
about me but rather it’s all about GOD. When we move to a place outside
ourselves, we open ourselves to MORE: more joy; more hope; more peace;
and more to being the people God calls us and desires us to be. This
realization is not instantaneous but a gradual change of mind and heart
occurring over years and decades. But there are times when a moment of
grace breaks through and smacks us upside the head and knocks us off out
feet and wakes us and shakes us up. When this happens then we have but
no choice to deal with the truth ’it’s not about me but about God’ in
all its starkness and potency. This is no truer than when we are faced
with the death of a loved one.
Death is the cold water of reality
that is splashed into our faces. It’s the one thing that shouts
emphatically to us, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! Death come for each and every
one of us—no matter our state in life, prestige, fame, amount of
wealth, level of education or place we find ourselves. Death comes for
us all. It’s a hard life lesson but one that must be internalized and so
that its truth can guide our living and actions.
When a loved one dies we can find
ourselves feeling very much alone, feeling far from others and God.
Death brings with it grief but also other emotions. We may feel angry at
families fighting over many issues and concerns such as money, the
disposition of property and the most difficult issue, what to do with
the loved one who has died. All of this compounds an already difficult
and harrowing experience. But hope still abounds. All the answers
to the many questions thrown at us do not have to come all at once.
We don’t have to know exactly what to do or what to say or where to go.
The Church is there to help in such times.
Through the presence of the priests
and ministers, the community of faith, the consoling word of the Good
News and most importantly the sacred rites of Christian burial,
namely the Vigil (or wake), the Funeral liturgy (usually Mass) and the
Committal (the burial of the loved one) we find the peace, calm and
comfort for which we long. Through these ritual actions and holy rites
of passage we experience the love and support of Christ and His body,
the Church. And whether or not we realize it—we NEED these rites and
actions for its something that really can’t be found anywhere else.
Next week I’ll explain what these elements: the Vigil,
the Funeral Liturgy and the Committal are and what gifts they are to not
only those who are grieving but to all the faithful. |
