LOVE MUST BE RENEWED

Sometimes those close to us are the ones that appreciate us less. Persecution is most painful when it’s from the one who ought to embrace us. Because we are afraid that when people get to know more about us they may begin to less appreciate and love us, we are sometimes afraid of familiarity. That’s why they say familiarity breeds contempt. But we are not alone in this situation.

Our Lord Jesus experienced the same in Luke 4:16—30. His own people who ought to embrace him more than others tried to throw him off the cliff. They could not accept him because they thought they knew him very well. “This is Joseph’s son, surely.”

And we sometimes are like these people: we get familiar with Jesus and persecute him. We get used to Mass and the Eucharist; we cram the prayers; we know a lot about the scripture and doctrine; we get familiar with the priests and Religious, etc. We thus treat all these with mechanism and contempt. We scorn and laugh at anyone who tries to bring life out of them. Thus, we persecute the one we ought to love….

Should we then not get used to Christ and things that relate to him because we may treat them with contempt. No! Familiarity breeds contempt when there is no love! Love makes all things new. We must back our knowledge of Christ and his Church with love. And continue to renew this love. For love not renewed grows arid. And aridity can lead to scorn and persecution.

Therefore, our love for Jesus in the Eucharist must be constantly renewed, especially through confession. We must constantly ask ourselves why we do the things we do in the name of Christ so as to get rid of all selfishness that may creep in. If not, we may try to throw off from the cliff of our lives the one who loves us so dearly and offers himself for us. We persecute the one who has come to us with the message of life and abundance of blessings. Our love, both for God and each other, must undergo constant renewal.

Our help is in the name of the Lord—who made heaven and earth.

Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R (01—09—08 Archangels’ Parish Satellite Town, Lagos)

REVEALED INCLINATIONS

Today we hear the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus to ask what he must do to earn eternal life (Cf. Mt 19: 16—22). It is interesting to note that this man had been faithful to the commandments—a man who rejoices in keeping God’s law. Above all, he’s one who desires God’s kingdom, God’s righteousness—a man who wants to behold the face of God—who desires life in its fullness and wants that perfect peace that only God can grant.

But prior to this upward desire for God and his perfect peace, this man encountered within him a downward experience of emptiness, incompleteness, an unsatisfied hunger, which propelled him to seek direction from Jesus. Interestingly, he recognized Jesus as the one who has solution to his problem—the way, the truth and the life. He saw in Jesus the one through whom his heart desires can be satisfied. Jesus, the Good Master, is the one through whom the deep yearnings of his heart can be quenched.

If one misses his way and seeks direction, he rejoices when he finds it. If I have difficulty with a mathematical problem, I rejoice when I discover the solution. In the case of this young man, he was in search of the direction to heaven, but when Jesus pointed it out to him, instead of rejoicing at finding his way, he went away sad… Why?

While he was sincerely searching for the heavenly treasure, unknowingly to him, his heart was secretly attached to another treasure—the earthly wealth. Now, the inordinate desires of his heart has encountered the true longings of his life—the reason for his existence. This encounter compels him to a radical decision. The fact that he had to shed off all else in other to attain the true longings of his heart made him sad. And he preferred his earthly treasure to the heavenly peace. This decision removed him from the happiness he was searching for.

LESSON
Every now and then, we find ourselves at this place of radical encounter as we strive to satisfy our heart desires. It is a point when our inclination to earthly treasure encounters the deep seated longing for perfect peace. Prior to this encounter, our choice for heaven is covered under the shadow of self-righteousness. The inordinate inclinations of the heart remain hidden. And they sometimes manifest in a self-ordained piety. But when we approach Christ like the man in the gospel of today, His radiant light reveals how far away we are from perfect peace. We begin to see those secret attachments of our heart. At the same time, the way to true treasure—‘what I must do to attain Heaven’—is revealed to me.

This twofold manifestation of our desires, revealed by Christ the Light of the world, compels one to make a choice. However, while one is free to ‘walk away sad’ or ‘enter into peace’, this encounter with Christ immediately graces him to choose Heaven.

Jude C. Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
(Reflection given on 18/8/08 at Archangels’ Parish, Satelite Towna, Lagos)

GOOD LUCK AND HARD WORK

The successes we achieve in life, do they mostly come as a result of good luck or hard work? My Dad, Celestine Obichere Nwachukwu once said, “I believe in hard work not good luck; but if good luck comes I use it to boost my hard work.” The above statement distinguishes rather than separates the two. However, his claim implies that he had his focus on hard work, while not ruling out good luck. What should be our attitude to our successes with reference to these two orientations to reality?

A success accrues to hard work if its life wire is solely connected to a conscious and persistent working out. Here, the individual involved is the harbinger. But can we have a success that is directly proportional to the effort committed to it? As far as the answer is no, our attitude to our successes should not be solely accrued to the effort employed. There is always some sort of good luck!

Good luck, in itself, refers to something unmerited. However, it must have some bases. This cultivation ground for good luck is given by our efforts. Hard work opens up the parameter from which success emerges. Thus, hard work gives the bases upon which we embrace and appreciate good luck, which is mostly hidden under our successes. In other words, one should not fold his arms and wait for good luck to fall upon him. He must be active. However, he should never forget that there is more to his good fortunes or otherwise than his efforts. We face much anxiety when we overlook activity while focusing on its fruits.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that man is not defined by his activity or earnings. He is not a robot or beast of burden. That is why his efforts can never be proportional to the outcome. He has dignity not because he works or earns, but because he is! Therefore, his dignity can never be compared with his works. Any thought-system, attitude or action that equates a person or treats him as means to some success is an insult on human dignity. The same applies when an individual is treated as an object of pleasure. Work is meant for man not vice versa.

So, man must neither be workaholic nor lazy. He should execute his task, earn his wages and take his time-off. Success should never be targeted at the expense of a dignified life.

Yes! Man has dignity because he is. And “he is” because God is! Man is who God has made him to be. Thus, his very worth or dignity is given! In other words, we cannot divorce God from any discourse about man without arriving at a distorted view. Interestingly, “givenness”, which is rooted in God, becomes an intrinsic part of man’s existential experience. There is always something unmerited, something given or rather, good luck, which lubricates our daily quest for survival.

That is why it is commonly said that we should work as if everything depends on us, and pray as if everything depends on God. Good luck and hard work are the two sides of every success or failure we experience. A silent pause on this issue will reveal to us the inevitability of prayer in our life.

Chinwenwa J. N (My holiday reflections, July 2008)