On the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Feb. 2), Pope Francis preached on the patience of Simeon and Anna (Lk 2:25-28). The Holy Father noted their patient waiting and words of prayer, and contrasted this with the tendency today to be impatient, with words of complaint.
None of us are immune to at least a thought or two in the complaint department. Complaining seems to span everything from crabbiness to being overly critical. Whatever the complaint is, it is a matter of tone. Constructive criticism is in the ears of the receiver.
Friends of mine once told me a story about their son who worked at a fast-food restaurant. Every day an elderly gentleman used the drive-through to pick up his food. Every day he complained about the food. Finally, the young man said to the old man, “Sir, if you don’t like this food, then maybe you should go somewhere else.” The old man replied, “They’re all worse!”
In a world where there is so much wrong, it is with little effort that we have something to complain about. It is not just a matter of predisposition — whether we are optimists or pessimists — it is a matter of our spiritual attention. This is particularly true during the season of Lent when we examine our sins, minimally to prepare for going to confession. Lent is more than an examen of conscience. We should not wait for one season in the year to reflect on our sins and with respectful criticism know our need for God’s mercy. Lent is more than giving up something on Ash Wednesday, difficult as some of these choices can be. Lent is not only a season of repentance; it is a time of conversion.
There are many variations of an old story about a man who complained about everything. He was a master at finding fault. One day, he set off on a journey to find the perfect place to live. He had traveled all day and when night came, he bedded down in the middle of a dense forest. To make sure he didn’t get lost, he took off his shoes and pointed them in the direction he was going. In the middle of the night, an angel came, turned his shoes around and pointed them back to his home village. The next morning, when the man awoke, he carefully put on his shoes and walked in the direction they were pointing. He found the “new” place beautiful and just perfect. He gave thanks to God for giving him a beautiful home that looked so much like his wretched old house.
To turn our shoes around is to know conversion. No matter the chapter, we discover the blessings of God in and through all things. It is to actively seek the good by first seeing it. It is a light that leads us forward on the pilgrim path rather than the darkness that comes from seeing only the roots and boulders that trip us. If I am so caught up in the temporal matters of the Church, how can I ever experience the Mystical Body of Christ? Simply, I can’t. If I only see the sin of the world reflected in my own mirror, then how do I see the heaven that is already here? Simply, I don’t.
Yes, we are to be aware of our sins, but we are not to stop there. It would be like making our permanent home at the cross of Good Friday. Every Good Friday, by the grace of God, gives way to Easter. To be an Easter People in a Good Friday world means that we, though humiliated by all that is wrong, still take the hand of Jesus to be led to an empty tomb, where all is right.
