On the desk of a priest friend of mine sits a wooden plaque which a brass face which reads, “The more you complain, the longer you live.” Now, there’s something comic in this statement which at first makes us laugh, maybe even laugh out loud, but there is something about it which sneaks up on you, because the real meaning is much more serious than we give it credit, something which is just beneath the surface, a little bit of wisdom which should give us pause.
“The more you complain, the longer you live.” What is it really trying to tell us? Well, in a sense it seems to be saying that living a ‘long life’ is perhaps not our desired end! Rather, to live a ‘shorter’, reasonable life is more desired: one with a comfortable finality, without any discomfort, a pleasant life, blessed by God, without the complications of living a ‘longer’ life filled of additional suffering. But life IS complicated. So, I ask: isn’t this little piece of wisdom telling us that the more we accept the complications in our lives – without complaint – without demanding our own way, but accepting what the good Lord offers or allows us to experience in the course of our lives – the good and the bad – will bring us inner peace, a satisfying ‘letting-go’ of the anxiety and stress which, in reality, we bring upon ourselves when we struggle against adversity, rather than putting all our troubles into the hands of God. That’s why Christ came. To help us bear with whatever comes, because he is “the gate”, the way “home”, our spiritual home. Whether we live a long or short life is of no consequence when we trust in God. It is how we keep our eyes and ears trained on the Good Shepherd, without complaint, to follow him as he takes us lovingly through the gate to truth and paradise. An odd analogy, perhaps: but I thought about that plaque, after hearing the number of complaints and demands being made in the media to let us go back to work, return our children to the class-room, and open the doors of our hair salons, sports arenas, and places of worship, something akin to the complaints Moses withstood from the people in the wilderness – complaints we know are born of impatience and fear feeding the fires of desires for self-control. But like the plaque itself, perhaps there is something beneath the surface of these complaints and discontent, a bit of wisdom which should also give us further pause: for example, is there something else going on in the bigger picture of the pandemic, something which should release us from our awkward isolation, but in a more productive, healing and restorative way; Not just by acceptance of our situation, but by taking time to learn about ourselves and our world while we have the time: looking into the mirror and coming to know ourselves better, taking time to ask who we truly are outside the pressures of the world, to stop and double-check the destination on our tickets for life’s journey. Rather than seeking a way out of this, we might consider questions like: What can I learn from being in this situation? Is God is hoping we learn a greater love for him and his sacraments by having them taken away from us? Perhaps we are to learn what it means to be separate from the Eucharist, Christ 'present' in the bread and wine to better value the gift of himself? Perhaps God wants us to look for him deep inside ourselves where he most surely dwells just as he does in the Tabernacles of our churches? Perhaps, in the new closeness of father and mother to son and daughter he wants parents to better recognize and celebrate the face of God in their children, and children to come to see and experience and fall in love with their parents in a more sustained, deep and intimate way? Perhaps he wants us to learn to truly sacrifice our suffering in silent and humble gratefulness for just being alive, while helping others in their suffering with the true, redemptive love we can offer them? Perhaps he wants us simply to learn to suffer in silence as our Saviour, the Good Shepherd, did, on his way to the cross? In a way, we are in a 'forced fast' which, if we suffer it with humility and redemptive love for others, will only better us for our journey to the Kingdom of God. A few weeks or even a few months of removal from over-scheduled, hectic, anxious lives, can protect the rest of our lives. Remember, too, the thousands of Christians who have no church, living side by side in squalor, in refugee camps and poverty, who are perhaps in more danger than us; these people have no means to demand their human rights. Instead, we need to pray for them in our homes, as we wait patiently, humbly, and responsibly for directives from our elected govt and church officials who are trying desperately to make valid decisions literally for our lives! This challenging journey will end. And I would not be surprised, if within weeks or days afterward, it is almost forgotten as we get on with our lives. … But will we remember the complaints and the demands? Or will we remember the precious wisdom we learned, and savour the grace we acquired on that journey? I’m wondering how many families have watched the Wizard of Oz with their children at least just one more time these past weeks. Well, this beloved film also has something more beneath its surface, like the plaque, a little bit of wisdom over and beyond the entertaining story itself. Dorothy Gale is whisked away from the world she knew and loved, and ushered into a strange, frightening, yet fantastic place. But almost from the very beginning, she complains to everyone that she just wants to go home, she wants things to return to normal. If she had a place to picket, she might have done so. But she had been sent on a journey, clearly, not of her own choosing, but a journey nonetheless of self-discovery. After being told she had to experience this journey to learn she always had the power to return to the life she knew, her companions ask her, “So, what have you learned?” She responds it wasn’t enough just to want to see her loved ones again – to return to the home she knew and felt safe in, but her heart’s desires were no further than her own backyard – in essence, in her inner being.” In the 18th C, Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those things which hurt, instruct.” In the early 20th C, Evelyn Underhill, the writer of many classic books on spirituality, tells us “Jesus is not a cheap, quick fix for life’s problems.” Christ is the gate to the path which can be challenging, but the gain far outweighs the cost. She says, “One thing I am learning is to stop avoiding the suffering, but rather embrace it and turn it into sacrifice. This is divine generosity.” In the late 20th C, psychiatrist, Scott Peck, famous for “The Road Less Travelled”, says: “Life is difficult. This is a great truth. … because once we truly know life is difficult, understand and accept [that it is], then life is no longer difficult. [Why?] Because once it is accepted [as such], the fact life is difficult no longer matters. What makes life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one. Yet it is in this whole process that life has its meaning. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread, but actually [come] to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.” Yes, indeed! We grow spiritually by accepting our suffering and pain without complaint, without making demands of our government and church officials, by learning from this removal and distancing from what used to be, while seeking solutions for it from within ourselves, not from without, and transforming our suffering into a gift of transcendent healing for others through the inner power of our being where God nurtures, heals and protects us. Perhaps, this coming week, take a piece of paper – or a journal if you have one – and write down 2 paragraphs about what you have learned in these past few weeks of isolation: one paragraph about the negative things, if any; the other about the positive things, if any. When you are done, read the paragraphs either out loud or to yourself, and then put your hands together in prayer, and Thank God for everything you have written. Then, rest in the Lord. And always remember: God is not only just in our beautiful places of worship, but in all places across the globe and in the universe; and most definitely deep within our hearts. Rev Fr Christopher Tracey Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Parish Saugeen Shores, Ontario
1 Comment
Lucie
5/8/2020 03:23:00 pm
Fern was adamant that we write down what we learned - positive and negative. I am so happy he did and so unlike him. We will be sharing what we wrote to each other.
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Father's Blog
Rev. Fr. Christopher Tracey
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