22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle A
September 3, 2023 – 5pm, 8:30 and 11am
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton
Becoming More
A few years ago, I came across a fable that was written to help us appreciate Jesus’ main point in today’s gospel. The fable goes like this.
“Once upon a time, a dandelion whispered to the nutrients in its soil: ‘How would you like to become a dandelion? You need only allow yourself to be dissolved in the earth’s water, and I will draw you up through my roots.
‘Afterward you will be able to grow and flower and brighten the world.’ The nutrients said: ‘Okay!’ and they became a dandelion.
“The next morning, a rabbit hopped by and, feeling generous, said to the dandelion: ‘How would you like to become a rabbit? You would have to let me chew you up and swallow you, and you would lose your pretty petals.
‘It would hurt at first, but afterward you would be able to hop around and wiggle your ears.’ Not being rooted in just one place sounded good, so the dandelion said ‘Okay!’ and it became a rabbit.
“The next day, a hunter spotted the rabbit, and being in a friendly mood, asked: ‘How would you like to become a human? Of course, you must let yourself be shot, skinned, stewed, and eaten.
‘That would be rather painful but think of what you’d gain. You’d be able to think, laugh, cry, get 50 credit cards and watch football on a wide flat-screen TV.’
“The rabbit was scared, but who could pass this up? So, he also said ‘Okay!’ and became a human.
“Years later, God noticed this human going about the everyday human way. Feeling very fatherly, God said: ‘Hey! How would you like to become a super-human?’”
Becoming Divine
And that, my friends, is the question God asks each human being.
And, in case we don’t know what’s involved in this, God’s Son, Jesus, spells it out: “You have to lose your life to find it.” Sports coaches and athletes say: “No pain; no gain.”
Psychologists say: “Lose your false self to find your true self.” Spiritual writers say: “The dark night comes before the dawn.”
So, what is it that we must lose and what do we gain? Well, the good news is that we don’t lose anything essential to our humanity.
And we don’t lose anything that is good. All we really lose is our inhumanity, our false self.
What Do We Lose?
For example, we would lose our self-absorption, which ends up making us very alone. We would lose our prejudice, which blinds us to the truth.
We would lose our lust, which distorts our love. We would lose our insecurity, which blocks our sense of self-worth.
We would lose our obsession with money, which prevents us from being generous. And we would lose our fear, which strangles our hope.
What Do We Gain?
To the degree that we do this losing, we gain. Our humanity is enhanced.
Now, we don’t have to get there all at once. We can do it step by step.
And we don’t have to advance in every dimension of life. In truth, even most of the saints are imperfect and unfinished in some way.
The best part is that by fulfilling our humanity in this way, we become more and more divine. We live more and more in the divine life.
We are in communion with God and start thinking and living in a Godly way. And here is the really best part.
In losing our lives in God, unlike the nutrients in the soil and the dandelion and the rabbit in the fable, unlike them, we don’t really lose at all. Instead, we retain our own self and grow bigger.
We feel connected with others. We feel more secure in ourselves.
We feel closer to God. And we feel a sense of purpose and hope.
But we have to remember this. Only with Jesus and only in going through this process of losing can we gain and become our fullest self.
