Paul StuligrossI’ve had some interesting conversations with people lately. Usually those conversations center on what’s going on in the world — a world filled with much fear and anxiety. That apprehension has affected my job — I’ll bet it’s affected yours, too. Indeed, I know of a few people who will avoid attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C., this January out of legitimate concern over recent events.
In a strange way, I also recognize how easy it is for the media to operate in the absence of faith. I was reminded of that when I read the recent headline in the New York Daily News pursuant to the terrorist attacks in California: “God isn’t fixing this.” At first I was annoyed at that. I find it ironic that a newspaper that regularly denigrates anything to do with strong Judeo-Christian values is now so confident about what God’s not doing. I must’ve missed the articles they wrote about the need for us to return to God in our government and schools.
Then I thought about it again. There isn’t a lot of good news to cover these days — at least not the type that sells papers. So people who work in our media are consumed with stories that perpetuate fear and apprehension. Perhaps their lack of faith is a symptom of that.
I’ve said before how difficult it is to hold on to faith in a job so filled with tragedy. I wasn’t always good at it in my former career. More than once I questioned God’s goodness as I looked at disasters that made no sense. But it’s there that the rubber meets the road. I don’t like any statement that portends God as the arbiter of our world’s evil. I would rather say that “God can bring reason out of anything,” than, “everything happens for a reason.” Tragedy either exists because God doesn’t; or it exists because we live in a fallen world. I choose to embrace the latter.
The extent that we make God relevant in the grumblings of our lives is the extent to which we’ll find peace amidst them. Being a Catholic Christian doesn’t make us immune from trouble — but it sure allows us to hold on to joy.
The Christmas season should be here to remind us who God is for us — not who the media makes Him out to be. Please, somebody remind me of that the next time I grumble. To me, Christmas is about God’s relevance in my life. And as much as we have the courage to extend that relevance to our society — and our media — we might actually feel that sense of joy that’s so often lacking for many this time of year. Happiness is something we search for; but Joy is something that finds us.
Perhaps the best reflection about God’s love I’ve ever heard came from a homily a few years ago. If I’ve written about it before, forgive me. I think it bears repeating. It’s a story about a little girl who was peering out her living room window at some ducks on her front lawn. Amidst freezing temperatures, she grew concerned about them. She asked her mother if she could try to help them: to feed them, to lead them to warmth. Her mother appeased her with a loaf of bread and opened the garage door. Shortly, it became clear to the girl that the she couldn’t help the ducks. The closer she drew to them, the further they ran away. The more she tried to help, the more afraid they became. Finally, the young girl dropped to her knees and began to pray. Her mother asked her, “What are you praying for?” The girl said, “I’m praying that God will turn me into a duck.” The mother smirked at the idea. “Sweetheart, if you turn into a duck, you’ll be cold and scared, just like them.” The girl looked up at her mother, tears in her eyes, and said, “It’s worth it. You see, if I become one of them, maybe they’ll finally listen to me; maybe then they’ll understand.”
“God isn’t fixing this?” It might seem that way. I’m sure the people in Jesus’ time thought the same thing. I guess it all depends on whose voice we listen to at this time of year — the media’s, or our faith’s? What allays my fear is the knowledge that God loves us enough to get cold and hungry right alongside us. To me, that’s enough to open our hearts to joy, whatever form that takes.
Paul Stuligross is director of campus ministry at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory.
