One of the joyful experiences I had with my father during the last years of his life was to walk with him to the end of the street where my parents live.  It is at the entrance of Sterling Creek in Greenport, a place my father was very familiar with since it was where he grew up.  He would share memories of experiences and events that took place in his life.  These “stories” told the meaning and purpose of his life.  He knew who he was and what he wanted to be: he was a husband for more than 53 years of marriage and the father of four children. My father was a man who was always there for us and a hard working provider.  My brother, sisters and I still recount the stories of his presence in our lives.

Remembering and telling the stories of those who are part of our lives gives us a sense of identity and purpose.  In the meditation book I am using for prayer at the moment, Christ in a Grain of Sand, by Neil Vaney, SM, the prayer entitled, “Replaying the Past Through New Eyes” says: “Retelling where one came from, all the family triumphs and disasters, gives us a sense of continuing life and purpose.  So it is with the Church and the story of Jesus’ resurrection.  Retelling this story over and over, especially in the liturgy, sets up a framework in which the struggles, disappointments, and hopes of one’s own life make sense.  And in listening to other people’s stories, our own experiences begin to come into clearer focus.  The domination of our society by technology makes such storytelling increasingly difficult.  Though the media has brought many distant stories into the heart of our homes, it is impossible for us to interact with the distant narrator.  TV news in particular makes the anchorperson authoritative while the viewer is just a passive spectator.  This trend is further accentuated by the advertising industry.  Advertising contains almost no information any more; it is almost entirely motivational.  Viewers are treated merely as irrational incompetent consumers.  Goods are not sold on the basis of value or beauty, but as enhancements of sexuality, social status, and individualistic “freedom of choice.” The ceaseless onslaught on parents (via their children) to buy junk-toys, games or other products that will be broken, discarded, and forgotten within two to three months is not just damaging to children’s’ sense of values, but to the environment as well.  Even more, it creates cynicism and a sense of detachment between people’s sense of identity and the stories that frame and shape their world.  In a media-saturated culture, our young people can be easily discouraged from developing a spirit of questioning and, or can let their imaginations wither as they are constantly bombarded by powerful and persuasive images.”

While we need knowledge and information to make decisions and see our purpose in life, the center and core of that information must come from those who love us in the present and the past.  It is all to easy to let the media or other people make up our minds for us and form our opinions.  THE foundation of our knowledge and information is Jesus Christ. We are called Christians for a particular reason.  A Christian is someone who makes Jesus the center and core of his or her life and radiates His goodness, love and joy to all the lives he or she touches.  The challenge we face is to be faithful to our identity and purpose as the followers of Jesus, as Christians, in all we say, do and think.  During the past month I have written about our responsibility as Christians as voters in our nation.  It is all too easy to let the media and others present the reasons and motivation to vote for a particular candidate. One of the beautiful titles we use of Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  As his sheep we follow where he calls and leave a legacy of faith for the generation behind us.

The story of Jesus’ resurrection is the story of the victory of goodness, love and mercy over selfishness, chaos, confusion and sin.  Jesus lived the truth he preached with his words and actions with unconditional love.  He did not condemn, but continued to call those who heard him to the fullness of life. Only his pure love makes us whole.  Only his mercy brings us peace.  Only his truth makes us truly free and one with each other.  How good it is when we know this not just in our minds and hearts, but in the experiences, events and encounters of our everyday lives.

Father Walden