In 1962, Bob Dylan wrote his famous song, Blowin In the Wind. It used to be

Transcription

1 In 1962, Bob Dylan wrote his famous song, Blowin In the Wind. It used to be seen as a song for the Civil Rights Movement; others suggested it was against the Vietnam War. But Dylan said not so fast - he never saw it as a political song. So what does it mean, `The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind? Well, Dylan himself was cryptic about it, telling Sing Out! magazine in 1962, quote, "There ain't much I can say about this song, except the answer is blowin' in the wind. It ain't no book or movie or TV show or discussion group, man. It's in the wind." Writer David Hajdu says its ambivalence is part of the song's appeal. In his words: "The song can be anything to anybody. It's critical and it's hard, this litany of questions about what's wrong with the world, OK; so if you're inclined, you know, to be anti-establishment and the prevailing authority, there's your song. If you're of a more positive nature, well, this song provides an answer, too, or it hits it leans toward an answer. `The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. My favorite analysis though is that of Saint John Paul II. Dylan actually played this song for the Holy Father at the World Eucharistic Congress in Bologna in 1997, Dylan was greeted by John Paul with the reflection: "You say the answer is Page 1 of 9

2 blowing in the wind, my friend. So it is: but it is not the wind that blows things away. It is the wind that is the breath and life of the Holy Spirit, the voice that calls and says, 'Come!'" The Pope even answered a question Dylan posed in the song: "You've asked me: 'How many roads must a man walk down before he becomes a man?' I answer you: One. There is only one road for man and it is Christ, who said 'I am the life. " How many roads do we walk down? Quite a few if you think about it over the course of our lives. We chase things that will make us happy; both tangible and intangible, but we find that so often happiness is fleeting. Another song, Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen, sums it up quite well: Money runs out. People who admire us move on. Relationships can fall apart, and sometimes all that s left is the memories of the past, the glory days. But while Blowin in the Wind gives an unanswered question, and Glory Days ends with friends looking back on life at the point of mid age, the Christian is always called to look ahead. John tells us as such - look to the one who is coming. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Page 2 of 9

3 That can be hard to remember as we get caught up in the world of busyness. The Kingdom of Heaven? That seems far away. But the game the kids have this week, the shopping to get done, the stuff we ve still got to do, this seems more urgent in the here and now. John though gives us an urgent message, repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. That s what people who come to him are doing - they are journeying into the desert to reform their lives. They are baptized by John as part of a cleansing ritual, and John s whole message is that it s not too late to change. But you have to make a choice to go into the desert to find God, and have a new mindset: it s no longer about me, it s about serving God. And that requires a whole change of being. For one, a person has to repent. And be serious about it. John calls out the Sadducees and Pharisees for being fake - going through the motions and showing up with the crowd, but not wanting to change. There are some Christians like that too; people who come to Mass, or people who think they are just fine and there s nothing to change in them, but as for the people who don t go to Mass as much, or pray, or the people who they gossip about and judge, those are the real sinners. We can t be like that though - we are always trying to grow in holiness. This is where a healthy conscience comes in - not to shame us, but to open our eyes to the fact that the reason there is Christmas in the first place is because we need redemption. Page 3 of 9

4 Those who journey into the desert to see John recognize this. So Advent in part prepares us for the moment when we ll meet God and render an account of our lives. His love will always be there, but we first need to ask for it and be aware of what sins may be present in our lives. But then, we make the journey. And this is where the answer is indeed blowing in the wind - but in the sense that John Paul the Great says - in Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. Our first reading gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. These are the tools that we are given by God so we can repent, so that we can grow in holiness and become like John, to proclaim God to the world. But we need to learn how to use them as life goes on, for when we do so, they give us the answer to the question how can we achieve sainthood. Wisdom is how we desire the things of God, helping us to see the big picture of our lives. Think of it as being atop a hill and being able to see everything before you and how it is all connected, something you couldn t see from the ground. When we have wisdom, we can begin to see things from the standpoint of God. Page 4 of 9

