Wanting, Working, and Joy

Dear N —

Our conversation from yesterday has been rattling around in my head ever since. I know we talked about “goals” for the parish and so on. What do people “need” and so forth? How are people’s talents to be melded together? I think, most of all, if we want things to be better — in whatever department, worship, Church school, parish council, money, volunteering, cleaning, A&E, whatever it is — I think the key is for people to WANT what’s really good. People have to WANT to worship, to learn, to work, to give, to cooperate, to know God, to pray, to fast, to be saved! That’s what God wants, for us to WANT Him!

Now, how do you “make” somebody “want” something? You can’t! There’s no way. All I think you can do is to WANT the right things yourself and, hopefully, somehow, God willing, that desire and love and zeal will overflow onto others. People will see OUR love and our joy and our desire to worship, and they will wonder what’s that all about? And hopefully they will come to want it, too. It’s like a kid with an iPod. Soon all the kids want an iPod. Why? Because the kid who has it wears it all the time and thinks it’s COOL. He is totally into it. :)

Unless ye become like little children… :) We heard that today. Kids so easily WANT stuff. And what are we supposed to want? The Kingdom. Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

Just think if people wanted the Kingdom like they want to watch sports, or they want a new outfit or a tasty meal, or an iPod, or whatever else it is that people want today. Isn’t God even better than all those things?? Uh, Yeah! Way better!

So, we really can’t “do” anything about other people. There they are. All we can want for them is that they will come to WANT the best things. In the meantime, what do WE do? Well, I think we have to work. We work as hard as we can, AND we work as hard as we can at the most important things (i.e. worthwhile things, desirable things, things worth wanting), AND we work as joyfully as we can. The joy is key, because that is what will make people want to work at those worthwhile things also and to give their life to them.

So, want the best things and work at the most worthwhile things and be joyful. And let God take care of everything else! Let Him take care of everybody else! Love people, forgive them, help them when we can. Commend them to God. What else can we do??

Now if only I could want and work better and more joyfully… <sigh>. What a struggle that can be.

Comments

[Ron]

| So, we really can’t “do” anything about other people.

I understand what you mean , but I get the uncomfortable feeling that this is a little too passive. God is infinitely discreet. He will not impose himself on anyone. By virtue of self-limitation, he will not "do" anything about other people. But what he did, we can do, too. (Obviously, I am not speaking about the salvific acts that only the Son could accomplish.)

| Love people, forgive them, help them when we can. Commend them to God. What else can we do?

Actually, this is quite a lot, if you do it with persons rather than with people. People are statistics; persons are divine-image-bearers. People can be managed; persons deserve to be treated with dignity. Every conversation and confrontation in which the Archetype engaged an image-bearer, he treated them as, in a sense, equals. Tax collectors and prostitutes, women and children, the unlearned and uncouth -- whole demographics were dismissed by those in authority, but Christ dealt with them as persons, often by name (with many names not written being preserved in the Church's tradition).

| The joy is key, because that is what will make people want to work at those worthwhile things also and to give their life to them.

I think you are right. Joy is the key. But not joy in work. I am not sure that Christ enjoyed his work. But he enjoyed persons enough to endure the work.

So when you speak of goals for the parish and what people need, I think this approach is symptomatic of the sort of systematic, objective, dehumanizing intellectualism that you refer to in your succeeding post. If you want to know what people need, ask each person. Ask them face-to-face.

And do not regard it as work, a goal to be pursued and acheived. Rather, regard it as a joy. I remember the fall festival we held a few year ago. In terms of fund-raising goals, it was disastrous. But Fr. John called it a success because we enjoyed one another.

[Tracy]

Hi Ron! What a rare privilege to have someone comment. I am not in the habit of looking for comments, so I'm glad I saw yours.

Yes, the conversation I had with someone that prompted the blog entry was concerned with "goals," and the more I tried afterwards to think what "goals" or "mission statement" or such like we might make for the parish, the more futile my attempt became. I think, indeed, that I realized it came down to a matter of people (persons), not "goals." Perhaps you have identified what is wrong with the "goal" approach, that it is dehumanizing in its attempt to be "systematic."

As to work and people (persons) and joy, and trying to understand what people need, or what to "do" (so as not to be too passive), I confess I am often at a loss. Definitely what gives me joy in many cases is seeing (or hearing from in a blog comment!) a given, unique, loved *person*. Seeing them, seeing them smile, hearing their voice, or even "hearing" them remotely through cyberspace -- that is all good. Trying to understand or truly hear what their needs are, such that any work I could do would be of genuine use, is... more difficult. Ultimately there is only one thing that is "good enough" for all of us. Sadly, we (myself included) rarely want Him badly enough.

Good thoughts. Much to ponder to make it real.