On Faith in Something Real

There is little more heartwarming than the love between a parent and a child.  The bond between them – and between all family members - is made to be so strong, so deep, and so undeniably real as to serve as a quiet witness and reminder about what truly matters in this world and why.  The very presence of the Christian family (and of Christian communities) demonstrates the depravity of the alternatives that the world offers.  This is especially obvious today, when those alternatives have been shown to be so much snake-oil (even on their own terms). 

For years, the world has been doing its best to convince us that it is offering us everything we need to make us happy.  It did its best to turn us into consumers by encouraging us to think that happiness, fulfillment, and success were to be found in the purchase of better cars and trucks (which nonetheless should be replaced every couple of years); bigger houses (which should be traded in for even bigger ones as soon as circumstances allow); and instant gratification with regard to entertainment and food.  And we completely bought into this.  If you don’t believe me, look at how we spend our money and our time.  As our new identities took hold; marriages, children, relationships with parents and family, and participation in the life of the parish and community were subsumed to our new roles as insatiable consumers.  By this, I mean that these things: marriages, children, family, friends, parish, and community; have become the things that we do with our excess time and our discretionary income.  We fit in family once all the “important” things are done.  We help the poor after the bills are paid.  We fit prayer and worship into the cracks between all those things that we have come to value so much more.

Prophets have long been warning us that this is not healthy.   That this is not sustainable.  That it will cause the ruin of our individual lives, of our families, of our communities, and of our world.  But we found it all too easy to ignore them.  The world taught us to see these voices as selfish, trying to pull us away from pursuing our dreams of bigger houses, better cars, and better entertainment.  And so we pulled away from our families and our communities because they were not entertaining and they took up valuable time.  Time that would be better spent either making money to pay the growing bills, taking care of our growing mound of stuff, or (occasionally) trying to get the promised enjoyment out of all the things we have piled up around us.

We ignored the prophets who told us to live simply; that encouraged us to love and forgive one other; that taught us that living for others was the true path to fulfillment.  We did not listen when they told us that houses, cars, and even jobs were only important to the extent they allowed us to grow in love for one another; rather than the other way around.

Well, now we have learned a valuable lesson: the prophets were right.  Our folly has left us with shackles of debt for things that we never needed in the first place; but for which we have sacrificed all the things that we do need: healthy marriages, loving families, a strong community, real membership in your parish, and a meaningful relationship with God Himself. 

We have learned a valuable lesson about what is real and what deserves our time and effort.  If you sacrifice everything for a bigger home, a nicer car, or even a better career, what satisfaction will it bring you now?  What satisfaction will it bring you ten, twenty, fifty years from now?  Big homes become too big; nice cars become less so; careers disappear.  But what if you sacrifice your time for your wife?  for your children?  for your family?  for your parish?  for your God?  These things are real.  These things bring true joy, these things make us more human, and our relations more holy.  These things bring lasting joy.

The world has deceived us.  But the Truth lives.  Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.  Do not believe the world: look at His hands; put your hand into His side.  Accept His forgiveness and His love.  And then order your life around His joy.