The Marrow
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
One of the influential movies from my youth was Dead Poet’s Society (1989). Robin Williams, as John Keating, inspires the boys in his class to think for themselves, to follow their passions, and “to suck the marrow from life.” Keating seeks to impart to these young men a true spirit of what it means to live. Henry David Thoreau deserves the real credit for that quote, from his book Walden. Thoreau goes off to the woods to live life stripped down to its essentials in order to recover the true essence of existence, “to suck the marrow from life.”
As we turn to the 21st century, we meet a new acronym: YOLO - you only live once! A phrase which has come to mean: go for it; crush it; try it; send it! Never look back. Be bold, be audacious. YOLO!
For the next few weeks we are baptizing that phrase, giving its boldness a Christian spin, because it can mean many things. Saint Paul offers a couple key turns of phrase that speak to this reality. He compares life to a race: “Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win! (1 Cor 9:24). Paul offers a bit more caution a few years later: “Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish but as wise, making the most of the opportunity” (Eph 5:15-16). Indeed, make the most of this life, but do so virtuously, seeking wisdom and prudence.
In our Gospel for this Sunday, we encounter a landowner who has made all the arrangements for a fruitful harvest. He has even found tenants to work the land. Yet after working the land and heading into harvest time, the tenants reject the arrangement. I like to think that they have come to enjoy the vineyard so much that they consider it their own. They want to own it, and not be mere tenants. They even go so far as to kill the heir in the hopes of gaining the vineyard as their inheritance. They have been bold, audacious even, but have not considered the full weight of their decision. We are left with the question, “What should the owner of the vineyard do?” What is just in this situation?
Recalling that Jesus is addressing Jewish leadership with this parable, it is striking that the lesson ends with these words: “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit” (Mt 21:43). It would seem that the leaders have forgotten their true role as stewards of the law, as custodians of the beauty of the faith, as those who have been entrusted with much, but they are not truly owners. The gifts shared are not theirs alone to be used as they see fit, without attention to the landowner, the Lord Creator of the Universe.
Sometimes in life we can get tricked into the same way of thinking. As we manage our finances or even just plan our week, it is very possible to consider that what has been entrusted to us, is our own. We might think that our talents are our own, given to us, but now - ours. Say you own your house… but is it really yours? Wouldn’t it be even more true to think of everything as gifts that God has entrusted to you?
Stewards or owners? At the root of life, everything we have, even our talents and abilities, are gifts from God. Our health, our time, our homes, our whole lives are not really ours alone. We have been entrusted with much and the real fruit of our lives belongs to the one true God.
As we begin to reflect on the fact that we only live once, that we only get one shot at sucking the marrow from life, we seek to do so with the gift of divine wisdom. So be bold, be audacious, but also recognize that from the long view of eternity, we have been entrusted with much!
Blessings,
Fr. Joel
