Pastoral Pearls: Come Out of Ourselves
We believe in the Risen One who conquered evil and death! Let us have courage to “come out of ourselves” to take this joy and this light to all the places of our lives! The resurrection of Christ is our greatest certainty; he is our most precious treasure! How can we not share this treasure, this certainty, with others? ~ Pope Francis from 365 Daily Meditations with Pope Francis, April 10
Alleluia! Jesus has defeated evil! I love the themes of Joy and Light and Treasure, don’t you? They are so uplifting! What kind of baffles me, though, is how Pope Francis brings into these hopeful themes the ideas of “coming out of ourselves” and “courage.” It doesn’t seem to me that Treasure-seeking or Treasure-sharing, or Joy or Light require much courage. Adventure maybe, or anticipation, but not courage.
Courage implies that something is going to be difficult. So, I guess I have to look at these things through the lens of courage. That draws me back to “come out of ourselves.” Ok. Maybe it can be all too easy and comfortable for me to just hug to myself all that joy and light, all the promise that is the treasure I have in Jesus, the Risen Christ. It is so much easier to see how I would need Jesus and the treasure he offers, how I might want Joy and Light in the midst of my own darkness and tribulations. Sometimes it seems that this is all I can really handle.
That really could close me in on myself, where I would need a nudge to “come out of myself.” But that’s hard. When I am enjoying the Light, and Joy, and Treasure of Jesus in my life, the last thing I’d want to do is be dragged down by all the struggle and darkness and hardships of people in the world around me. Can’t I just stay in my delightful little Easter bubble, knowing the Joy of the Risen Christ, who is here to help me through my “passions and deaths,” as they may arise? Don’t I get to just savor the Treasure that is Jesus in my life?
Yes, of course! But somehow, any gifts that God gives to me, I notice, are really meant to be in turn given away – to someone else who may need them as well. God’s way seems to use me as a “pass through” for the Love, Presence, Comfort, Joy and Light that are the Treasures he gives me through Jesus. I can thoroughly enjoy, but then I must share the treasure, pass it along, pay it forward. Through this Jesus teaches me the real Treasure and Joy of caring for my neighbors – all the people who I encounter along my path – so I feel the warmth of God’s love as it spreads from heart to heart among friends and strangers. It takes courage to notice the needs around me, to step into that chaotic and uncomfortable reality of another’s suffering, and to give away the treasure of Jesus’s love, so it may grow.
Pope Francis’ reflection reminds me how to begin doing this: For today, endeavor to be a source of hope and light to all you encounter. Share your joy in Christ with others by lending a helping hand or by simply being available to listen.
Loving God, thank you for the Treasure, Joy, Light you give us through our Risen Christ.
Help me to not be content to keep these wondrous gifts all to myself, but to share them where the need around me calls for it.
May I live with eyes, heart, ears, and hands that are compassionate and caring, and that share with others all the bounteous gifts I have been given, living the Easter call.
~ Amen