Last night I watched a DVD off my shelf. I saw it years ago, I’m sure, but I don’t
remember what my thoughts were then. I
won’t forget my experience of last night’s viewing, though, and I wrote a review
of my thoughts here.
The documentary I watched was called The Human Experience,
and was said to be true, and filmed as it was lived out. It begins by introducing two teenage boys,
who had been hugely abused by their drunken father, and placed in a homeless shelter. For the first time in their lives, they found
peace and joy in the many things we probably would take for granted. And they met many homeless street-people while
there and heard how they lived. It was
all new to them, and so they decided to experience what they did, and went out
to live on New York City streets, in the middle of winter. Within minutes one of them was saying “this
is a bad idea, let’s go back,” but they persisted. I watched them meet many nice men, who often were
friends, as the two boys experienced all the difficulties of the life of the
homeless.
Then the boys heard of a ministry to help the poor in South
America, and so they joined for another new experience in life. In South America (and later Africa) they met
and experienced much more poverty and illness and lack of basic needs most
Americans never think of. And while
there they met people who were dedicating their lives to helping those poor
people, foregoing much more comfortable lives in the United States. I think the boys learned about the Christian
faith there, and the call to “Love your neighbor,” and saw it lived out. And they met, much to their surprise, many
poor people who lovingly helped one another to live.
In Africa, many adults had died of AIDS, and other poor
families took in their many children, caring for them as their own. The two boys from the United States were welcomed;
no country or politics or religion or skin color mattered. The boys experienced, in so many ways, love
and the love of families. And they concluded their search for life experiences
with the realization that all people are made for a purpose, and while alive a
key point was to live and receive love; we are all part of the human family,
God’s children.
The video was very moving, and it won many awards. It demonstrates, by showing real, lived human
experiences, what life is about. When I
finished watching it last night, my thoughts went to Jesus’ love for the
children and the poor. Those two boys
were experiencing how to love God and love their neighbor, as God loves
them. And their actions brought joy to
the human family. I assume many people,
including myself, would watch that video and think about missionary trips and/or
alms for the poor. But then another
thought struck me: that the end of the video and all the poor people shown
weren’t the most important lesson to be learned, to be focused on today.
Jesus gave us the commandment to love as He loved, and the
video showed reasons why that is the reason for which He created us. It didn’t delve deeply, however, on the
reasons why the two boys didn’t know that; they didn’t have the life experience
which taught them that.
The number of people who now abuse alcohol and drugs is
increasing in the United States, as is the number of children now living in
abusive homes as the two boys were --- or who are being ignored by their
parents, who have “more important things to do.” We see the numbers of marriages and children
decreasing in this country, and the number of child-care centers and very young
people rapt in cell phones hugely increasing.
In the video I watched, the two
boys found love and family the key experiences, the purpose of life. Huge numbers of children in the U.S. today
don’t know their purpose, except to get money and make themselves happy. That is their human experience. Like the two boys, they too grow up lacking love.
Starting with ourselves, our families, our churches, our
country: we need to change; we need to make love of neighbor a purpose of our
lives, to live as Jesus lived.
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I ordered and sent copies of that
DVD video to two of my niece’s young kids, who are just graduating and entering
the work world. But then I realized that
they probably don’t have a DVD player (another thing that is disappearing from
the world). Oh well, I’ll send them a
copy of this blog posting, in love.
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Then this morning I heard the Gospel read at mass on this
feast day of The Beheading of John the Baptist.
The mass sermon focused on that event and the faith of John, who died as
a precursor of Jesus; we need a firm faith like his. It didn’t focus so much on the ego of Herod,
and that we need to stop acting like him.
No, we don’t have many heads chopped off (I hope), but we do let our
pride rule our lives, trying to do things so everyone will love us, and in
particular, our children. I hear of many
parents ignoring their children’s sins, to keep the family peace (acting like
Herod). There is a difference between
actions which keep a relationship together, of loving a person but not their
sinful deeds, and actions which imply we agree with their sinful deeds. Jesus was blunt about what will happen to
those who lead His little children astray.
In this morning’s Readings I read this meditation about John: “His persecutors
had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep
silent about the truth.” But he wouldn’t.
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And as I concluded my night prayers at the end of the day, I
included prayers which God seems to have given us for these times: The Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Litany of
Humility, and the Litany of Trust.
