The
Life Within Us
Fr.
George Smiga
May
13/14, 2006
John
15:9-17
Shallow
relationships enslave us. Deep relationships set us free.
When we are dependent on another person in an artificial or
extrinsic way, the relationship we have with that person is
limited and often problematic.
A
motorist with very poor eyesight was frightened to discover
that he had just driven into a dense fog. He began desperately
to stay within seeing range of the taillights of the car that
was in front of him, trusting he could thereby find his way
through the danger. While he was squinting and worrying and
staying close so that he could direct his car, the car in
front of him came to a sudden stop and the two cars collided.
The person who was in the front car walked back and tapped
on the man's window. “What did you think you were doing?”
he said. The man, who had been following, didn't answer the
question but posed his own: “Why did you stop so suddenly
without warning?” “I had to,” said the first driver, “I just
pulled the car into my garage.”
When
we are connected to a person in an artificial way, when we
depend on someone without knowing where they are going or
what their intentions are, the relationship with that person
is limited and often problematic.
We
do not relate in this way to Christ. Through our Baptism,
Christ has given us a share of his very life. In today's Gospel
he says that our life and his life are united as a branch
is united to the vine. The life of Christ within us allows
us to know God's will. The life of Christ within us allows
us to discern the direction of our lives. We are not connected
to Christ simply by knowing his teaching. We share his very
life. To discern God's will, we do not have to follow Christ
slavishly as a motorist follows the taillights in a fog. The
very life of Christ within us gives us direction in facing
challenges of life. Our connection to Christ is deep enough
to give us the freedom to live.
Having
that freedom is very important, because life can take sudden
turns and force us to face issues which we never expected
to address.
You
may have intended to live your life in faithful love with
a marriage partner but then you must deal with divorce. The
pattern which you intended to live is no longer relevant.
You now must find a new way of moving forward. The life of
Christ within you can show the way. You might be a person
who is always taking care of your health, exercising, watching
what you eat. Then you find yourself facing a disease that
will radically change your life style. Your old pattern of
living no longer applies. You must find a new way forward.
The life of Christ within you can show the way. You may have
expected that your children would grow up basing their lives
upon the values and wisdom with which you raised them. Then
you must admit that you are disappointed with their decisions,
that you are hurt by their choices. The relationship that
you expected to share with them is no longer viable. You must
find a new way of relating. The life of Christ within you
can show the way.
Our
deepest relationships give us the freedom to negotiate the
twists and turns of life. This is something we should recognize
on this Mother's Day weekend because hopefully our relationship
with our parents is one of those deep relationships. At their
best, our parents did more for us than simply give us rules
by which to live. They instilled in us values and a vision
that was deep enough to provide the flexibility to adapt to
the changes that life throws at us.
Our
relationship with Christ is our deepest relationship. That
depth gives us freedom. Christ gives us more than his teaching.
He gives us more than his commandments. He gives us himself.
He lives within us and that life within us is deep enough
to negotiate the challenges of life. The life of Christ within
us gives us the freedom to remain faithful. The life of Christ
within us gives us the freedom to live.
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