Tuesday after Epiphany(Click here for readings)
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd... By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go...and buy themselves something to eat." He said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves."
In today's Gospel passage, our Lord touches on two touchy issues: lives without direction and endless needs.
Sheep without a shepherd. Life without direction is a sin, for it's a waste of precious time. It's like walking in the dark and bumping into everything. Or worse, it's like walking in the dark with a turned off flashlight in your hand. It's time to turn on the flashlight!
Christ is our light. He is our truth! And the truth is we need benchmarks - a standard - a high standard - something or someone we can measure our performance against and bounce our lives off of.
No man is an island, even if stranded on an island. Like it or not, believe it or not, we allow others to influence us, even when we deny it. So the question really is: who or what is my shepherd? Who or what is guiding me? Is it the wind? Is it despair? Is it anger, revenge or resentment? Is it fears? There are plenty of stars out there, but not all of them are worth following.
So the question isn't so much "Where are the stars?" but "Which star must I follow"? Christ knows our needs and He answers our need for light, for meaning and purpose...for LEADERSHIP!
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (cf. Mt 11:28).
Endless needs. "By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go...and buy themselves something to eat." He said to them in reply, "Give them some food yourselves."
We have needs, and we will always have needs. We will never be satisfied with what we have. We will never have enough: never enough clothes or money or stability or confidence or love or attention or affection. We will never have enough time!
A few days ago I celebrated a funeral Mass for a woman who died at the age of 93. Her younger sister (age 90), told me she felt like she didn't have enough time with her sister. I just looked at her and thought to myself: Did she want her to live another 100 years!!!
But she was right. We never have enough time.
We are needy.
Christ invites us to take our meager belongings and merge them with his grandeur! Think big; think holy. Think meaningfully; think sacrificially. Think Jesus; think eternally.
We have been given a tremendous desire, thirst and hunger - appetite! - for things our world can never give and that this world will ever be able to satisfy. Why? Because we were made for infinite and beyond!
We will never be content with having what is necessary for survival. We were meant to discover. Christ is the answer to our prayers, desires, needs and wants.
Christ satisfies our needs. He gives us what we need most: GOD.
'If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.' CS Lewis
ReplyDelete"For all life’s questions, Christ is the answer. He is the son of the eternal God who out of love for us was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. And he did it all so that you and I could share in God’s own abundant, divine and eternal life and joy. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the image of the invisible God. He points us to our destiny. He reveals the dignity of the human person. He is the one who makes known the Father. Christ is the Answer." Christ is the Answer Radio Show, Fr. John Riccardo
“Life without direction is a sin, for it's a waste of precious time.”
ReplyDeleteI know you are a priest and all, but I beg to differ!
I understand and agree with your entire meditation, the point that you are trying to make…… It’s just this one line….
In 2001, I listened to the following song by Styx almost every night before going to bed…it made perfect sense to me at the time.
Every night I say a prayer in the hope that there's a heaven
And every day I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I've lost my faith
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
And wash my illusions away
Show me the way
And as I slowly drift to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred
I close my eyes and know there's peace in a world so filled with hatred
That I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we've so far to go
And I keep on hoping for a sign, so afraid that I just won't know
And if I feel light, should I believe
Tell me how will I know??????
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
And wash my illusions away
Show me the way, show me the way
Give me the strength and the courage
To believe that I'll get there someday
Show me the way
Every night I say a prayer
In the hope that there's a heaven
Now that I am in a different space, I look back and think, man! I must have been in a really dark place! But it all continues…. Light/Dark, Peace/Confusion, Love/Power, Acceptance/Hate….and it’s not just with me but with the whole world!
We are one and the same.
Life is a process! It is not an end in itself! It can never be!
There will always be “something more” for me to experience with Him, even if at times it seems like it is without direction.
btw…..I love your meditations!
“Life without direction is a sin, for it's a waste of precious time.”
ReplyDeleteIn reading an examination of conscious while in Catholic grade school, I remember that ‘being lazy’ was a sin. Now it is not considered a sin; maybe because it is dependent on the intention, maybe not. That is how I view ‘living without direction’.
My Dad’s joking words come to my mind, “Keep searching – I know you will get there one day, or you might not.” After 4 years of college, the only thing I knew was that I did not want to do what I majored in! I kept searching; I was without direction. My parents were wise enough not to impose anything on me considering my age and temperament but allowed me to find my own way. I continue to change, thank God! I don’t find it is a waste of time, but one of figuring out who I am and who God wants me to be. Life is a process.
Now that my son who is a senior in high school is going through something similar, I can smile and pray! Here we go again! Don’t worry – it is going to work out. You WILL figure it out! That is why we have this thing called Life!