A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

It is certainly a fact of life and thus should be a serious concern for our life of faith that we can seek too much pleasure. We can eat too much, drink too much, become so angry or so jealous that we cannot think straight or act sensibly. We can and we do, each one of us, at times in our lives. That does not mean we are gluttons or sexual perverts or anything like that. It simply means that we can go overboard, overindulge, on occasion. We have. We also know the harm even such momentary outbursts can cause others and cause even ourselves.

When we do not maintain some sort of self-control, when we allow our passions and desires to grab hold of us and then gain control over our human appetites, it can be a long and difficult journey back to normalcy. We do not become gluttons, for instance, overnight nor do we become self-controlled in the area of food intake overnight. The road back from perdition is as long as the road to perdition, and we should make no mistake about it. And it is a very difficult road at that.

Just as vice has to be fed to become vicious, so virtue has to be fed to become victorious. Neither happens automatically. It would be wonderful if we never had to worry about our passions taking over and getting the better of us. It would be even more wonderful if a virtuous life were standard operating procedure for each and every human being. But passions being what they are and the pleasure attached to succumbing to them being what it is, virtue is in for a battle even if it is more natural for us to be virtuous than not, which it truly is, child of God that each of is.

In order for us to live a good and godly life, we have to work at it. In order to stay strong when passion rears its head, we have to work at it. It is always easier to give in, which is why we sometimes do. It takes grace and strength to resist those temptations that push us to go too far. Saying “no” to pleasure, God-created pleasure, when that pleasure is misplaced or misused is difficult, even when we know what we are doing is wrong. Such is the nature of what has now become a beast.

We know that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We know that when our passion to do what we know is wrong kicks in, the fruit of the Spirit can easily take a beating and, often and unfortunately, lose.

We also know that good intentions to live in the Spirit are not enough, especially when they are placed face-to-face with those passions that would turn good into bad. Yes, we have to be intentional about being self-controlled, kind, loving and all the rest. But we also have to be intentional about doing the work necessary to make virtuous living our standard operating procedure, one that flows naturally from us. But even then, we can never let down our guard, never, ever.

Perhaps beginning each day asking the Holy Spirit to help us eat of the Spirit’s fruit will keep us on the straight and narrow that day. If we do so, we will be well fed.

THE NON-SENSE OF THE GOSPEL

Paul reminds us that the gospel is certainly not of human origin (Galatians 1:11). If the gospel were of human origin, it would make much more sense. There would be no hero being killed but rather the hero conquering the world. There would be no miracles as these are beyond human capabilities. There would be straightforward talk and not convoluted advice by way of parables that asked more questions than they answered.

There certainly would not be commands about turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, having care and concern for those in prison, forgiving always, and on and on. All that may make one kind and caring but it certainly would not be of assistance in making one successful in this world. As Paul would opine later, the gospel is truly foolishness for those who do not believe. In other words: nonsense.

Of course that is also why Paul had a very difficult time preaching that gospel. It was and is not of human origin. No sensible person could make it up and no sensible person could or would believe it. And that was Paul’s constant message. If what he preached was true, that truth had to come directly from God and, even more, Paul himself had to believe that that is from where this gospel proceeded.

Today we receive the gospel message from ordinary human beings, people who have not received the same kind of revelation that Paul did. Nevertheless, like the people to whom Paul was sent to preach, we believe this gospel to be of divine origin even though it has been handed down to us through people just like us. The truth is that the gospel Paul preached makes no more sense today than it did in his day. In other words, once again, nonsense, nonsense, nonsense!

So why do we believe this gospel to be true? Why do we model our lives on the messenger of this gospel? Why do we take his words to be the commandments we use to guide our lives? Why do we believe that what seems like nonsense is not? Why?

The answer is quite simple: we have had a divine revelation no less that the one Paul had. No, we did not see visions or hear God’s voice. Ours came in a much less observable manner. In fact, we probably did not even know that we received a revelation when it was taking place. It was non-sensible. We may not even know when it took place. Unlike Paul, the fact is that most of us do not.

Somewhere in our life’s journey we came to believe in this gospel. That was our divine revelation. That is the moment when we came to believe that all this foolishness is not so foolish after all. In fact, far from being foolish, it makes total sense and it is the way we have chosen to live our lives. Faith is a gift from God, a revelation of God to us that the gospel is true, is believable and must be followed.

Our faith makes sense out of nonsense even though we never sensed when that change came about, understand how or why it happened, but it did and we are thankful. Now to live it each day even when it might seem like nonsense to do so.

