Some time back I saw a
program about Stephen Hawking, the English physicist who is confined
to a wheelchair because of motor neuron disease, but whose brain is
working perfectly, and who is an extra-ordinary genius. He
wrote A brief history of time, attempting to explain the
origins of the universe. Over twenty years ago he was diagnosed
with motor neuron disease and he was told he had at best two years to
live. Today he is still doing ground-breaking work in physics
although the only muscle that he can still move is one of his
cheeks. There is a small sensor beside his cheek, which is
attached to a computer. By moving his cheek he can speak to
people and continue working through his computer. No doubt one
of the reasons why he is still alive is his will to live. He
has an extraordinary determination to keep going.
There is so much more to
being alive than just physical health, although of course that is
what we all wish for. Many people would consider that life
would not be worth living if you were in the physical state that
Stephen Hawking is in, and yet look at what he has already done.
When I was first ordained a priest I worked as a hospital chaplain in my home town of Galway. I often saw people who,
having lost the will to live, would go down-hill very quickly and
die. I also saw people who were told that they would probably
not recover, but because they were absolutely determined to keep
going, they would recover, often completely against the odds. One
of the key differences between those who keep going and those who
don’t is something spiritual: hope. When we have hope we can
keep going even against the odds. If we have no hope, we may
not survive even the ordinary.
A few years ago in a housing
complex called Moyross, in Limerick—one of the toughest and most
troubled areas of that city—a new group of Religious moved
in. They are called the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, which
were started by Fr. Benedict Goreschel in the Bronx, New York.
They live very like the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa’s
order) in extreme poverty. Apparently the area has been
transformed, for the simple reason that they have given the people
there new hope. By moving in there, they have shown those
people that they are worth something and that in itself has given
them new hope.
Because we believe that
God wants us to be happy, to live life in all its fullness, that
gives us hope which we are inspired to pass on to others.
Because we have hope we are able to work to promote and strengthen
married life even when it goes wrong; we continue to work with
younger people and encourage them not to give up even when they have
messed up through drugs, or alcohol; we continue to work for justice
and peace often in very difficult circumstances. Our faith in
God gives us hope, which in turn inspires others to keep going.
In this beautiful Gospel
we hear how Jesus deliberately waited when he heard that Lazarus was
sick, in order to work this miracle before everyone’s eyes.
He wanted to show them something. He wanted to show them that
God has power even over death and that if He allows people to die
that it is not the end. Just as Jesus called Lazarus out of
death, so Jesus will also call us out of death when we die and we
will begin a new and wonderful life with him, if we have chosen life
with God. We make that choice by the way we live.
In bringing Lazarus back
to life, Jesus was helping people to believe in who he was. He
was also giving them hope, showing them that there is a bigger
picture and so much that we do not understand. Death is not everything.
Physical health is not everything either, but having hope is
essential if we are to keep going through the many difficulties that
we continue to face. Our faith in God gives us hope and this hope also gives others hope.
‘I shall put my Spirit
in you,
and you will live and I shall resettle you on your own soil;
and you will know that I the Lord have said and done this.’
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