Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Have you ever told anyone to “get a life”? Has anyone ever told you to “get a life”? It’s usually not something you say to people you like, strangers and annoying relatives and friends maybe. It’s also often spoken with accompanying gestures and facial expressions that need no explanation. But what do people mean when they tell you to “get a life”? It is such a forceful directive. It implies the person speaking it knows what having a life is. And it further implies they know beyond question you don’t have one. So, what constitutes “having a life”? To answer this very important question I fell back on the many hours I’ve already spent examining what has become a source of great wisdom for our modern age. Throughout my lifetime I can admit to watching my fair share of TV. It never occurred to me at the time, but it’s all coming together now. Sometimes tedious and exhausting and mind-numbing, I wonder how people at the TV station do it for a living. And I have at last come to some conclusions and learned what it means to “have a life.”

First on my list, people who “have a life” also have perfect white teeth. They are always smiling to show off their teeth. But perfect teeth do not actually imply that one is a contributing member of society. Actually, having a life has nothing at all to do with contributing to society. Instead, it’s about taking what you are convinced is rightfully yours: power, fame, admiration, wealth, good food, nice clothes, and the envy of everyone else. And with all that, you also get to dismiss those who have no life.

Second, people who “have a life” are always having fun. They may be medicated, but they’re having fun. They’re out on a beach enjoying drinks or they’re at a party or a concert. They’re hanging out with friends who also happen to “have a life” and they’re likely drinking as well. They drive expensive cars and wear name-brand clothes flashing perfect teeth at a beach or a party or a concert and they’re drinking. It even seems they are also responsible for setting the standard of coolness for the rest of humanity. They are only seldom found in church because they must be at the beach, a party, or a concert. And they don’t have to know or care what anybody else is doing or wearing. That’s because everybody else is watching them.

Third, people who “have a life” only hang out with their kind. They will share the same fashion sense, the same vocabulary, the same mannerisms. Everyone else either despises them or wants to be them. Before their coolness fades, they feel the need to reinvent themselves lest they lapse into irrelevance. They are often far ahead of the pack on things the world considers important, often on the cutting edge of style and innovation and unspeakable awesomeness. Ordinary people will be totally oblivious of their superior status. So when they speak or behave in rude or unconventional ways, they are just being eccentric. They can do no wrong. At least that’s what they think.

I have other observations, but this is sufficient for our purposes. So, if you have perfect white teeth, and if you’re out having fun all the time with people who speak, dress, and look like you while attempting to reach new levels of intoxication, you may qualify as “having a life.” But since you’re in church at the moment, that calls your status of awesomeness into question. But you’re in good company. Welcome to the club.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul declares that we already possess life, and not just any ordinary life, but a new and glorious life gained for us by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and which we have already received at baptism. If we, like Jesus, have truly died to sin once and for all, then like him we possess this new life that comes from God. But can anyone tell we possess this new life? Can we tell?

Unlike the life that people refer to when they tell you to go get one, this new life from God is not as obvious to many. Our physical life, which is the focus of all the products advertised on TV and social media, is measured against a standard that we impose on ourselves. I don’t know who sets that standard, but whether we like it or not, we are all being measured against it: perfect white teeth, clear smooth skin, vibrant hair color, perfectly proportioned facial features, the ideal height and weight in every age bracket, fashionable clothes for every occasion, fashionable footwear, accessories to highlight the fashionable clothes, headwear, eyewear, jewelry, every imaginable accessory … you name it. If it can be marketed, it can make anyone look good, even you.

But the life that Jesus has gained for us is nowhere as measurable. It needs no enhancing, no adjusting, no reformulating for individual differences. There is no mandatory waiting period before receiving the complete package, no background checks required by law, no need for character references or credit reports. But there are definite positive manifestations and signs of this new life. They are unmistakable and may not be falsified. Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, whoever loves son and daughter more than me is not worthy of me; whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” The new life we receive from God is not subject to anyone else’s standards, not those of your parents, not those of your children, not anyone’s but God’s. It is not dependent on whether people like you or not. Rather, it derives conviction and power from the cross of Jesus Christ because it invites each baptized Christian into greater fellowship with God and God’s people, into a deeper awareness of one’s dignity as a child of God and an heir of God’s kingdom, into more authentic service for the transformation of the world. This new life is no insignificant reality. In truth, it does little to advance one’s worldly status, but it brings about a freedom of mind and spirit as to give undaunted courage and strength in the face of persecution, joy and gladness in difficulty and trial, direction and purpose against the tide of hypocrisy and deception. This new life enables one to see beyond perishable beauty, to feed on nourishment that neither spoils nor loses flavor, to partake in life that never ends.

So if you feel the urge to go get a life, remember that you already possess new life through baptism. Yes, it is a challenge and a struggle to live this new life to the full, to actually allow God’s life in us to direct our daily decisions, our words, and our actions. Perhaps this is the cross Jesus tells us we must bear, or we will find ourselves obsessing over perfect teeth and hair and accessories for all outfits and occasions, and pining for a life that in the end is less than the awesome life Jesus offers. And for something as important as eternal life, why would we settle for anything less?

Rolo B Castillo © 2023