Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - Wednesday in the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
[Philippians 2:12-18 and Luke 14:25-33]Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life.......
One of the complaints I often encountered with college students was the lack of opportunities for fun that did not involve alcohol, sex or drugs! Overindulgence in these is a major problem on university campuses across this country. The sad thing is that it's not just on the campuses that there are problems, nor is it just those three big challenges. Our sex saturated consumerist culture seems to have little to offer to attract younger people and when they grow older, they do not seem to have any practical guidance to offer THEIR children on these subjects! To the students that have asked me about all this, I can only encourage them to maintain a life of integrity and do it in such a way that other students are actually attracted to it. Somewhere, somehow, someone seems to have given the impression that it is not possible to be Christian and have fun at the same time! We Christians have allowed our national culture to define fun in such a way that it is dangerous! There is no reason why any generation should be "crooked and perverse!" Yet, the constant political, religious and economic scandals betray a moral rot that can destroy us as a nation. Pope Benedict XVI has tried to speak out against the kind of moral relativism that is characteristic of our age without a lot of finger-wagging morallizing that has little impact. Real love is not a consumer item. It comes from a God who created all things good, including freedom. Why we humans chose to abuse that freedom and engage in self-destructive behavior in the name of freedom is truly the mystery of evil! It is a struggle to be faithful to the gospel. Today's gospel reading has Jesus telling us that we have to pick up our cross daily to follow after him. That does not sound like fun, but it does tell us that we have to work at being "blameless and innocent." Making an effort to create fun that is in keeping with our Christian commitment is part of the challenge. Nothing attracts folks like joy! AMEN
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