Fr Sean again.
Are You Insured against Loss of a Happy Eternity?
Insurance is a fact of life in the western world. You can buy insurance for practically everything - life, health, home, property, pet, vehicle, travel, funeral, etc. Insurance is the assurance of compensation for loss of what’s insured. Insurance implies the possibility of loss and there’s no insurance that guarantees the prevention of loss. So the purpose of insurance is to help us cope with the reality of loss in our lives. Many people have life insurance but it doesn’t assure them of life. Life insurance doesn’t do the insured person much good except knowing that others will benefit from his or her death. The one insurance we can’t buy is the guarantee against loss of eternal happiness. We can’t buy insurance that assures us of a happy life after death. Jesus sets us straight about this with His story about a wealthy man who vainly thought his happiness was assured by his possessions. Having a plentiful harvest and full of confidence, he told himself, “You have blessings in reserve for years to come. Relax! Eat heartily, drink well. Enjoy yourself” (Lk 12:19). Then God intervened and warned him, “You fool! This very night your life shall be required of you. To whom will all this piled-up wealth of yours go?” (Lk 12:20). Pointing out the man’s foolishness, Jesus told His listeners, including you and me: “That’s the way it works for the man who grows rich for himself instead of growing rich in the sight of God” (Lk 12:21). A full barn can’t insure a happy future. Growing rich in the sight of God is about relying on God to assure us of a bright and happy future, which enables us to be joyful and at peace here and now.
Insurance for a Happy Eternity
Would you insure your home, car, or property with a company who couldn’t compensate you in case of loss? But what about your eternity that comes closer each day? What insurance have you taken out that assures you of a happy life after you lose it on earth? Jesus is the only Insurer of a happy life after death. The only Company that can insure you against loss of life at the moment of death is Jesus’ Church because she is the visible sign of His presence here on earth where He takes us by the hand and leads us out of darkness. It’s also the only Insurance Company that can insure your family and friends that their relationship with you hasn’t ended in death. So often we live as if we’re never going to die and focus only on insuring our own happiness by seeking material comforts in this world. Besides this vain mentality fuels a spirit of greed. Jesus, when asked to intervene in a family dispute over property, warned, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be wealthy, but his possessions do not guarantee him life” (Lk 12:14-15). The only one who can guarantee life’s continuity is the Life-Giver Himself, namely the God the Father , through Jesus Christ, by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t Be Vain
Back in the 1970s Carly Simon sang, “You’re So Vain”. The chorus is as follows: “You’re so vain/ You probably think this song is about you/ You’re so vain, / I’ll bet you think this song is about you/ Don’t you? / Don’t you?” The material world advertises vanity mirrors and vanity cases. The word vanity comes from Latin and means ‘empty.’ It is the result of an empty soul bereft of God’s grace. The Psalmist questioned, “Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love what is vain and chase after what is falsehood?” (Ps 4:3). In Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth, in speaking of how people live, warned, “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Eccl 1:2). Vanity differs from pride. Pride is acting superior to others. It doesn’t necessarily seek praise. Vanity, on the other hand, is acting in a manner that seeks praise and self-admiration that is reflected in egotism and obsessed with a yearning to be liked. The cult of celebrity reflects vanity in all its emptiness and superficiality. A vain person seeks self-adulation, lapping up praise like a hungry cat drinking milk. It epitomises what I call “me-ism”. From this flows the tendency to attribute all accomplishments to oneself so as to gain all the glory. This is the pathology of narcissism which is defined as an “inordinate fascination with oneself, or excessive self-love, self-centeredness, smugness, egocentrism.” From a psychological perspective narcissism is the “erotic gratification derived from one’s own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.” This is the pathological basis for a self-assurance regarding one’s own happiness as if one were his or her own god.
Jesus Is the Only Insurer against the Loss of Eternal Happiness
In many ways western culture promotes vanity, advertising vanity mirrors and vanity cases, etc. It’s a business that emphasizes “body beautiful” but ignores the soul’s need for God and produces stunted personalities. The antidote to vanity, narcissism, and erotic gratification is Jesus Christ who emphasizes generosity and humility through serving others in union with God who alone insures a mature personality and a joyful life that never ends. Thus, St. Paul urges, “Let your thoughts be on Heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth … When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory” (Col 3:1-4). Vanity obsesses about instant gratification, which fuels greed, lust and self-admiration, where the ego is at the centre pushing out God, the Creator and Life-Giver who alone can assure us of eternity in Heaven. St. Paul, in order to insure our future fulfilment, urges us to, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, selfishness, evil desires, and the lust that is idolatry. … Put aside all anger and quick temper, malice, insults, and foul language. These are the sins which provoke God’s wrath. Stop lying to one another” (Col 3: 5-10). When you ask God’s Spirit to envelop your spirit you put on the new way of life given you by Jesus, a way of life that never ends, and you reject the old way of sin, the way of eternal death. At every Holy Mass the priest prays to God the Father, just before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, “May the Body and Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.” Jesus is our only insurance who assures us of a joyful eternity. (fr sean).
Topic: Forgive So We Can Live and Let Live (Read 1772787 times)