I Came That They May Have Life to the Full

Despite what modern thought may say, Jesus was not the “affirming” type.  He was neither an optimist or a pessimist, but a realist, to borrow the words of a priest friend of mine.

When Jesus said to the crowd, “To those of you who have ears to hear”, Jesus was putting a veritable guilt trip on us but so what?  Christ is all about getting us to Heaven, not so much about making us feel good in the here and now.

Jesus does want us to have peace and joy in the here and now, not “only” in Heaven, as it can and does lead us to Heaven amidst the Crosses and trials of life. In fact, the main thrust of salvation is that God desires us to be happy and wants us to be happy with Him. We must bear the cross of fighting daily temptations, as He says if you wish to follow me, take up your cross daily, and, you are my friends if you do what I command you. That may be a daily cross that is staggering like none other, and Avila saw the cross of the married as larger than that of the religious.

Look in the writings of the great Doctor of the Church, Saint Frances de Sales . Peace and equanimity of life and mind are things to be strived for in this life and can/do aid us salvifically. Not everything is about “purgatory now or after” among the Saints. Our Lord knows we get enough crosses, no need in creating more for ourselves in choosing to be miserable when we can crowd out negativity with gratitude, even if it “feels” fake.  Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it to the full”.  He obviously means Heaven as the number one, but why not here too?  Woe to those who impede His little ones from having a “good life”.

When Jesus stated,“To those of you who have ears to hear”. He may have as well said, “To those of you who are so stuffed in your own mind, so selfish, I am calling you out right now”.  Imagine the ire among the religious leaders in His midst, hearing themselves compared to the nearby “lesser-than” laity.  I could see Christ making it a point to stare at the religious leaders as he moved His head slowly addressing the crowd with these words.  “To those of you who have ears to hear”.  It was a stimulus package of holiness if one so desired to take it, no cost except for a deflated ego.  Jesus convicts, the devil accuses.  So what if we get our egos get pricked by Christ?

Jesus was not the least bit afraid to put His disciples in their place either.  When they asked Him to call down God’s wrath on His enemies, in an attempt to save Him from His upcoming passion and death, he looked at them and essentially said (without arrogance), “Do you know who I am?” and he told them, “Do you not think I can call down a legion of angels at my Father’s command?” We pander to good feelings in modern society and yet Satan who chides us to be “nice” to everyone, is the same liar who tells us to rage at someone for cutting us off in traffic.  The optimist and the pessimist at work, perhaps?  Then the accusations begin if we either are being too nice or too rigid. Thankfully Christ, the realist, comes to our rescue.

St Thomas Aquinas teaches us in a similar vein, about cowardice, daring and courage.  Courage is right reason in action and fear that has said its prayers.  It’s the balance point between cowardice and daring. Here, Aquinas accepted Aristotle’s Golden Mean . I recall one of the best sermons I ever heard was from a South American gastroenterologist kneeling for two-plus hours in prayer in the middle of the night alone in an adoration chapel.  I entered to relieve his shift, but he just stayed into a third hour, like a Saint does, lost in God, even though he had to be at work in a few hours.

It was just us in there with God and His angels in this small chapel. He was partly asleep, kneeling and leaning a bit on the support and a small conversation started between us as he knelt before Christ in the Eucharist.

My early-twenties self said hello and asked for prayer for something which was bothering me. He turned to me and quietly said in a slightly baritone voice “’cour!’ The word courage comes from the Latin word ‘cour,’ which means heart!” He proceeded to beat his chest in a manly way, not like the gentle taps at Mass nowadays, and spoke of the lion as another symbol of courage. Laity like to clap after the “performance” at Mass when good music is played nowadays. How much more should we clap at such displayed holiness of an ordinary layperson, risen to the heights of sanctity, tucked in an Adoration chapel when the rest of the world is generally tucked into bed?

Jesus, as God, more often than not uses strong language, in the term of Hahn, and for us it’s salvation.  When he tells us we are better off losing a limb then sinning with that limb in an adulterous act (or even thinking about it is the same to Jesus, married or single), when He tells us in the same paragraph that we risk the fires of Hell if we hold someone in contempt (no matter how justified), when He forewarns us that if we judge another’s actions in a negative light, we shall face the same from man and God (sort of a Newton’s Law). We know that God is not all about our feelings, so as to lead us to eternal “good feelings” of bliss and happiness with Him in His Paradise, and even here and now.  We follow a God-Man that died on a Cross for Pete’s sake!

St Ignatius has us discern primarily based on feelings, unfortunately his own took and ran with that headlong (daringly) and made a mess of their founder’s order but his discernment of spirits is still bar-none.  In an overly simplistic way, we can use discernment of spirits as a peace-barometer, like a thermometer.  If the peace goes up, it’s likely God’s will, if anxiety and sadness come along, it’s likely not.  There are exceptions, such as our daily crosses and temptations, but in general dealings and major decisions, it’s a great rule of thumb, G.O.D. (Good Orderly Direction).

If something doesn’t feel right, it likely isn’t. A basic example- should you grab a cab for a portion of a day’s pay to arrive safely, or navigate through a mysterious alleyway in New York city and save some cash and potentially time via a shortcut on foot in the dark? Your instincts are warning you to “keep watch” in a sense. The calmer, safer path costs money but offers peace of mind regarding physical safety and FAR LESS chance of losing the very wallet that holds your money.  This is probably the right choice unless you’re called to be a Friar missionary walking the alleyways in heroic charity that is!  Jesus talks about alleyways to round up disciples for the Eternal Banquet at His great Wedding Feast.

Of course, nothing in this life is “free” . The price tag for peace is subjecting ourselves to Christ the King and the way He wants us to acquire happiness, and paradoxically, that comes at the expense of our daily crosses in ordinary burdens and resisting sins.  It’s best to close with the words of Frances de Sales to bring hope and joy:

“A devout life is a blessed, a pleasant and a happy life”.

Frances de Sales, pray for us please.