Easy Answers

We all want easy answers. The lazy, pain-avoiding selfish side of us all wants solutions that require minimal work from us and that ultimately cost us very little. And certainly elections feed into this desire. The bigger the election, the bigger the hope that the answers to our problems are only a vote away. If only [INSERT CANDIDATE] is elected, then [INSERT ISSUE, i.e. The Economy, Unemployment, Healthcare, etc.] will be fixed. Making it worse is the fact that while we agree with the popular notion of "The Good" for all, if we are really honest, underneath this hope for an answer to the "big" issues, is really a desire for some personal benefit (i.e. I can finally retire, or I can finally find a job, or now I don't have to worry about getting sick, etc.).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting it's a sin to want/need a job, or to want the economy to be stable, or to want healthcare for myself and/or others. These are all good things and just part of surviving. The problem comes in our wanting all this to be "easy."

When we are faced with difficult situations...hard choices...we recoil from the possibility of pain. We don't want to endure any kind of pain...even briefly...whether that be the pain of unhappiness or depression, the pain of sacrifice due to financial struggles, the literal pain of enduring an illness, or even the more altruistic pain of knowing there is a world of suffering that we feel we can't do anything about. And so to avoid the pain, we cling to easy answers..or at least the appearance of easy answers. If we can just get the right leader, or the right job, or the right spouse, or the right economic environment, or the right law, etc. then everything will be better. Despite the seemingly obvious naivete of this belief, it makes us feel better. We console ourselves with the notion that by supporting this candidate or this cause or this 'solution', we are DOING something about the problem. But the reality is...we are wanting someone else to do the work that solving this problem would really take.

We see this play out time and time again. A pain (meaning an issue) rises and consumes our collective attention. Journalists begin talking about it, politicians begin debating it. Grand solutions are drawn up and then these are debated. Despair grows as this looming issue persists in our collective mind. And in the end we get a new program or a new law and the process starts all over again. But often, the situation continues. People are still hungry, crime still exists, prices still rise, jobs are still hard to get, and people are still in pain.

The challenge is that we are complacent and comfortable...even in our discomfort. For solutions to happen, change has to happen. And while we are accustomed to talking about change in the big picture, we are all fairly deft at avoiding change in our own little world. Change hurts. It requires a breaking of our will...forcing it from one position to another. And since that is so very hard for us to do, most of the time we don't do it.

But for all that elections do to foster this false hope in an easy answer, they also provide us with a wealth of reminders and a great opportunity to recognize the truth. The solution to all of our problems (hunger, illness, crime, loneliness, depression, and even death) begins with each of us. We need to stop trying to escape the pain of change...the pain of difficulty...the pain of resisting our selfishness. If we see or know of someone who is hungry, WE need to feed them. If we know of someone who is sick, WE need to secure care for them (if not do it ourselves). If we know of someone who is lonely, WE need to visit them. Of course this is inconvenient, and yes this can be awkward, and yes this can cost us (both time and money), but that's the real answer. As Gandhi put it so succinctly, "be the change you want to see in the world." If each of us were willing to do this, the world would change....problems would be solved.

But sadly that won't happen. I'm not really this much of a pollyanna. I know that not all of us are willing to try to do this...and fewer still will persevere long enough to actually do it. [I have enough failures in my own life to doubt whether I can actually do it...even as I write this.] But changing the world isn't really the reason to do this anyway. The reason I should change...the reason I should act...and the reason I should feed and care and visit (and the reason you should too) is not because I can change the whole world, but because I can change the world of at least two people: myself...and the person I help. And what greater purpose can a life have than to improve the life of someone else...that is to love someone else. This is what it means to really love. This is what loving your neighbor really looks like. This is what God desires of all of us.

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink ; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink ? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' (Matthew 25:34-40

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." (Romans 12:15-18)

Our Call in the Moment

So often when we think of our calling in life or we hear about "the call" on someone else's life, we think of a vocation or a grand direction....and usually it is a desire or compulsion to pursue an occupation such as the feeling you are being called to be a doctor, or a missionary, or priest. Of course there are not-for-pay callings too such as being a stay-at-home mom (or dad) or being a deacon. And certainly there are callings to marriage, or virginity, or celibacy. All of these are examples of God's stirring something in us that desires to live a certain way and/or perform a certain job. But the other day while I was praying...seeking to surrender my will to His, I found myself asking God to help me hear and recognize His call not in this big sense...but in a much smaller sense. I asked him to help me hear His call in each moment. I didn't think about these words before I said them, but once I did, I quickly suspected that maybe I had just been given a bit of Divine insight.

