By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well, spring has definitely arrived. After a very dry winter, we here in New Mexico are currently having to watch—and some, to endure—wildfires voraciously devouring forests and grasslands, houses and buildings…like a sci-fi Godzilla having spewed tongues of fire across the land.

From a news report: “[This grandmother] was frantically gathering what she could Friday afternoon when an officer pulled into her driveway…and told her it was time to leave. Ashes fell from the sky and smoke whirled on gusty winds as she grabbed pictures off the walls — whatever she could hold in her arms — weighing what to take, and what to leave. ‘I was just going from room to room, kind of looking, it was just so scary,’ she said. Within a half-hour, [She] drove away from the only home she knows with her 5-year-old grandson and three dogs. Among the few treasurers she took was a 100-year-old photo of her grandparents’ wedding and a painting of her father, who died when she was a baby. ‘I’m still hoping and praying that … I have a home to get back to…’” (Albuquerque Journal website). Certainly an event harrowing to even imagine, much less undergo.

Across the sea, continuing are daily updates of the war in Ukraine, and while reports are diminishing in number likely due to it being “old” and “distant” news, and many expecting an eventual inevitable defeat of Ukraine in the face of the much vaster Russian resources, it does not mitigate the human tragedy and suffering as cities are destroyed, people killed and displaced. Hearth and homes gone forever.

With protective moats on either side, most Americans have never had to experience the danger and fear of being forced out of our homes by an approaching deadly conflict. But just imagine—much like those in the fire regions—having to leave everything behind except what you can carry on your back, knowing that you’ll never see your home again as it is now, with the sounds of shelling and the rattle of riflery in near distance.

Such is the tenuousness of our lives with all of its unexpected events and often inescapable trials, whether it be fires, war, pandemic, medical emergency, accidents, etc. We try to ensure stability and prosperity in our life, but, as we see (and experience) all too often, that stability can be upended even in a moment’s notice—a cancer diagnosis, an accident, etc.

Thus Jesus’ wise advice: “Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour [of your demise.]”

Now, the Christian considers this life as a journey in a desert … a time for fidelity to God by following the instruction Christ has given, anticipating an inevitable judgment that comes as we step from this mortality into eternal immortality. Yet one need not be Christian, or even religious, to realize the wisdom—and truth—of Jesus’ advice. After all, who can refute the truth of it?

But when do we act on that advice? We procrastinate, putting off even good and necessary tasks and duties that make us uncomfortable: reconciling with our estranged, spending free time and funds assisting the needy, avoiding opportunities for charity because they are just soooooo inconvenient. As he muses on these delayed (often lost) opportunities, the Christian recalls the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), who also would have had other things he’d rather do, but nonetheless seeing the need of a mugging victim made particular effort to assist him.

Now, many have expressed much admiration toward the firefighters battling the flames in the local wildfires. Also, medical personnel in the recent pandemic, the defenders of Ukraine against the relentless juggernaut of the Russian invader, and others who serve the public in dangerous or in much-needed-yet-inadequately-compensated professions. But WHY do they sacrifice so much? What is the gain and motivation? Why put their very lives in danger and spend days or weeks away from family in the face of possible injury and death?

It’s likely not the pay, no matter how well paid they may be. There may be varying reasons, but most, I think, have undergirding other intentions a foundation of a desire of service: “I am able. If not me, who? If not now, when?” They realize that, just as the family is the basic building block of society, society by definition is not meant to be individuals in isolation, but a reinforcing assisting of one another. This is the basis and strength of any social entity—working together, and some even sacrificing their own good for the good of all.

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” wrote poet John Donne. In the New Testament and other history we read of apostles going out to the world to spread the Gospel of Jesus, an essential good for mankind, even though they were persecuted, beaten and martyred—dying not only in service to Christ, but in service to the world, though the world did not appreciate it at the time. A favorite passage is: “…they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city…” (Acts 14:19-20) Paul, driven by devotion to God and the Good, undeterred, charging back into evangelizing fray. Even Christian hermits of old, while living BY themselves, certainly did not live FOR themselves, but rather devoted their lives to the worship of God, praying for the good of the world.

Jesus teaches: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13)—a truth undeniable. In a world which still reveres sacrifice and yet in which so many exist for only self, let us endeavor to live that truth in our own spheres, and to shine even a little light in the darkness.

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“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you…By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.