A WORD OR TWO                                                             January 15, 2012                                     

             FROM FATHER ALEX

“This, too, shall pass!” Is this comforting? Or do we think it just sounds like a cop-out? Is it only for the desperate, who have no other choices? Does it sound too sanctimonious? “This, too, shall pass” is not an easy or a shallow concept. St. Paul is saying it in different images next week. “From now on, let those who are married live as though they were not.” And, “Let those who mourn live as though they were not mourning…” At first sight this seems a total contradiction. But St. Paul is simply looking at both the “now” and at the “not yet,” simultaneously. He wants us to take the longest view possible for a human– to realize that this is God’s world, made by God for God’s purposes. That changes the perspective somewhat. What we are involved in here on earth is not a trivial pursuit. But we cannot become wrapped up in it all. We should not be so over-focused on our current job, friends, or family, that we do not honor our connection to other people and situations around us.

    In the light of God’s majestic and unfathomable plans– what happens to be right in front of our faces at the moment, pre-occupying us, may not actually be the most important thing for us to focus on. So St. Paul reminds us, “Do not make an idol out of what is preoccupying you in normal everyday life”- whether it is good or bad. If all that fascinates us in life is our immediate family’s needs, wants, and problems, then we have let something very good (or very bad) absorb us until it blocks out everything else in life. Because no matter how good or how bad it is - “this, too, shall pass.”

    Take our current situation with the trauma of the falling stock markets. It has got people all over the world frightened to death. Yet the leading experts keep telling us, “Stay calm. Do not do anything quickly. Take the long view. This, too, shall pass.” This is where the gospel and the first reading come in next week: God calls Jonah, Jesus calls the disciples. But no matter who gets called (including us), each one is required to drop life as we know it, all that we are used to, and be ready to do something new. We might think, “It is not right to leave our father in the boat and go after some holy man.” But St. Paul is saying: be prepared, be ready to respond just like that! Because even the best things in this world are passing away. God says: the form your life takes now is always temporary.

    This is a call to freedom. We must trust God’s long view so that we become free to follow the commandment to love one another. If we focus only on ourselves and our immediate concerns, then we are blocked from going any further. Instead– we are challenged to take God’s perspective. We are to show interest and ask questions of others, and let there be balance in our perspective. We are to help to create a circle of love and friendship where people really show mutual care for each other and reach out beyond our immediate narrow world.

                                                                Peace to all.

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