Many theologians (Protestant and Catholic) have written and preached about how each of us have God-appointed tasks to do in life or God-given duties to perform. And there can be no doubt that God directs us and leads us to our occupations and roles in life...if we let Him. (I love the line in one of St. Therese's prayer: "May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.") But I feel like maybe there is an opportunity to draw closer to Him if we usurp the idea of a calling...or of God's call...from it's normal context and see it at its core.

God's call is not about our making a one time decision or about His occasionally pointing us in a certain direction. Rather God's call is more basic. It is His voice in our lives...urging us to follow along the perfect plan He has for us. God's calling is dynamic and specific. It is not measured in lifetime achievement or years of service....but rather it is measured in seconds...in the outcome of individual moments. You see....this is where He lives. He is in the Now...He is the Present. If we accept this premise...that ultimately our "calling" is just God's appointed direction...which is to say action...in our lives, then we can see that "His call" is more than roles and occupations. In fact, I think maybe we need to see that is His call is really just for each of us to obey Him in every moment...To act like His Son in every situation. In other words, God's calling on our life is much more granular than what we normally think. God is much more personal! God has a specific plan...a desired action...for each one of us in each moment. He wants to be there and help us in every situation. He wants to lead us in every moment of our lives. He loves us THAT much.

And how can we not trust His direction? He sees beyond us...beyond this moment. He not only knows the moment we are currently in, but had already been there before us. He sees the actions that will most benefit us...and the actions that will most benefit those around us.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

And so He calls to us...longing to directs us and guides us along our best path...not just the big picture path...but each step, around each stone, across each crack of the journey. We don't ever have to enter a moment feeling alone...feeling lost or unsure. Not matter what the moment looks like...God is there...calling us.

So yes...we all have a calling. And yes...God has appointed-tasks for us in life. Most of us have to work...and all of us have roles to fulfill. But more than being a doctor, a missionary, or a priest...He wants us to be a healer, a servant, and yes even to be His Son...in every moment of our lives. So I guess that means that you and I need to forget the "big" question and begin asking God the smaller question (over and over again)...what is Your call for me in this moment?

Lenten Thoughts: Recalculating

I don't think I have ever used my GPS on a trip and not heard the system announce "recalculating." And usually I hear it multiple times. For any number of reasons it's just hard to consistently stay on corse and follow each and every direction. Many times the reasons are my fault, but sometimes it's just a matter of "life" just not working out as planned (such as when there is no road where the GPS says we are suppose to turn right). What I realized last night (Ash Wednesday) is that this is true for both traveling down the highway...and traveling through life. And as our pastor pointed out, what an incredible metaphor for Lent.

Lent is a time for us to reflect on and be transformed and renewed by Christ's Sacrifice and God's Love. It is a time for us to humble ourselves, to remember our weakness, to acknolwedge our faults. And inevitably, if we are honest and exhaustive in this exercise, we come to realize that we are not wholly where we need to be. For some of us...or maybe it is better to say that at some point in all our lives...we are significantly off course. For others...and at other points in our lives...maybe we have just drifted off the road a bit or slowed down too much or spent too much time in the rest area.

But regardless of the degree, most of us are off course...and so Lent is a time for recalculating. It's a time to assess where we are and spend maybe a little time thinking about how we got here. But most importantly, I think, Lent is a time for figuring out how to get back to where we need, and want, to be.

Sometimes we have to figure out where exactly that is. Sometimes we just know...and maybe have known for awhile. But regardless, the broader method is the same. We have to identify where we are, we have to decide where we want to go, we have to map out a plan for how to get there, and then lastly we have to resolve to follow that plan. Maybe we need to start (or re-start) a daily prayer time. Maybe it's saying the rosary on a weekly basis. Maybe it's reading the Bible more frequently. Maybe it's going on a retreat. Maybe it's reading an inspirational (and/or very practical) book by a saint. Or maybe it is a combination of all these things. Each person's path is going to be unique because God has a unique plan for each of us...and He is dying to show us what it is. Some of us already see it (and we are just not there yet). Some of us know that we saw it at some point in our life, but that seems so long ago. And some of us have never really seen it at all. But again...that is what Lent is for. This is our opportunity. All we have to do is say yes to God's Positioning System (GPS!) and He will recalculate our lives. We may have to go down some unfamiliar roads...we may have to travel through the night...but if we humble oursleves and diligently follow His directions...we'll get back on course...His course...and come Easter morning...the Son will rise...and we will find we have Life...and have it abundantly (John 10:10)!