Something that really helped me just now...
JPII: a lion, my hero
By Mark Hart, the Bible Geek ®
The shortest verse in all of Scripture is also one of the most profound, “Jesus
wept” (John 11:35)
Why did Jesus weep? Those in the crowd that day thought He was weeping because
of how much He loved His friend, Lazarus, who had died and whose body had been
in the tomb for four days. Yes, Jesus loved His close friend, but that’s not
why the tears streamed down our Savior’s cheeks.
He wept because those assembled there, those in the crowd, didn’t see what Jesus
saw and couldn’t comprehend the bigger picture that Christ, Himself, would open
up for them. Death is not an end…not for those whose hearts belong to the Lord.
Jesus wept not for Lazarus, but for the people, because they viewed death as
final. If this life is all you have and all you believe in, than you have good
reason to weep. If you believe in God’s promise, Christ’s salvation and the
Spirit’s guidance, however, than you know that this life is not where it ends.
There is something amazing, something beyond words, something inexplicable
waiting “for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
I wept today for our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II; he was and is my hero.
I found myself weeping, not out of sadness, necessarily (though I am sad) but
out of mourning for our world and our culture. We have lost a lion, a fearless
leader who never allowed popularity or politics to dictate or manhandle God’s
truth. He never wavered and He never bent. Some call that archaic - I call it
gallant. He refused to play word games or deal in a world of grays when it came
to life issues, like so many “powerful” politicians so willingly do. Just like
Jesus at Calvary, his power came in his humility. He didn’t soften truth to
make people more comfortable, he didn’t allow political pressures to mediate or
misdirect his message. He rose to the occasions. He dealt in black and white,
not allowing our Church to sink into a pit of uncertainty or popular conformity.
He answered in authenticity and not mediocrity. He responded to his vocation
not only as a priest but as a creature of God. He did what he was called to do
and stood for life in the face of a culture of death.
I stared into the eyes of His Holiness John Paul II not three months ago. It
was three weeks before his admittance into the hospital, his second to last
General Papal audience. Many assembled there saw a fragile and meek leader. I
saw a lion draped in the wool of a sheep. His body was frail but his mind
sharp. The powerful gentleness in his eyes spoke volumes, his presence so
humble.
Getting to meet him with my wife at my side, being able to kiss his ring and say
thank you for the way he let the Holy Spirit work through him and for his words
that had touched my soul, was an answered prayer. Getting to hold his hand
before God called him home is a blessing I still cannot completely believe or
fathom. Every Catholic, young and old, should be so blessed - staring into his
eyes was a window into his soul, I saw Jesus, I truly did.
I was reminded of the words of one writer following World Youth Day in Toronto
who said, "Watching John Paul II is like watching a soul drag a body behind it."
How true that is.
This week we might weep because we loved all that John Paul II was and all that
he stood for…I certainly do. We might also weep wondering what will happen now
that the most courageous voice of truth, a voice that speaks for the unborn and
defenseless is now silent. Both are understandable, but just like outside the
tomb of Lazarus, unnecessary. God is as present and in control today as He has
been since the dawn of time, fear not.
Today is a day to rejoice because God has called home one of His own and one of
His beloved, a man truly after His own heart. Today is a day to rejoice because
Karol Wojtyla’s (JPII’s) life will forever stand as a living testament that one
person can still make a difference, if steeped in humility, abandoned to grace,
dedicated to the Eucharistic Jesus and devoted to His Blessed Mother. A great
thing happened this day: one of our brothers in the faith gets to finally
experience the ecstasy of Heaven, as we should all hope to do and should live to
insure.
His Holiness John Paul II will be remembered for so many things and, most
likely, not appreciated for the fullness of his incredible ministry for decades
(even centuries) to come. Only after people have taken the time to read, pray
and live out his writings and words will he ever be viewed in the light he
should, a light he spread far and wide, the light of Christ (John 8:12). The
truth, though, is the JPII is yet another in a long and beautiful list of souls
who have given themselves to Christ and to the service of His Church who will
receive honor from those still on earth NOT because they desired it, but because
they deserved it.
He will be remembered for his staunch political identity and savvy, his
assistance in the dismantling of communism in Eastern Europe, his forgiveness of
his would-be assassin and his love of youth. All are true and worthy of praise.
He’ll be remembered in Heaven because his was a life led by the Spirit and
abandoned to the grace and direction of God. Yours can be, too, if you let it.
The greatest way to honor John Paul II is to take his meekness and his
determination as examples of how to live your life in the face of a culture that
won’t understand it. Hold fast to the ideals he safeguarded and stand firm in
the truths he espoused, for they were not his but Christ’s.
Today, this day, commit yourself to seeking out your vocation and following it
in humility. Today, take a bold step forward in being the man of God or woman
of God He calls you to be, in the spirit of our fallen but risen hero, Pope John
Paul the Great. That is the greatest tribute you could ever pay to him, to the
greater Church and to our Lord, Christ, Himself.
When I looked into his eyes a few weeks back, I recalled something I read when
reading about and studying his life, several years ago. When he was a boy
growing up in Wadowice, Poland, there was a shop across the street with a
sundial in front of it and when he stared out of his bedroom window each day he
could read the inscription. The inscription, carved in stone, read, "Time
flies. Eternity waits."
That is the mantra of urgency and humble faith through which he has lived his
life and lived out his pontificate, and it is a piece of wisdom that I keep
tucked away deeply within my head and heart. I will never forget it. I will
never forget the look in his eyes, the strength in his hands or the love that
God has for us all, in giving us such a servant to guide those willing to
follow. God is faithful. John Paul II is faithful. If only I can have an
ounce of that faithfulness - my wife, family and world will be truly blessed.
We shall see…
Time flies, eternity waits.