Most Recent Column of The Rev. George William Rutler
December 2, 2012
The four weeks of Advent are a test of how profoundly or
superficially we understand the meaning of life. In these weeks, the
Church reveals the deepest mysteries: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.
Christ saves us from the banality of skimming life on the surface:
eating, working, shopping, sleeping, waking up and doing it all over
again. He created us for great glory, and that is why people become
frustrated when they ignore these great mysteries. “Angst” is a kind of
neurosis, stemming from an unwillingness to listen to the voice of
Christ. He may be drowned out temporarily by idle chatter and
amusements, but as St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless, O Lord,
until they find their rest in Thee.”
Rushing Christmas, and not thinking about what Christ wants us to
be, are signs of a culture absorbed in itself, so that it becomes no
greater than itself. That old maxim is poignant no matter how many times
we repeat it: “A man wrapped up in himself becomes a very small
package.” More important than wrapping gifts in this season, is the
obligation to unwrap ourselves: to confess to Christ our failings and
our desire to live life as He wants it, so that we might rejoice with
Him forever and never be separated from Him.
Our culture is enduring a severe test of itself. If Christ does
not rule our minds and hearts, mere humans will try to do it, and they
will do it badly. When the Judges of Israel wanted a merely human king,
Samuel warned them: “He will take the best of your fields, vineyards,
and olive groves and give them to his officials. He will tithe your
flocks, and you yourselves will become slaves” (1 Samuel 8:14, 17).
Our Lord promises that the truth will set us free. His word is
truth. That is what He told Pontius Pilate, whose life was a dreary
routine mired in cynicism. But even Pilate was amazed that Christ's own
people had “handed Him over” to the government. By their own
declaration, the crowd wanted “no king but Caesar.” Had they obeyed
Christ’s truth, things would have been different for them. Each
generation is tempted to hand Christ over to cynics. We do it when we
barter our conscience for comfort and our freedom for frivolity.
If Catholics behaved as Catholics, our culture would be not be
satisfied with getting little things from elected officials in exchange
for our moral dignity. If we only want things, we shall only be things.
Christ looks at us, as He looked at the crowds when He walked on this
earth. And amid the passing fashions of mindless men, He says: “Everyone
who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).
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