The Parson's Page
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Sermons
  • C David Hess
    • A Raging Moderate
  • About

Celebration and Mourning - The Right Balance  

3/1/2006

 
As I write these words, people in New Orleans are celebrating Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday. Some say the celebration is hollow. Others don’t think that it is appropriate to celebrate when they are surrounded by so much grief, desolation and loss. Others say that they have had enough of mourning, that they need to celebrate, that they need a diversion from grief.

This is not a problem specific to New Orleans. We all struggle to find the appropriate balance between mourning and celebration in our lives. We can overdo either.

The Christian faith, at its best, strives for the right balance. Today is Fat Tuesday when we celebrate. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday when we remember our sins, the pain in the world, and the fact that we are all going to die.

We strive for the appropriate balance between celebration and mourning in funerals. I have a problem with anyone who just wants to do one or the other. It’s not a proper funeral if you don’t do both. In a funeral you need to both feel gratitude and shed tears. Paul told the early Christians to “not grieve as others do who have no hope.” We Christians grieve with hope. We have balance.

It is wrong to look exclusively at the cross or exclusively at the empty tomb. Both are realities for us. We see the sin and suffering in the world. We see those who bomb mosques and kill the innocent in Iraq. We see those made homeless by Katrina, or the tsunami, or the earthquake in Pakistan. We also see the power of resurrection and the victory of life over crushing obstacles. We celebrate the six 3-pointers shot by an autistic boy in a basketball game. We celebrate the victory and compassion of an Olympic champion who gives his winnings to the refugees of Darfur.

All too often we focus on happiness or the lack of it. After all, isn’t that what life is all about? The pursuit of happiness?

Actually not. 

Time magazine recently had an article with the splashy headline, “Happiness Isn’t Normal.” It was a profile of  Steven Hayes, a 57-year-old psychology professor who was one of the authors of the book, "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life" His message is a simple but important one. Hayes said in an interview with Salon:

“The natural game most of us are in is how to feel good. That's not the same thing as how to live good…  We don't get good training in how to sit with pain anymore; [we used to have] spiritual traditions of fasting, where you didn't eat even though you were hungry in order to connect with the suffering of other people. Most of those traditions are gone... Western culture promotes feel-goodism…you're supposed to feel good from morning to night…. If you consume the right products, eat the right pill, drink the right beer, drive the right car, you believe that you're not going to feel anything you don't like. What I'm saying is that that is not the definition of a meaningful life, and I'm saying people know it.”

©2006 C. David Hess

    Parsonally Speaking

    Categories

    All
    Current Events/Hot Issues
    Other Articles
    Personal Confessions
    The Bible & Christianity
    The Church
    The Darker Side
    The Lighter Side
    The Movies

    Archives

    September 2014
    October 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    April 2011
    December 2010
    June 2010
    April 2010
    December 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    September 2008
    June 2008
    March 2008
    February 2008
    November 2007
    October 2007
    September 2007
    May 2007
    March 2007
    January 2007
    December 2006
    September 2006
    June 2006
    May 2006
    March 2006
    February 2006
    January 2006
    December 2005
    September 2005
    April 2005
    March 2005
    November 2004
    June 2004
    May 2004
    April 2004
    March 2004
    December 2003
    October 2003
    September 2003
    May 2003
    March 2003
    January 2003
    September 2002
    August 2002
    April 2002
    October 2001
    September 2001
    July 2001
    March 2001
    December 2000
    November 2000
    September 2000
    August 2000
    May 2000
    March 2000
    January 2000
    November 1999
    April 1999
    March 1999
    December 1998
    September 1998
    August 1998
    May 1998
    April 1998
    March 1998
    February 1998
    January 1998
    December 1997
    August 1997
    June 1997
    May 1997
    April 1997
    January 1997
    December 1996
    November 1996
    October 1996
    September 1996
    August 1996
    July 1996
    June 1996
    May 1996
    April 1996
    March 1996
    February 1996
    January 1996
    December 1995
    November 1995
    August 1995
    April 1995
    January 1994
    February 1993
    January 1993


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.