#2. NOTHING/EVERYTHING (Girzone)

One day Jesus made a remark, 'the birds of the air have their nests, the foxes have their dens, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. I have thought about that so many times. one the surface it appeared as if Jesus was feeling sorry for Himself, but that mentality was so far removed from His way of thinking that it didn't even  make sense. what Jesus seemed to be saying was 'Look at me, I have nothing , not even a place to sleep and I am perfectly happy.  the common purse He oddly enough turned over to Judas, even though he knew he could not be trusted to handle money, showed how little value Jesus attached to material things. this attitude of Jesus toward material things is basic to an understanding of His spirituality. He had one robe, no second change of clothes, no purse.  He slept very frequently up in the hills where the gospel writers say He would spend the night in prayer. He and his followers apparently depended to a great extent on the generosity of people along the  way to care for their material needs, especially for food. 'Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will drink' was an admonition He practiced in His own life. Yet, He showed no objection to those of His followers who were well-to-do. Mary, Martha and Lazarus were by no

20  means poor. Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, was a very wealthy man. Joseph of Arimathea was also a wealthy follower of Jesus. even the rich young man who approached Jesus one day asking Him what he must do to be saved. all Jesus told Him was 'Keep the commandments'.  only when the man expressed dissatisfaction with that answer, did Jesus tell him,  'If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor.  but Jesus did not demand it. he suggested it because the man indicated he wanted to do something more than just the minimum.

Jesus Himself was 'poor'  by choice. he was born 'poor'. He had a manger for a crib. He had the wherewithal to be 'rich'. He chose not to be. His poverty was logical for Him. He knew who He was. Material things could add nothing to His image of Himself. they were to Him just like the dirt in the field; gold merely a type of stone, clothes something made from animal skins or culled from plants that grew in the fields. He needed no material things to enhance His self-image or His reputation in other people's eyes. what he had to offer was infinitely more valuable.  freedom of spirit and the joy that flows from that freedom were essential to Jesus. it was this spirit He tried to pass on to those who would follow Him. 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven'.  He did not say blessed are those in material or financial need, but the poor in spirit. theirs is the freedom and the joy and the peace of the children of god, the kingdom of heaven. this was the condition for finding the joy that Jesus possessed and which He
21  wanted His followers to experience. it was fundamental to Jesus' approach to spirituality. place your trust in your heavenly Father who knows what you need, and do not worry yourself about the things of this world. He will give you what you need.

when I was young, my father, who was a butcher, used to take me and my brothers and sisters to help him in his store. he had a good business with mostly well-to-do customers - judges, lawyers, doctors, government officials, businesspeople. he was a good butcher and would go to the packing houses to pick the cuts of meat his customers preferred. often there were customers waiting for him outside his store when he arrived in the morning,  because they knew they would have the best selection of cuts early in the day.
but despite his successful business, he never seemed concerned about material things. in the wintertime, my father wore an old overcoat with the pocket torn out. it never bothered him though my mother was forever trying to fix it. also,  he could not wear overshoes because they hurt his feet. he had ulcerated varicose veins that were painful. when there was snow on the ground he would wrap burlap around his shoes. it looked so unfashionable to say the least. I couldn't even get out of the truck with him. 4 or  5 were waiting for him to open the store. when my father got out of the truck, an immaculately dressed judge who was a good friend commented,  'that's quite an outfit you've got there, Peter! My father smiled and replied good-naturedly, 'Yes, Judge, you have to have dignity.

22  I asked my father one day why he dressed like that. he merely answered,  'it is not what you wear that is important. it is what you are inside. real dignity is in the beauty of your soul. I couldn't understand this way back then.
when I had to retire a number of years ago because of my health, I chose not to accept any compensation from the diocese, though I had no income. for the first time in my life i was nearly penniless. I had just enough to survive. I ate food many poor people would turn down. I had no money for clothes. I made my furniture from some boards I bought cheap. I had one plate, a bowl, a couple of glasses and 3 utensils. i knew for the first time in my life what it was to be genuinely 'poor',  in the world's sense of the word. but these were the happiest days of my life, even though I had nothing. I had to practice what Jesus taught and what i had preached all my life, 'Look at the birds of the air...' and I learned from experience what my dad tried to teach me, and what Jesus taught so beautifully in His own life. I learned it didn't take much to survive, not to live luxuriously, but to survive. but even with just the bare necessities, I had everything I needed to be happy.

one morning, I was taking a walk and wondering what i would do for supper, since I had no money. walking along the side of the road I thought I saw some money in the ditch. but how would money get into that ditch so far from anyplace?  I took a closer look and bent down and sure enough, there, lying in the ditch and neatly folded, was some money, just enough for supper.

