August 2, 2009 18th Sunday, Year B
Do I Need To Change?
It was during his imprisonment at Auschwitz that Viktor Frankl, Jewish psychiatrist, made a discovery.
He noticed that all the prisoners who had something to live for, who could focus on some meaning in
their lives, were far more likely to survive the horrifying ordeal than others.
In his own case, he was determined to survive so that he would be re-united with his wife. After the war,
he found out that she had died; but his tremendous desire had enabled him to survive.
This is precisely what Paul is talking about in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus. Apparently, there
had been some backsliding after their conversion. He warns them to give up what he calls "the aimless
kind of life that pagans live". The pagans were concerned only with good living, the best food and drink,
expensive clothes, gambling and frequenting the games. It could be summed up in the well- known
saying: "Eat, drink and be merry or tomorrow we die". Such people had no real purpose or goal in life.
They thought only of the present moment.
Paul tells the Christians to get beyond such a drifting, pointless existence. It could lead only to ruin. He
tells them that they must be renewed by a "spiritual revolution". This was an unsettling call for these
Christians who had been slipping back into pagan ways. They had to make a decision. Would they
continue living that sort of aimless life? Or, should they renew their consecration to Jesus their Lord.
They could not continue living a compromise.
Paul was simply reminding them of what Jesus had taught. In the gospel, Jesus tells the Jews: "I am the
bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst".
There are so many people in today's world who have no real goal or purpose apart from having a good
time. The whole environment encourages that sort of aimless life. We Christians can be caught up in it
just as the Christians at Ephesus in Paul's time. At our Baptism, we renounced Satan and all his works.
It is easy enough to make the promise, but it is far more difficult to carry it out faithfully in each day of
our lives.
Some people seem to live their faith on automatic pilot. They would acknowledge that they are
Christians, but Christ does not seem to influence their way of life. We need to examine ourselves; and
that means facing up to the possibility that we have lost our edge when it comes to living our faith. If so,
then, like the Christians of Ephesus, we too need a spiritual revolution.
Despite any failures and mistakes, we can have limitless confidence in the goodness and mercy of God.
Jesus has promised us: "He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never
thirst". His grace enables us to remain faithful. We will not be spared our share of suffering, but assures
us that whatever trials come our way, we will never be alone.
Reg Ahearn CSsR
© Redemptorists 2009
**********************************************
Do I Need To Change?
It was during his imprisonment at Auschwitz that Viktor Frankl, Jewish psychiatrist, made a discovery.
He noticed that all the prisoners who had something to live for, who could focus on some meaning in
their lives, were far more likely to survive the horrifying ordeal than others.
In his own case, he was determined to survive so that he would be re-united with his wife. After the war,
he found out that she had died; but his tremendous desire had enabled him to survive.
This is precisely what Paul is talking about in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus. Apparently, there
had been some backsliding after their conversion. He warns them to give up what he calls "the aimless
kind of life that pagans live". The pagans were concerned only with good living, the best food and drink,
expensive clothes, gambling and frequenting the games. It could be summed up in the well- known
saying: "Eat, drink and be merry or tomorrow we die". Such people had no real purpose or goal in life.
They thought only of the present moment.
Paul tells the Christians to get beyond such a drifting, pointless existence. It could lead only to ruin. He
tells them that they must be renewed by a "spiritual revolution". This was an unsettling call for these
Christians who had been slipping back into pagan ways. They had to make a decision. Would they
continue living that sort of aimless life? Or, should they renew their consecration to Jesus their Lord.
They could not continue living a compromise.
Paul was simply reminding them of what Jesus had taught. In the gospel, Jesus tells the Jews: "I am the
bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst".
There are so many people in today's world who have no real goal or purpose apart from having a good
time. The whole environment encourages that sort of aimless life. We Christians can be caught up in it
just as the Christians at Ephesus in Paul's time. At our Baptism, we renounced Satan and all his works.
It is easy enough to make the promise, but it is far more difficult to carry it out faithfully in each day of
our lives.
Some people seem to live their faith on automatic pilot. They would acknowledge that they are
Christians, but Christ does not seem to influence their way of life. We need to examine ourselves; and
that means facing up to the possibility that we have lost our edge when it comes to living our faith. If so,
then, like the Christians of Ephesus, we too need a spiritual revolution.
Despite any failures and mistakes, we can have limitless confidence in the goodness and mercy of God.
Jesus has promised us: "He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never
thirst". His grace enables us to remain faithful. We will not be spared our share of suffering, but assures
us that whatever trials come our way, we will never be alone.
Reg Ahearn CSsR
© Redemptorists 2009
**********************************************
