Last week, millions of people watched the funeral service of the “King of Pop.” It’s as if the whole world mourned for his death. Maybe some of us here are still grieving for the loss of an idol in music and in dancing. We’re gonna miss the moon-walk. I’ve tried to learn the steps since high school… until now, in this age of arthritis, I’ve never perfected it.
MJ has been idolized by millions. He had everything the world had to offer. Fame. Wealth. Comfort. But from what I’ve gathered in watching TV discussing his life, the King of Pop seemed to have been a very sad, and lonely man despite what he had. He had to resort to drugs and pain-killers to give him peace. He lived a very extravagant lifestyle spending $20-30 M a year more than what he earned! Until his death, you see $25,000 worth of solid bronze and 14 karat gold plated casket was ordered for his funeral. A blogger exclaimed, “Do you have any idea how huge is that amount for a coffin? The money could have been spent for millions of hungry people!” Or it could’ve been donated to SJVTS to help poor seminarians.
I’m not making a judgment on MJ’s life here. Only God knows who he really was. He was an icon, for sure, in the entertainment world; People idolized him; but I think for those who search for authentic meaning in life, he was not the “way, the truth, and the life.” In fact, when we turn our attention to Jesus’ teachings and life, we discern without difficulty the stark contrast between Jesus’ message and that of MJ’s life.
Today’s gospel for instance, exhorts Jesus’ disciples to travel light. This is something MJ found very difficult to do with his extravagant lifestyle.
Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, reveals a secret for a contented, purposeful and trusting way of living. The secret in three words as Fr. Guillemette says: simplify, simplify, simplify…
Very simple indeed. Simplicity of lifestyle is what the Lord exhorts his followers to have. To be simple does not mean to be suffering from want and to lack what one needs in life. To be simple is to live within the bounds of the basic necessities in life. Mark’s gospel records Jesus’ instructions: “bring nothing for the journey except for walking staff and sandals.” In other words, bring what is necessary and what facilitates your purpose.
But what about this? “Bring not even food or money!” If Jesus is addressing us today, maybe many of us would be very quick to react: “Wait… are you serious? No food and no money?” “Ok, I’ll bring credit card instead.” This reflects our insecurity and our dependence on money.
Two things will help us see the meaning and relevance of this gospel on simplicity. First, single-mindedness for the mission. Second, dependence on God’s providence.
Single-mindedness. Jesus exhorts his disciples to travel light. To bring only what is necessary because this facilitates the achievement of the purpose for which they are sent. The disciples are to preach repentance, to cure the sick, to expel demons, in short to announce that the reign of God is at hand. This is the purpose. This is the mission. The disciples ought to always have this in mind. Material possessions are cumbersome and its accumulation can distract them from this mission. But to travel light is to be single-minded about one’s goals. A disciple should always be on the go. (The cebu pacific travel agent asked me: “Go light, Sir?”)
You see to be simple is to be single-minded for the mission, undistracted by the glitters of Gold that this world offers.
Rick Warren wrote a book, The Purpose Driven Life. Life has a purpose. It is our task to discern what that is and to be directed by that God-given purpose. So, it’s best to ask ourselves, “What is the god-given purpose of my life?” Without it, my life is gonna be disoriented… directionless… easily swayed by the many tantalizing options offered by this materialistic and consumerist society. When our purpose or mission is unclear, it is easy for us to settle into living an extravagant lifestyle because we are misled to think that this is what life means. The irony though is that when our purpose is not fulfilled we experience the deepest, disturbing loneliness—one that no amount of money can allay. So again, “What is my purpose or mission in life?” All the things I have are mere instruments to attain this. So it’s much better to simplify in order to be single-minded.
Dependence on God’s providence. “Bring not even food or money.” It’s quite hard for a modern man to set out for his mission without these provisions. That’s why we may react like this, “Okay, no money… but I’ll bring my credit card instead.”
The Lord here is not saying that we will not be needing food nor money in doing our mission. The gospel reminds us that the disciples have to depend on the support of generous household who will accept them. Making money is not the disciples’ mission. They have to rely on the generosity of those to whom they have been sent. They have to trust in God’s providence. And believe that what God requires, God also enables.
A good illustration, I think, is the partnership of seminary formators and, you, dear benefactors in achieving the purpose or the mission of this seminary. Making money is not the primary concern of the seminary. By God’s continuing providence, it continues to achieve its purpose of forming future leaders of the Church through the generous support you have been extending. Dear benefactors you are the sign of God’s providence as far as the seminary mission is concerned.
In this age of strategic planning, we do not leave any room for chance. Everything is planned from the objectives down to the budget needs. Somehow we tend to leave God out of the equation. And go on with our projects as if we are the ultimate director of things. And when things go wrong we end up taking tranquilizers to give us peace… to save us from depression… or even from going insane. Or the worst is, like some of the richest persons in the world hit by global financial crisis, we end up jumping on a speeding train to call it quits.
Like the early disciples of Jesus, we need to trust in God’s providence. This is a humble stance, recognizing that we are not in control of everything. And many things are uncertain. As one saying goes, while we work so hard as if everything depended on us, we ought to kneel and pray as if everything depended on God. Again, it’s good to remember: “What God requires, God also enables.”
So when we set out to do our mission, we ought to be single-minded unburdened by attachments to material possessions as we put our trust in God’s providence. In short, simplify… simplify… simplify…
