Richard John Neuhaus (Death on a Friday Afternoon, 2000:5-6) has penned the
following words:
"We contemplate for a time the meaning of Good Friday, and then return to
what is called the real world of work and shopping and commuter trains and
homes. As we come out of a movie theater and shake our heads to clear our minds
of another world where we lived for a time in suspended disbelief, as we
reorient ourselves to reality, so we leave our contemplation—we leave the church
building, we close the book---where for a time another reality seemed possible,
believable, even real. But, we tell ourselves, the real world is a world
elsewhere. It is the world of deadlines to be met, of appointments to be kept,
of taxes to be paid, of children to be educated. From here, from this moment at
the cross, it is a distant country. “Father, forgive them, for they have
forgotten the way home. They have misplaced the real world.” Here, at the cross,
is the real world, here is the axis mundi (i.e. the axis of the world)."
Neuhaus is writing about Holy Week, that time just before Easter, when our
attention is drawn to Jesus’ last week and particularly to his death. But Jesus’
death is a piece with his life and ministry. Jesus lived to show us that what we
think is the most real – the world of schedules and taxes, TV programs and
computer games, getting that degree and pursuing a career and family, is not the
ultimate reality. It isn’t unreal, Jesus was very much emerged in the day in and
day out struggle and drama which is our life in this world, but Jesus had a
different perspective. Jesus wants us to see the ultimate reality of the
spiritual and the personal. In a world where we are captives of a
consumer-driven, efficiency-minded, results-oriented culture that often even
invades the church, Jesus wants to call us to a different perspective, a
different reality. This isn’t a reality that denies this world, but one that
makes every effort for a balanced life in which the life of the soul,
relationships and possessions are held together in a richer, fuller
perspective.
Occasionally we are reminded of this. Sometimes it happens when we gather
together in church and the Gospel is really heard or when we begin to examine
our lives and stop to reflect on what is really important, or all too often, it
happens when we are confronted with the crises of life and we are forced to look
deep into our inner being to see what there is there that we can really hold on
to. Too often we go through life living or surviving on the surface, not really
knowing or experiencing the depth of life. We are like stones skimmed across a
lake, barely touching the surface. The real world goes undetected, hidden under
the many layers of culture that surround us.
Even our religious or “spiritual” life doesn’t really help us since most of
us have become consumers of religion rather than cultivators of a spiritual
life. As consumers we grab onto the quick fix and the least demanding. We look
for some secret technique or the most recent, best-selling inspirational
devotional. But, like most fads, they quickly leave us sated and wanting to move
on to something else that we hope will scratch our spiritual itch.
But the spiritual life, life in that reality that Jesus came to show us and
tell us about, the REAL reality requires more from us. It requires discipline
and the willingness to sacrifice. Good athletes know the importance of
discipline and sacrifice. Unspectacular training and diet are foundational. They
are accepted and undertaken because the prize is worth it.
Jesus calls us to see that what is really REAL, what is ultimately important,
is to cultivate the life of the soul and meaningful relationships and treat our
possessions as stewards who know their value, importance, but also their
limitation.
In a couple of weeks, March 9 to be precise, the season of Lent begins. It
isn’t so much about giving up chocolate or coffee or something else that we
like, as it is about gaining perspective on the need for balance in life. And at
the heart of that balance is our relationship with God. So let me encourage you
to commit yourself to a Lenten journey. Find a guide or talk to your pastor or
to someone you feel is a maturing follower of Jesus for some help. You can
contact me for some suggestions if you like. My prayer for you and for me is
that we will learn to really see and learn to live in the real world that God
intends for us to know. Peace.
