33rd Week of Ordinary Time
Reflections on Daniel 12:1-3/ Hebrews 10:11-14,18 / Mark 13:24-32
The Wise Shall Shine Brightly
by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ
There
is this classic novel authored by Joanne Greenberg entitled “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” -- a story of a 16-year-old
girl named Deborah who was suffering from a serious mental illness called
schizophrenia (i.e., a mental disorder characterized by a breakdown of thought
processes. Common symptoms include auditory
hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized
speech and thinking, and
it is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction.
Apparently, Deborah was a victim of
bullying. She was ostracized in school
for being a Jew. Also as a child, she
went through a very painful and traumatizing surgery of sorts which made here
go through intense and severe physical and emotional pain.
In the process,
Deborah created for herself an imaginary world called the KINGDOM of YR ...
which for her has become an alternate reality so
that she can escape the painful realities of the world and her specific
context.
Confined to a mental ward, Deborah was helped
by many a sincere doctors who helped her fight the anger and fear that she
feels toward the real world. It was a
long, painful and difficult journey for Deborah who would slip in and out of
her safe imaginary world.
To cut the long story short, Deborah
eventually recovers and realizes that indeed she belongs to the world of
reality. A big part of her recovery is
hinged on an acceptance that life indeed is NOT EASY ... life indeed is NOT
FAIR ... that NO ONE PROMISED HER A ROSE GARDEN ... that one simply needs to GO
ON LIVING ... and FIGHTING FOR ONE’S OWN LIFE and SPACE and NICHE in the
world. THUS, the title of the book: “I Never Promised you a Rose Garden,” speaks
to us of a world that is not perfect ... but this is our only world. We will need to live and acknowledge that
PAIN and SUFFERING is part of our reality.
We do not retreat to an imaginary world.
Living means developing in us the inner strength to proceed with life
... given not only with all its joys but more so its PAINS and challenges.
Friends, we talk about Deborah and “I Never
Promised You a Rose Garden,” precisely because our readings today speak of
TROUBLED TIMES ... specifically the END OF TIMES ... that is to come.
MARK: “... the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the
powers in the heavens will be shaken.” (...
'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory ...” "But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.")
DANIEL: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting
horror and disgrace.
What is a troubled
time for you? A time when the sun is
dark and the moon not reflecting light?
A time when there is horror and disgrace? How do you deal with such a time? Perhaps simply we can acknowledge that NO ONE
PROMISED US A ROSE GARDEN. Thus, much
like the story of Deborah, we can either confront our difficult situations OR
retreat to a fantasy world of sorts.
Amidst all life realities ... its’ either WE SINK or WE SWIM. WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH ... THE TOUGH GETS
GOING! We all need to be tough! And we do not serve ourselves well if we seek
protection always inside a self-created BUBLE.
The GOSPEL gives us
another important advice:
LEARN FROM THE FIG
TREE. When its branch becomes tender and
sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
We acknowledge that most things in the world ... TRULY ... we cannot
control. We can not always ascertain who
LIKES ME or DISLIKES ME. That’s beyond
me. But also ... practically speaking
... there are things that I can control and predict! Have you tried SMILING to a person you
meet? As you smile, you realize that
people can also smile at you. You spread
TSISMIS against another person AND you can end up having five bullets pumped
into your head. What you get in your
relationships is as good as what you yourself invests in that same
relationship. We are asked to learn from
the fig tree and as St. Francis of Assisi exhorts us: "Lord grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference."
Today, the Gospel
also tells us: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Amidst our struggles to live and confront the
realities of the world ... we can not help but PICK UP ALONG THE WAY ... GOD’S
IMPORTANT WORD FOR US. "But the wise shall shine brightly like
the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be
like the stars forever."
I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN: God is asking us
perhaps to take a REALITY PILL. Troubled
times will come ... we must pray for the STRENGTH to take the world for what it
is.
LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE.
Acknowledge the things that I can change and accept those that I have no
control of.
In every experience of ours ... GOD SPEAKS. We pray for WISDOM ... that which allows us
to SHINE BRIGHTLY like the stars and LEAD MANY toward the life of truth and
justice.