23   could almost hear Jesus saying,  'I told you not to worry, I would take care of you. Jesus was right and I could  now say that from my own firsthand experience.

a short time later, that all changed. when Joshua became popular, money became a painful burden. trying to use it wisely was not easy.
Jesus' attitude seems to be that  freedom from material possessions can be very liberating. having money and being free is also possible but adds complicated responsibilities which can jeopardize that freedom.  the important thing is to maintain a detachment from whatever possessions we may have, whether they be great or small and not allow ourselves to become so concerned  about them that they become a serious distraction from our own inner growth. 'where your heart is there your treasure lies.  however, a person does not have to have great wealth to be attached. a poor person can be even more obsessed with his few possessions than a rich person with his vast wealth.

the freedom and peace Jesus talked about had to do not only with material things but with anything that generated undue anxiety which could disturb our inner well-being. one of the most remarkable things about Jesus' life was his tranquility. when you consider the almost constant turmoil that surrounded Jesus - crowds pressing in on Him and His enemies plotting daily to destroy Him - and see the calmness that pervaded His life, it is remarkable, and proves the value of the detachment that Jesus had from whatever could disturb his inner peace. that detachment Jesus tried to share with

24  His followers so they, too,k could find the same power and inner peace that marked His life.

if there was one thing Jesus held out to His followers it was His promise of peace.  'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. He never tired of speaking about the peach that he would give to those who accepted His way of life. this theme threads its way through the whole gospel message. it is a trademark of His spirituality and should be a trait that singles our his disciples, in whatever age they live.
why, then, we might wonder, do Jesus' followers not stand out for their peacefulness? the answer is simple. His disciples through all time are not familiar with the message as Jesus delivered it. we are brought up to follow unquestioningly the practices of our religion, whatever our denomination. but obedience to customs and dictates of religion does not make a follower of Jesus. though many  talk  about accepting the Lord Jesus and about commitment to Him, frequently that acceptance has little to do with Jesus Himself. it is acceptance of the teacher who has delivered the message and the way of life laid out by the teacher that people follow. it is not the message of Jesus that is being followed, but the guidance and interpretation of the teacher. He or she becomes the way of life. this is not an immediate personal relationship with Jesus.
the one thing that is absolutely necessary if we are to develop a spirituality based on Jesus' life is that we open our hearts to the Person of Jesus Himself and allow Him to come into our lives to befriend us and

25  guide us. He promised, I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you...He who loves Me will be loved by my Father and i will love him and manifest Myself to him. this is the essence of Christian spirituality, the living presence of Jesus in our souls. He is there, not as a dummy, neither hearing nor speaking, but as an active partner in our lives, guiding and comforting us when we need Him. it is this mystical friendship with Jesus that is the core of Christian spirituality and makes Christian spirituality a unique custom-designed journey fashioned after the uniqueness of each individual person.
once we open ourselves to god and show a willingness to follow His grace in our lives, we want to see immediate results. but we are really traveling in a foreign land. Spirituality is a real journey into the unknown. what are the parameters, the rules, the pathways? where do they lead? does everyone follow the same road and become like everyone else on this unusual journey? do you give up your personality and suppress your real self so you can become a new person?

many people feel they have to shed their old selves when they enter the spiritual life and become saintly overnight. it doesn't work that way. we don't grow physically overnight. neither do we grow emotionally or mentally overnight. growth consists of long involved processes. it is the same with the spiritual life. we grow gradually, over a lifetime. just like physical growth cannot be forced, so spiritual growth cannot be forced without doing severe damage, because we then pressure

26  ourselves to do things perfectly before we have developed the underlying strength and charity from which perfection spontaneously flows. each one grows the way God planned for us to grow, depending upon what he had in mind for each of us. Grace builds upon nature, as St. Paul writes. it does not destroy nature.
what is it, then, that God has in mind? perhaps we will never know. nor is it important that we know. what is important is that we leave ourselves open to god each day so He can use us as He sees fit. that's his business. we are merely His creatures, His servants. to be at his disposal is our responsibility. humility has to be a fundamental condition of our relationship with God. but we can be sure that He will use us and His using us will always be exciting and always an adventure. many people are afraid of giving themselves to god and letting God into their lives, because they think all their fun will come to an end and life will become a bore. there is one thing god is not, though, and that is boring. the creative imagination of god is beyond comprehension and the real fun in our lives just begins once we find God and he becomes an active partner in our lives. MY OWN LIFE BECAME A WHIRLWIND WHEN I MADE UP MY MIND THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO FORGE MY OWN WAY THROUGH LIFE BUT INSTEAD WOULD LET GOD GUIDE ME.  and
it makes good sense. God didn't create us haphazardly. He made each of us for a purpose and he is determined that we accomplish that purpose. He does, however, need our cooperation and when we give Him our goodwill and open our hearts to Him (which is

27  really all we have to offer), He sets in motion all the machinery we need to fulfill the task He has planned for us. that is always exciting and rewarding, because the gifts and talents he has given us are perfectly adapted to the work He has designed for us. that is the perfect blueprint for success, happiness and fulfillment.