5 Wisdom perfects faith and helps to love more deeply the things of heaven. Think of wisdom as taking us out into the desert to find God - as we grow in wisdom, we grow less attached to our egos, ourselves, our desires and see more clearly God s plan for us and the world. Concretely, wisdom will grow through both understanding and knowledge. Understanding differs from wisdom in that wisdom is the desire to contemplate the things of God, while understanding allows us, to "penetrate to the very core of revealed truths." This happens through knowledge of the faith, and by growing closer to God through the sacraments. God loves us so much - but we sometimes put so little into wanting to know who God is. Kids even get the message in some households that it s fine to skip Mass, or that sports is far more important than faith formation on Wednesday night. And so a person might have a great knowledge of academics; or sports statistics, movie trivia, pop culture, etc. But do these things get us into heaven? What does though? Knowing what we believe and why we believe it. Having a hunger for God. So we grow in understanding by trying to learn what our faith teaches (e.g., catechism, spiritual writings, etc) but growing in it through the sacraments, through prayer, the Eucharist, Mass. There are so many little ways to do this such as taking daily time for prayer, making sure Mass is routine, or finding things to read about our faith. Page 5 of 9

6 Knowledge is related to wisdom in that while wisdom helps us to understand the truth, knowledge helps us to judge our situation or circumstance in life. Knowledge helps us to form our conscience, and to discern what is grace verses what is temptation. As we grow in love for God by growing closer to Him, and by understanding what He s revealed to us, we can apply it to concrete situations. The gift of counsel also helps us to make prudent decisions about what to do in specific situations, but with counsel, we can also ask ourselves what kind of person do I want to be? With counsel, we can ask ourselves what our deepest desires, wants and loves are, and it helps us to respond to God s call. When we ve got counsel, we can act in situations and know exactly what to do because the decision reflects our faith (e.g., right from wrong). We can also discern what path God wants us to follow. Mother Theresa used this in her life when she had that famous call within the call - discerning that God was calling her to not be a teacher inside the walls of a school, but to help the poor in need, even when many others called her crazy or foolish. Fortitude is what helps us to do the right thing, both in avoiding things and doing difficult things. Sin and temptation are always before us, and it s hard to live an Page 6 of 9

7 upright life. With fortitude, we can avoid the near occasion of sin as we pray in our act of contrition, and learn how to avoid sin. But we can also do things that are costly, when we speak about the faith without fear or say something difficult that someone needs to hear. Fortitude is what helped Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and it helps us when we are both tempted and have to do something that may cost us friends, family or cause people go gossip or even hate us. Piety can have a negative translation in English; you might hear it and think of someone who prays a lot or is a zealot or a holier than thou judgmental type of person. That s not piety though - piety is knowing what we owe God as Saint Thomas Aquinas said. And that is everything. The problem in our day and age is we forget that; we make ourselves the center of the world. Me, me, me. But it s about God. And that s why Mass, liturgy, prayer are so important. Prayer isn t there to inflate God s ego so God can know how great God is. Prayer is there for us; when we love someone, we want to know their will, and through piety we are strengthened to grow in fortitude and charity to bring God into the world. Finally, fear of the Lord. This too can be confusing. I think of the Cowardly Lion the first time he sees Oz in the movie; the fire and booming voice and floating head frighten him so much he runs out of the hall and jumps out the window. We should Page 7 of 9

8 not sit around thinking God is out to get us. Rather, fear of the Lord is a healthy fear that we fear breaking the relationship through walking away from God by serious sin, and it helps us to recognize when we make a mistake the need to repent and repair the relationship. Think of it as a desire to love God above all things. Bob Dylan gave us questions without answers in his song, but God gives us the answer. And his answer is this: I love you. I am going to become one of you, show you how to love, and then die for you. And I am not going to leave you alone but give you my Spirit to guide you. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, these are the answers to the deep questions we have - who am I, where am I going, what must I do to overcome this sin, this struggle. So often though we don t want to take the time to find the answer, or acknowledge problems in our lives, so we go down the roads to emptiness. So let s open up our eyes and see the reality that our time here is limited, but life has no end - we just need to make sure we are going in the right direction. Never doubt how much God is in love with you. Our challenge is to realize that the road to heaven is right before us, and with God s love and the Spirit, we can travel that road home to Him by responding to that love. So let s use Advent and every day of our lives to open our eyes to this reality, and using the gifts of the Spirit to find our way home to Him. The answer my friends is indeed blowing in the wind - the wind of the Spirit that is blowing into our hearts and Page 8 of 9

9 souls, along with the Lord who is knocking at the door wanting to be invited in to help us on the journey home to Him. Jesus is the road who is life; the Spirit is the wind that says come, so let us open our eyes to follow Him. Page 9 of 9