A Catholic Times journalist confesses in his column that he is
solemn in disposition and taciturn, and although not pious, he gives that image
to those who know him. He tried to give the impression,
he says, of
gravity, but it was a pretense. He sees now how profound and warm a
light hearted demeanor can be, and how a little unpredictability can
enrich life and
expand one's mental faculties. He came to this understanding by reading
the book Keys of the Kingdom.
Fr. Chisholm, hero of the
novel, was a stubborn, pious person not noticeably distinguished in any
way. He understood that his stubbornness was a fault, and though he
admitted to having no talent or charm, he was in the
eyes of God, a humble person. But he was also, without knowing it, says
the journalist, a humorous person to a very high degree.
The journalist saw in Fr. Chisholm's seriousness, the possibility
of humor, and in his piety the leisurely attitude that gave his comments
the unpredictability that could bring belly laughs. The secret of this
improbable mix was his humility and
love.
"Jesus, in his his humanity, was not a quiet and proper person. Even as a child he did the unexpected, going to the temple to teach the elders without telling Mary and Joseph. Grown up, he continued to cause his parents headaches. Especially difficult to understand was his behavior during the incident with the woman caught in adultery. He writes on the ground, lifts up his head and tells those without sin to start throwing the stones, and goes back to writing on the ground.
What
was he writing? Was it to get more time to think? Evading the issue? Was
it to show them he didn't think what they were doing was worth the
trouble to be concerned? Trying to figure out the reason is no
longer his concern; he now finds it humorous.
A few
days ago, Korea entered the semifinals of the Olympic soccer
competition, beating
England. Seeing an unfair call by the referee, the journalist said that
it was interesting to observe the behavior of the coach. With a
serious demeanor, the coach used a vulgar expletive directed at the
English team
that completely relaxed the team, and they went on to win.
Not
being alert, we can be very formal and serious in our thinking when we
consider what we do as always right. Fr. Chisholm, Jesus and the coach
of the Korean soccer team were not afraid to act spontaneously. Because
there was humor in what they did, it was not seen as a serious deviation
from acceptable behavior.
To Fr.Chisholm, the greatness of God
meant everything to him, so believing himself to be insignificant seemed
the only natural attitude to have in life. And with this mind set, it
was easy to be unpredictable and humorous. It gave him the confidence
and the
ability to love. Before God, he was humble and wanted to do only what
God wanted. He knew that when that is not the case, we tend to do things
formally and by
rote, succumbing to pretentiousness and distancing ourselves from the
simple joys of life.
