However, the gospel of today presents us with an amazing quality of John the Baptist. He could have ridden the wave of popularity and proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. People specifically asked him whether He was the one who has been expected for so long in order to better the condition of the whole nation. It would have been easy for John to be carried away by his popularity. Yet, he was a very honest man and close to God. "No", he said. "I am not the One" and when Jesus came onto the scene, he was ready to let go and point all the attention to Jesus. "He must increase, I must decrease". This was his attitude when he realised that Jesus was the Messiah.
It is not easy to let go. Very often we are tempted to hold on to our position and to what we perceive to be our rights. There are different reasons why this happens. Change brings a certain loss with it and no one desires to experience any loss. Change also brings with it an uncertainty about what our next step might be and this means that we experience a lack of control about our future. It is understandable that very often we are so reluctant to let go. We become very familiar and comfortable with our present position and we do not desire to lose this condition. However, in reality letting go opens us up to so many other opportunities and experiences that we ultimately be the better for it.
As a priest one of the greatest difficulties that I found was to change from one parish to the other. It takes time to settle in a place and you form friendships and you start to work with a team around you. This might take a bit of time yet the fruit will be evident. You achieve a sense of contributing positively and that you feel supported and encouraged by those around you. Even though there may be times of challenge and upheavals, you never lose heart because of the support around you. However when I have been asked to let go and move to serve in another parish, it always used to take me quite a bit of time to settle down. The tendency was to want to go back to the previous parish because I did not desire to break the links that I established. This is understandable, yet I have to say that whenever I moved to another parish, the blessings never ceased and each new situation provided me with new opportunities for growth and depth in my ministry.
It is the same with parents. Parents spend most of the time trying to nurture their families. They spend the best years of their lives preparing the way for their children, in the sense of opening them to life. However the time comes when parents have to let go of their children so that they can develop the talents and the gifts that God has given them. Having given life to their children, parents are also called to allow them to live that life. I am very aware that this is something which is very hard to go through and experience.
I remember my own grandmother who had ten children. I am sure that both grandpa and grandma found it very challenging to provide what was necessary for the advancement of their family. Yet there was nothing that they were not prepared to do so that their children could experience the best possible way of living Yet the time came when the children left home and at the end grandma was left on her own. I am sure that she longed for those times when in spite of so many sacrifices, the family revolved around her. Yet she was also wise enough to let go and let each child grow according to the unique way in which God had planned for him or her.
This is an important lesson to learn, and an important attitude to develop, because there are things in life that we cannot control ourselves and we need to rely totally on others and ultimately on God. There are situations in our life which in spite of all our qualities and possessions are beyond us and we need to let go in total reliance on God.
I am reminded of a story that I read many years ago. It left a deep impression on me. There was a man who was admiring a beautiful scene as he stood at the edge of a cliff. All of a sudden the ground gave way under him and he fell. As he was falling, he managed to grab hold of a branch that jutted out from the cliff. He was left dangling in mid air holding on to this branch with one hand. He started to cry out, "Help, is there anyone up there". He continued to shout for a while and finally a voice came from heaven which said, "Let go". The temptation is to cry out "Is there anybody else up there". Yet in reality, it is only by letting ourselves go in God that we can find rest and consolation when confronted with certain situations in our lives.
Every time we let go we are preparing ourselves for our final letting go into the hands of God. This is the greatest healing of all. May we all be able to say with Simon as he held Jesus in his arms, "Now Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised : because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all nations to see".
This is a great attitude to develop. The more we develop this attitude the more we can understand why Paul in today's second reading could say, "I want you to be happy, always hapy in the Lord : I repeat what I want is your happiness.....There is no need to worry : but if there is anything that you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayers and thanksgiving, and that peace of god, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Jesus Christ..." (Phil 4:4-7)
God bless.
