FROM HUMANITY TO DIVINITY

 FROM HUMANITY TO DIVINITY. 

The Feast of Saint Lawrence 

I presume everyone is familiar with the educational phrase "No pain, no gain," which means that if there is no distress, there can be no gain. As you may have noticed, the opening of our first reading today states, "The more you sow, the more you reap, or whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." In today’s Gospel, it is said that the seed must die for there to be a harvest. The two images in the readings discuss how God views the seed in particular. We are all like the rotten apple, yet God has found that every one of us has a life-giving seed buried deep within. A generative seed capable of transforming and containing the entire being.

Saint Lawrence, who is celebrated on this day in the church, is probably us, in all our goodness and wickedness. One of my favorite quotes is, "God does not look at the sinners as the rotten one but look at the seed that has life," which translates to, "Thiên Chúa không nhìn người tội lỗi như trái cây thối, mà là nhìn vào cái hạt trong trái."

Incorporate with my experience, I had the privilege to have a home visit as part of my recent summer pastoral, and I would want to relate one of those experiences in my summary. There are five members altogether; three of them are healthy and work cooperatively to care for the other two, who have been paralyzed for three and twenty-eight years, correspondingly. A young man in grade 10 had chosen to drop out of school since his family needed his assistance in caring for these two paralyzed people. They had to be at the service to take the sick to the restroom, so they were unable to leave the house for more than two hours. They were also 25 kilometers away from the church and did not attend mass because of reasons. I admire this young boy because, despite choosing to put his family before himself, he still shows hope when I speak with him about his future sacrifices made in exchange for his family's love. Personally during my summer pastoral, I had to ride my motorcycle for fifty kilometers forth and back most days to come to the chapel. Even though I was fatigued, exhausted, and tired at times, I was happy since I had been told that "that is the way to show my accompaniment and support to the Rite of Christian Initiation adults." 

Looking back to the dying seed notion, there is no gain since there is no suffering. With deep faith and courage, Saint Lawrence sowed the seed that many eventually believed in and obeyed God. 
Throughout his life, Jesus also deeply planted the seeds of love and trust widely and unexclusively. He saw an incredible number of conversions occur. Humankind's transformation into divinity. Jesus’ risen - Being the first person to rise from the dead, he bestowed divinity upon humanity. 

As the journey continues, it is important to remember that goodness and wickedness are inseparable. Even if I am an awful apple, there is a sprout of new life that will soon appear. Even if I am an awful apple, God will still find a seed inside of me, nurture it, and bring about conversion.

Since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden due to their sin—as we all know—we believed they had perished. Amazingly, though, God's son arrived toreconcile, make amends and to promise the heavenly kingdom. "con người mất địa đàng nhưng được thiên đàng" – con người được nhiều hơn là mất do ân sủng của Thiên Chúa” it’s a turning from Humility to Divinity. 

 

God works all things together for good, and God works in all things for the good,… in order to multiply benefits for human life. (Rm 8: 28-30)

August - 2014. Joseph Nguyễn Lê Thế Vương,MSC.