Exploring True Meaning of Life
June 6, 2024 - Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Timothy 2:8-15
One of the popular sayings in the contemporary world is 'enjoy your life'. It is often supported by the phrase, 'life is short'. This attitude towards life finds its way also into the Church. The content of life that we often hear proclaimed in many churches across the globe is about being blessed by God with health and wealth. Today, however, Paul invites us to remember Jesus Christ and him. So, let us briefly do that and find out whether there is anything about enjoying one's life.
Anyone who reads the Gospels notices Jesus' call to follow Him. This following is further explained as carrying one's cross, dying to one's ego, and drinking Jesus' cup of suffering. Our Lord tells us that the path to God's kingdom is narrow, and very few find it. He also warns us that winning the whole world at the cost of one's soul is not worth it. Additionally, one notices that the story of Jesus' passion and crucifixion is at the heart of the Gospel. The risen Christ made it clear to His disciples that the Messiah had to suffer such a terrible fate to enter into His glory.
What about Apostle Paul? In today's fragment of his last letter, the apostle does not write about enjoying his life but about suffering "hardship to the point of imprisonment as a criminal" (2 Tim 2:9) for the sake of the Gospel. These hardships are detailed in his second letter to the Corinthians. There, the apostle speaks about "greater labors," many "imprisonments," "countless beatings, and often near-death" experiences (see 2 Cor 11:23). Paul's life in the service of the Gospel was not a life of enjoyment but a life in constant danger: "in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers" (2 Cor 11:26).
Yesterday, Paul wrote to Timothy: "Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God" (2 Tim 1:8). The seemingly innocent saying, 'enjoy your life', has led many astray. It seems that we have never before seen such an epidemic of psychological disorders - from boredom to loneliness and depression. We do not have plans for our lives, and we cannot find meaning in life. We have forgotten that to find happiness in life, we have to become a part of something much bigger than us - a part of a project that is not only worth living for but also worth dying for.
When Paul began following Christ, the Lord made it clear that he would suffer immensely in the service of the Gospel. There was no promise of health and wealth, no talk about enjoying life. And yet, many would give up everything and risk everything to have the life that Paul had. It was a life of purpose, a life of fulfillment, a life for a project that far surpasses what any company can offer and that will outlast everything that we could ever build or make. This project is called the Kingdom of God, and it aims to bring about a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells and death is no more. Would you be willing to offer your life to this project?