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Click on the titles below to see articles: ...And the World Became Flesh. World Youth Day - Paris 1997 The Spirit of Lent
And the World Became FleshHow far do we push this concept of the Incarnation? I say all the way. Only by actually beginning to realize that Jesus was human like all of us (except for sin) can we begin to realize what it means to be human. This means that he struggled with all of the same basic issues thatwe have to deal with. I'm sure that he experienced loneliness and depression as well as laughter and the joy of friendships. He probably struggled with intimacy issues and had to resolve the question of identity-- issues all too familiar to young adults.
Does this take away from his divinity? It shouldn't. If we affirm that Jesus was fully human and divine then we need to meditate on his humanity. All too often we turn him into a walking God, a superhuman individual incapable of relating with our needs and desires, whose only solution to our problems is erasing. We think that his response to the human condition is to save us from our humanity. Yet the mystery of the Incarnation is just the opposite.
Jesus saves us in our humanity and through our humanity. Somehow, in the process, he shows us what it means to be a human being.
I'm not sure what all of this means-- but, during this coming year, as I meditate more on Jesus, this is my starting point. As a young adult, sorting all of the different issues, I'm realizing more and more that Jesus is found in my own human struggles, and that the human struggles isn't really as much of a struggle as I make it out to be.
Somehow, Jesus is involved in my day to day worries and concerns, in the stress and pressures of work, and the different aspects of my life.
This year, I'm changing my focus: instead of trying to "escape" I'm trying to find God in the ordinary. If the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, it has to mean real and concrete--doesn't it?
To be continued....
COME AND SEE
I 'm still reeling from the entire JMJ experience-- that's World Youth Day to most people, yet somehow after the week of events and talking to all the different people in Paris it seems more normal to think of it as JMJ '97 (Journée Mondiale de la Jeunesse). It's not that I'm trying to act snobbish, it's just that for me, the Paris events were an opportunity to experience the Universal Church at work and let me see beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church in the United States. Yes Virginia, there is a Universal Church; all you had to do was go to Paris and you'd know. Where else can you meet other young people from France, Italy, Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Cuba, the Philippines, as well as Colorado, New Jersey, and California, and immediately feel a connecting bond. The JMJ badges which we wore identified us, not only as participants in the events, but also as Catholic Christians, united in one faith.
Ultimately, that is what JMJ was about. Pope John Paul II realizes this; therein lies the genius behind an event of this magnitude. As if to reenforce the point, the message which the Pope offered to the English speaking audience at the Saturday Vigil was "Remember, you are not alone."
All you needed to do was look around at the sea of sleeping bags (800,000 the papers said) and you knew that the Pope's words were an understatement. Yes, at one level, he was reminding us that God is always with us. Yet, for us Americans who prize our individuality, the words are also a reminder that we are not the only ones in the world. We have a connection with our brothers and sisters at home and with our brothers and sisters abroad. The Church is bigger than any one person. Not an easy lesson to learn, let alone live out. We have to coexist. For me the Church is like the JMJ vigil experience. Thousands of people crowded together, speaking different languages, rowdy and smelly (just try to use the port-o-lets in the midst of this!), and yet, there is a connection between us that overrides all of these inconveniences. We all speak the same language of faith. We are united in Christ-- and somehow, despite the odds, it all works out. I think of the reverence and respect shown during communion time at the Mass on Sunday-- respect not just for the Eucharist, but for each other. It was truly a time where love of God and love of neighbor were shown side by side. If only we could take this experience and live it out on a regular basis. JMJ showed us what it means to be Church, yet a lesson is not really learned until it is lived out. That is the ultimate challenge of Paris. It is not an easy reality to live. Luckily, we are not alone...
The Spirit of Lent
Does Lent still speak to Young Adults? I ask myself the question-- but in reality I should be asking, does the Church's Tradition still speak to us today? I usually make a distinction between "churchy" young adults-- those involved in Church activities, who are very much in tune with Church topics, and have incorporated "Church language" into their own vocabularies-- and "non-churchy" young adults. I'm sure that the "churchy" ones would answer in the affirmative while the "non-churchy" would respond with puzzled or disinterested looks. Yet, does this penitential season, with its spirit of renewal, offer us anything new or are we going through the same motions as previous years, giving up chocolate and eating fish on Fridays and perhaps praying the Stations of the Cross. In short, does Lent still speak to young adults in 1998?
In this year of the Holy Spirit, the question seems like a good starting point. A better starting point would be to look at the role of the Holy Spirit in Lent. In the Gospel of Matthew we read that "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert in order to be tempted." This seems like a rather strange verse-- why would the Holy Spirit seemingly lead Jesus into temptation??? Part of the answer lies in the meaning of the verb "to tempt." Often we think of temptations as a struggle which leads us into sin-- thus the word (and our often perceived inevitable outcome) is interpreted as an implicit leading into sin. Yet the word in Greek actually means "to test." If we look at the temptations in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke we see that what is really being tested is Jesus' identity ("If you are the Son of Man turn these stones into bread....). Understood in this way, we get a clearer vsion of where the Spirit led Jesus-- to test his identity-- the identity revealed in his Baptism (the episode which immediately precedes the temptation).
The challenge of Lent (for those of us who still take it seriously), is to listen to the Spirit's promptings to renew ourselves: to test what it means for us to be "Sons and Daughters of the Light" and to live in that light. Perhaps this is accomplished through the traditional prayer, fasting and almsgiving (no these practices aren't really outdated). The catch to the penitential practice is to find those which truly speak to us and which may actually require a degree of sacrifice. After some prayer, a friend of mine decided to give up her Friday aerobics in order to attend her parish's "Simple Supper and Stations of the Cross"-- even though, as she put it, "it probably means I'll end up gaining weight." The point isn't that she's skipping exercise class, it's that she's shifting her priorities and changing her everyday routine.
In order for Lent to mean something to us, it needs to be a time in which we can see things in a new light. It's not so much taking on empty spiritual exercises but reshifting our priorities. By doing this, we'll begin to see how easily we can get side-tracked from what is important. My friend will probably learn something new about God and about herself this year because she took the time to listen to the Spirit and meet the challenge. She'll probably also realize that while exercise is important, slavishly depending on it can be a bad thing. She will ultimately emerge a new person at the end of this period (with or without extra pounds). Isn't that what the Spirit of Lent is about?