YOU MIGHT AS WELL LOVE IT

We visit Arlena’s Mom on a regular basis, every two weeks or less. We do some housework, make sure her meds are taken care of, take her to lunch and do some grocery shopping. Depending on how she feels, there is a trip to the mall that is included, especially is she’s seen an ad for some kind of sale. Even at ninety-five one never has enough clothes or shoes or purses.

The last time we were with her, I stayed around to wait for the people who were coming in from Columbus to install a new rain-protection, gutter-guard system while mother and daughter went shopping. On the way to their various destinations, one of which was to Kroger’s, Arlena’s Mom said, “I really love grocery shopping.” Arlena was somewhat taken aback.

“Really, Mom?” she asked. Her Mom replied: “Well, you have to go grocery shopping so you might as well love it.” Really? Love taking out the garbage, scrubbing the floors, mowing the lawn and all those other chores that go with owning a home? Love going to work? Love going to school? Love cleaning your room or doing homework? No matter how old or how young there are always demands on us that we would rather not fulfill but have to and, at the same time, we should love doing?

Well, yes. If we look upon them as simply drudge work, we will hardly ever do them well or certainly not as well as we could or should. If our heart is not into what we are doing, we are likely to make a mess of it. Half-heated attempts are better not begun than begun at all. We all know that from first-hand experience. Yet we still go through life half-heartedly doing what needs our full attention if not love.

What would happen if we actually looked forward to doing those things that we think as drudgery, whatever they may be? What if we would put heart and soul into it? Whistle while we work, as the old song has it? Whenever what we are doing becomes something we look forward to, even as mundane as scrubbing the floor, it makes what we are doing so much easier and we’ll even do a better job.

It’s all a mindset, of course. Scrubbing floors will never be on par with relaxing on the beach. Nor should it. My wife has a Honey-Do List for me on the counter most every day. I get pleasure out of crossing of each chore as it is completed. I am even getting to the point of looking forward to see what she has next in mind for me to do. I have not yet gotten to the place where I can say that I love doing what is on the list.

That will take time. I suspect it took Arlena’s Mom quite a while before she came to love grocery shopping but she is there and that’s what matters. Changing our mindset, changing the way we look at life, does take time. Imagine what our life would be if we learned to love everything we do! Yes, imagine!

CHILDREN UNDER 12 AND ADULTS OVER 60

My wife and I spent a few days in the Allegheny Mountains about two hours from us. (I know, calling them “mountains” to our friends in Spokane would give them a hardy chuckle. Having lived there, I know what a real mountain looks like.) It was good to just get away, really relax, take some long walks, breathe in the fresh “mountain” air. We could have stayed longer but our walking trail around the golf course was interrupted by the sound of gun shots from deer hunters in the nearby woods. But it was enough.

On one of our walks we trekked around Little Flipper Lake, a place set aside for fishing for, as the sign read, “Children under 12 and adults over 60.” Fifteen years ago when I was 60 I probably would have taken that as sort of a slap in the face. I wasn’t decrepit, slow of foot, needed help in any way. And even though my body is slower to heal, when sitting too long causes me to groan when I stand up, when I am slower of foot because of three hip surgeries, I now take that sign as a compliment.

I am not too old to play. And, in fact, maybe that is what part of aging is to be about: playing, especially playing with children under 12, being a grandparent to your own grandchildren if they don’t live too far away and being a stand-in grandparent to those whose grandparents are too far away or who have none. I know one of the privileges I missed growing up was not having a grandparent to play with me.

I survived, of course, because I had great parenting. But grandparents, real or substitute, are special. Ask any grandchild. Our youngest, Carter, thinks I hung the moon. But then, the feeling is mutual. Being with children under 12 keeps us young. They also open our eyes to realities we have often shut them to as we grow older. For Carter, who is three, the world is wonderful. Everything is interesting and he can’t get enough of it.

Even more so, everyone is equal. Carter’s daycare class is filled with kids of all races and mixed races. He doesn’t see color. He sees someone just like him: a kid to get to know, to play with, to learn with and learn from and even to do some teaching himself. The only way Carter will think he is or they are different is if his parents tell him so, and they will not, that is for certain.

We were all that way once. We did not recognize differences or, if we did, we didn’t think they mattered very much. We knew our parent’s car was different from the car our friend’s parents drove, but a car was a car. Differences didn’t matter. They still don’t even though, sadly, we, as a nation and world, seem to think and act as if they do, much to our sadness and loss, a very real loss.

That sign at Little Flipper Lake made me smile. It also made me thankful that no matter how old we get, no matter how much our steps slow or our muscles weaken, we have a real and important place in this world. We always have even though we sometime lose that place. And, lest we forget, so do children under 12. They have so much to re-teach us, lessons we have forgotten, lessons this world needs to re-learn and put back into practice. Thanks, Carter, for your continual reminder.