Ordinary Time 6
February 12, 2017
Maximum for Love
I’m a
big outdoors guy, and over the years the gear has gotten pretty spiffy.
Recently there’s been a trend of “minimalist” camping – bring basically nothing
but a tarp and some granola bars and you’re good to go (okay, perhaps that’s a
bit of an exaggeration). Hikers are always looking for – what’s the least I can bring?
Or,
there’s also the trend of minimalist living. My cousin is part of the “tiny
house movement” – her house has only 440 square feet for five people, three
cats, and a hamster. It is so small that their kitchen table folds up and their
son’s bed doubles as their playroom! This minimalist movement is all about
having the least impact on the environment and becoming less attached to
material goods.
So,
minimalism is great in many aspects of human life. But one place where
minimalism is not good is in our
daily walk with Christ. And yet that is precisely where many people practice
minimalism.
Many
people ask themselves, “What is the least
I have to do and still get to Heaven?” Minimalism asks, “What is the least I have to do to be Catholic?” But
this is based on a false understanding of our faith. It sees God as a divine
teacher who is giving His children a test, and we’re just trying to ask what
the passing grade is.
But what
if our faith was not a test but a relationship? What if this life was not about
just trying to make it to Heaven by the skin of our teeth, but about being a
truly excellent human being in imitation of Christ?
Jesus
completely blows minimalism out of the water. He says, don’t just avoid murder,
but avoid even growing angry with your brother. Don’t just avoid adultery, but
live a life of purity and faithfulness to your spouse. Don’t just avoid false
oaths, but live so honestly that no oaths are needed.
This
type of holiness seems impossible. But in a word, Jesus asks us to imitate Him –
a Man perfectly holy, perfectly virtuous. And He will give us the grace to do
so – if we seek Him.
There, perhaps, is the rub. Why
should we strive for holiness? Because we love Him and He loves us. No other
reason will suffice. I would hope that a husband who loves his wife doesn’t
think, “Gosh, what’s the least I can do so she won’t divorce me?” That would be
a pretty unhealthy relationship! Rather, a husband should think, “What’s the most I can do to bless and serve my
wife?” THAT is what love is.
So, are you living your faith as
a minimalist or a lover of God? Is your faith all about passing a test or
growing a relationship with the Lord? Here are some signs of a minimalistic
faith: if we are satisfied just being “good” people, but not holy people; if we
only pray when we need something, and not to get to know the Lord; if we ask
how late we can get to Mass and still have it “count”; if we think to ourselves
“how far can I go before something becomes a sin?”
A lover of God, on the other
hand, wants to be holy. They seek God daily in His Word and in daily prayer;
they look forward to Mass and don’t dread it; they don’t want to merely avoid
sin but to grow in virtue.
One time when I was working with
a middle school youth group, I remember a kid said to me, “If I want to get to
Heaven, I have to avoid sin, so I think I’ll just lock myself in my room and
have my parents slip pizza under the door so I can avoid sinning.” I had to
laugh – yes, avoiding sin is critical, but that is the minimum – we then have to develop virtue, in imitation of Christ!
My friends, Jesus takes the
bare-minimum of the Ten Commandments and deepens them, calling us to a life of
virtue. For those who are lovers of God, this is no burden at all – but a
privilege and a joy to live like Christ!
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