Holding hands

IN ONE of my pilgrimages, we had an elderly couple who were holding each other's hands. It was such an inspiring sight to see them holding on to each other. I pointed this out to the husband, telling him how edified I was to see them so sweet after all these years. The old man looked at me, and with a naughty smile said, "No big deal father. You see, if I let go of her hand, she'll fall!"

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The Gospel today (Lk. 12, 13-21) speaks about letting go of our possessions. There are some people who cannot let go of what they have. Their possessions have become their crutches. Are you one of those people who have become so dependent on your worldly possessions, so much so that you have forgotten your God? Have you become a greedy person because of worldly possessions? Jesus reminds us today that we will carry nothing with us when we leave this world, and that can happen anytime, when we least expect it, sooner than soon.

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A line in the Jewish Talmud says, "Man is born with his hands clenched; He dies with them wide open. Entering life he desires to grasp everything; leaving the world, all he possesses has slipped away." Take a moment to look at your hands. Are your hands giving hands? Are your hands holding hands and hoarding hands?

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Try holding on to something when your hands are full. You can't. In the same way, it is difficult to hold on to God if your hands are full of worldly possessions. Come to think of it, life is all about letting go, and letting God. It is unfortunate that some people never ever learn this simple lesson in life, and so they spend a whole lifetime being tense, being miserable, and being unhappy.

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There is a Jewish parable about two farmers who claimed to own the same cow. One pulled on the head, the other tugged at the tail... and the cow was milked by a lawyer! A lot of family feuds could be solved if only there is less greed. A lot of hurts could be avoided if only we learn to give in. A lot of precious memories could be made if only we reach out to each other in humility and break the walls that divide us. When, oh when, will we ever learn?

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I've said it before, and I say it again. Use money for your salvation, not for your condemnation. At the end of our lives, in the final accounting, we will be judged according to how we acquired and used our worldly possessions. Remember, dirty money and unshared money can be used against you. Make sure that before you leave this world, you don't have in your possession ill-gotten money and accumulated money. The time to do that is now because we know not the time nor the hour when death will come. Don't get caught in the "last two minutes." Learn to "launder" and unload your money and possessions now, while you are still alive. And please, don't pass on your dirty money to your children.

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Learn from the gamu-gamu (winged ant). I remember one evening -- while studying for our comprehensive examinations in Theology-I observed a gamu-gamu crawling on my table. Every time it reached the edge of the table, it would stop, move backwards, go to another direction till it came to another end of the table. The gamu-gamu kept doing this over and over again. However, after some time, it did something different. It spread its wings, and flew away, free. Many of us continue to crawl with our feet and forget that we have wings. Such is the fate of people who spend a whole lifetime working like ants, accumulating so much money and possessions, forgetting that they have wings. Are you living the life of a crawler or a flyer?

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If only we spent more time in thanking God for what we already have and still have, rather than on what we want to have, then we will know what peace and contentment really are. The thirst to have more is insatiable, and some people spend a whole lifetime desiring more and more, and never getting happy. How much more do you need to be happy? When will you say "Enough"? Someone said it so well -- money is like seawater. The more you drink it, the more you thirst for it.

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The realization of the suddenness of death and the shortness of life came to me some years ago when we visited an old folks' home during Christmas. During the party, there was an old woman who was dancing happily. In an instant, she collapsed. She was brought to her room where she eventually died. It was all so sudden. What struck me as I blessed her lifeless body was that this woman had literally nothing. All of her worldly possessions were put in one plastic bag. She was to be buried right away. No obituary. No wake. No eulogies. I will long remember the joy and freedom in her face, as she was dancing, and the utter suddenness and simplicity of her leaving. I know in my heart that she went straight into the embrace of the Heavenly Father, she who had nothing and no one in this life.

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Reflect on this: "Too many of us are spending money we haven't earned, to buy things we don't need, to impress people we don't like."

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, as I go on in life, may my hands do more giving and folding, and less holding and hoarding. Amen.