Sunday Sermon:Man wants more than he can find on earth

The liturgy of the thirty second Sunday is based on the following readings: Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 62; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13. The theme of our liturgy is a reminder that there is another life, eternal and closely related to our earthly life. The first reading affirms the immortality of the soul and associates eternal life to those who shall live wisely; those who search for God’s meaning and purpose in their life. In psalm 63, the psalmist gives us the example of a person who lives in search of God. He says: ‘for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water’ (Ps 63: 2). He has wisely made God the centre of his thoughts and desires and the source of his guidance. In the Gospel, Jesus stresses again ‘living wisely’ as a necessity to enter the kingdom of God: he brings out this point in the parable of the wise and the foolish virgins; whereby the wise ones had all the prudence and patience needed to enter the Kingdom, whereas the foolish ones were not prepared when time came for entering. Here Jesus stresses the necessity of being awake and prepared for the Lord’s coming and the definitive establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven. With the theme of the wise and the foolish virgins; Jesus sheds light on the final outcome of a life lived in preparedness and ready for the patient wait for the Kingdom. Here, he speaks of a regrettable surprise and a lost opportunity for those who should have been ready to enter, and are instead shut out of the Kingdom. St. Paul warns the Christians of a passage from this life to the next, a passage which must be through the gate of death; for all without any exception. He takes some time to remind the Christians at Thessalonica and of course any body else who cares to meditate on his words, of the true meaning of death for the Christian. He speaks of the sleep of death which instantly converts into a risen life enabling all Christians, both living and those who have already died, to be always with the Lord. For St Paul, death should not be feared because Christians are comforted and strengthened by Christ’s second coming. The doctrinal point of our liturgy is about ‘eternity of man’. This is the kind of truth that needs vital consideration in any man’s life. It is a call to us all for personal cooperation with God’s action in this life. But reality shows that we often do not give it enough thought. From a pastoral point of view, a serious examination of our conscience shows us that we all live with hope in the future. There is that urge in man in all his or her projects, to reach out for something better and better always. Even beyond our conscious decisions and programs, we find ourselves constantly being drawn forward by that kind o urge. As a result, man lives with that restlessness. Nothing really seems to fulfill that expectation forever. Even after we have achieved what we have been holding as a long-term goal, like attaining a certain kind of education level; that restless movement continues to push us forward to a broader horizon, and what was a life goal becomes a thing of the past. Man continues to discover that there is something beyond his or her goals still. As man grows in personal experience, he or she realizes that nothing he or she knows here on earth can satisfy completely. If we are to be faithful to our own desires we will discover this curious state of ours: we want more than we can find. This inner state of ours can help us appreciate the doctrine of eternal life not just as a seemingly vague and remote appendage to this life, but as a hunger, a felt necessity of our existence; something within us. Intellectual curiosity is one thing; hunger and thirst are quite different motivations. The Kingdom is within us. We do experience in our lives a hunger and thirst of it as we fail to find what can satisfy that kind of need. At a certain time, man finds out that all of this life’s promises seem to be broken. Some people choose then to distract themselves till death. Some others choose to dedicate themselves to varied forms of pleasures until they unknowingly give credence to false hope. The Christian faith requires of us to listen to that transcending movement of hope within us and to recognize the path it leads us to. It is only when man recognizes the boundless hope that pushes him or her forward that he or she begins to trust in Our Lord’s words of the eternal Kingdom. It is only then that man can really come to terms with this life and find a sane answer to the apparent contradictions that surround him or her. That way Christian faith becomes the complete answer to our many worrying questions. Ends