Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. What have you received without cost? You may have heard me talk about the zero attribution error. That is the thought that your current wellbeing is purely attributed to you. I think that a lot of rich people fall for this fallacy. They believe that they have earned their place in life. It’s helpful to recount all the things that have made you you that had nothing to do with you. Let’s start with the greatest gift, life. It is astounding to realize that you need not exist. It is hard to imagine that I could possibly not be here. Yet we cannot imagine having no life. There is nothing saying that you earned intelligence, that you earned your physical abilities, that you earned the knowledge that was handed on to you. Did you earn your circumstances in life? Did you earn your family? Did you earn the people you met in life?
I think of the twists and turns in my life. Jesus called the twelve disciples and it makes me reflect on my calling. A not so good reason that I had for becoming a priest is that I was determined to do the hardest thing in life because I was put down in life. I was shown little faith in my life to the point I was going to do the hardest thing in life to prove them otherwise, and I thought the hardest thing to do in my life was to be a priest. Not the worst reason, but dealing with my pride, not the best reason. And maybe it’s not the hardest thing in life, I’m not a brain surgeon and a lot of things like marriage are hard in life. I’m not discounting other good reasons that I did have for being a priest, but this was a prime motive, and it shows that God can work with anything. That he can purify all things. After all, without this motive, would I have ever become a priest. I think of the crazy twist and turns. One of the things in my life is that I was drawn to the outcasts which were the minority? I was fortunate to have this because this gave me a heart for the outcasts and the minority. I was drawn to the minority in the seminary which served me well. Why was I so fortunate to have this spiritual director. Why was I fortunate to learn a different theology a different spirituality then the mainstream. These are just a few of the crazy twists and turns that I did not earn that make me who I am today. Although there has been some not so great turns in my life, today I can highly recommend the religious life precisely because of the twists and turns.
I know without cost I have received, and I know the joyful reasons I am impelled to give without cost. It’s no longer a choice because I love it so much.
Now this might sound great for me and that I love life, but you may not feel this way. Maybe your life is pretty crummy. Let me give you some sage advice from the master that you or I didn’t earn. Enter through the narrow gate. I know some people’s lives are pretty crummy. I meet people on their death beds all the time and I wonder, “wow that’s all they got out of life?” Maybe that sounds pretty judgmental of me. Well let me say this, they sure don’t seem happy. Part of the problem is that they seek no depth. Life has become about having your 1.9 kids and competing (and I do mean competing) in the rat race to have the most and to be the best. God is third or fourth at best. The smart ones realize early enough that this is a pretty empty life and really a trap. Seek
God in all things. Do not be afraid. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It’s quite possibly time to learn how to pray in a new way. Now more than ever, it might be a time to join a small faith group. Lots of them formed from Discovering Christ and regardless of your participation they are always welcoming more people into the group. There are opportunities to talk to so many people. Come talk to me about prayer, small faith groups, spiritual direction (leaving JPII I am now free to do spiritual direction), struggles with issues, struggles with forgiveness.
God bless,
Fr. Chris