As I was driving down Lyndale Avenue on my way to The Basilica this morning, I hit green lights at every intersection except the one I dread the most because more often than not a person stands there holding a cardboard sign explaining why I should help them. They are a persistent and somewhat nagging reminder of my Christian duty to help others.
Ordinarily on a Sunday morning, the corner is clear, especially in winter. However, today a young man with a sign indicating that he was hungry stared me right in the face. I immediately turned away from him and started making excuses as to why I should not help him. I was quick to judge that this young man seemed perfectly able to get a job, and therefore, food. Mercifully, the light turned green quickly, and I moved on. When I arrived at The Basilica, I was surprised and saddened by how quickly I judged the young man without knowing anything about him. As today’s Gospel reading clearly states, I so readily looked for shortcomings in the young man while neglecting to acknowledge my own failings.
My encounter with the young man reminded me of a telling Russian folktale. The story centers on an old man who lived on the edge of a small village. He was ornery and not very nice. He saw faults in everyone and deemed no one good enough. As a result, he had neither family nor friends. Children and adults alike were afraid of him. Not surprisingly, he died alone and that is how he would have wanted it.
After his death he was very surprised to find himself in hell. Never having recognized his own failings, he insisted that he should be accorded a place in heaven. St. Peter evaluated the man’s life and saw no reason why he should be allowed into heaven. Because the man would not stop complaining, St. Peter asked God for advice. God instructed St. Peter to review his case one last time. In doing so, St. Peter found something that remotely resembled a good deed. One day, a beggar had come to his home asking for food. The old man was working in his garden and was about to toss out some rotten onions. Instead, he threw the onions at the beggar to chase him away. The beggar took the onions and ate them. God and St. Peter decided that though he might not have intended to do so, in effect, the old man had fed the hungry.
Consequently, God decided the man should be given a chance to get into heaven. He asked St. Peter to use the above-mentioned onions to pluck him out of hell. Holding onto the onions, the man was pulled up by St. Peter, slowly but surely. As soon as the others in hell saw what was happening, they rushed toward the man and held onto him so they too might be pulled out of hell. It seemed that by virtue of the one “good deed” by the old man, everyone was about to be saved from hell.
Sadly, as soon as the old man noted that other people were profiting from his “good deed” he started to kick and scream wanting everyone to fall. After all, it was the old man who did the “good deed” and not the others. Why should they be saved? As he continued to kick and scream, the onion started to tear and eventually broke. The old man and everyone else fell back into hell never to be given another chance to get out. Had the old man been willing to acknowledge the gratuitous nature of good deeds and face his own shortcomings, things would undoubtedly have turned out very differently both in life and in death.
The Holy Season of Lent during this Jubilee Year of Hope affords us the opportunity to do some much needed introspection. First, we have the chance to right our relationship with God by re-affirming that everything comes from God and belongs to God. Second, this is a good time to identify our personal shortcomings, the proverbial wooden beam in our own eye. Third, it does not suffice to simply acknowledge our failings; we also need to be willing to correct them. Practicing empathy and understanding can help us respond to others with greater compassion and generosity. The examination of conscience which is part of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great start to right things in ourselves, with others, and with God.
I cannot but wonder if I will have to stop at the abovementioned intersection again next Sunday and if the same young man will be there to remind me of my Christian duty to help others. If so, I hope and pray for the grace to approach him with greater compassion and to respond with greater generosity.
Johan van Parys, PhD
Managing Director of Ministries/ Director of Liturgy & Sacred Arts