My favorite social media retirement/financial advisor sends out a newsletter every week. I recently received one titled, “40 Strangers, 36 Lengths, and the Ivy Gods.” I’ve been coming back to it often as he asked, “What’s beyond the money?” aka, “How do we live a life of meaning?” It’s the highest existential question, really. And he has some credible insights. Hang with me here, because in some very tangible ways it’s connected our readings today which are all over sainthood, worship, and the ways we live out Jesus’ Beatitudes.
40 Strangers. Folks in retirement don’t lose their closest friends, but they lose contact with about 40 people from everyday life that they might not notice: the non-departmental colleagues that show up at monthly meetings, coffee shop baristas who spell your name wrong, the gas-station attendants with the crazy tattoos, and even the guy with the EaglebrookChurch cling who’s always in the same carpool lane as you. You miss – and need - those random connections.
St. John tells us the same thing about heaven… it’s filled with countless souls (saints) who will surround you as you revel in your personal intimacy with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This three-in-one Godhead will be your closest companion for eternity, but you also have the joy of being with all those Jesus-loving souls now saints in heaven. We’re created for community, in the image and likeness of the Triune God. So, while you’re wandering around here on earth, make sure you (a) strive for sainthood, (b) make new friends who are also on a Jesus-journey, and (c) encourage others to see the need for a life in Christ, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. There are no strangers in heaven, just saints we haven’t met yet.
36 Lengths. Folks in retirement also need something a goal to strive for. In Tyler’s world, he could only swim laps with flippers - so his new goal was 36 lengths of the pool without them. This is also how we are created. You see, we crave holiness whether we recognize it or not. Our souls yearn to return to the Creator and the best way to do that is to live a life of holiness on earth… to get better each day at being holy. We love checklists, right? In the words of St. Paul, we are God’s children and what we could be is a mystery to us. But we do know we want to be like Him so we should go to great lengths (pun intended) to accomplish this goal. And we live in the hope of obtaining the goal: Once our purgation is complete, we will indeed be like Him.
The Ivy Gods. Tyler reveals that he’s been wrestling for over two decades with a comment once made by David Foster Wallace: “There’s no such thing as not worshipping. We all have a god. The only choice we make is which one.” I talk about this all the time when it comes to parenting youth… many parents [accidentally, if I am being charitable] lead their children into worshipping the Ba’al gods: BasketBa’al, FootBa’al, BaseBa’al and the most MN of all… the god of Hockey. They pass-over Mass for weekend tournaments, foster a what’s-best-for-me attitude, and give in to team-selection drama that fosters anything but peace and mercy. Which brings us to Jesus’ Beatitudes and – full circle – how we live a life of meaning. There is no satisfaction in the soul of life without community, striving for sainthood, and living the Beatitudes. #trifecta