Advent Attitude 7: Staying on Message
“Oh, to hell with it.” That is an interesting phrase. We use it when we feel like quitting or giving up. We use it when we don’t feel like it’s worth giving an honest effort to a particular task. So why do we send the task to hell? Probably because hell is thought of as that “place” where there is no hope. It’s no secret that life is full of challenges and obstacles that can often lead us to despair—to an “Oh, to hell with it” attitude. Advent is the antidote to this sentiment. Because of Emmanuel—God-with-us—we are compelled to never give up and to always have hope because we are not alone.
That brings us to our seventh Advent Attitude, which is staying on message (even and especially under duress). Of course, some people are better at this than others. No matter how dire the circumstances, they seem to be able to focus, continuing to believe that what they are doing will bear fruit.
A brilliantly hilarious example of this never-say-die attitude is portrayed in the classic comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. When King Arthur (played by Graham Chapman) encounters the fearsome Black Knight (played by John Cleese) and commands him to step aside, the Black Knight refuses. The two men draw their swords, and after a short skirmish, King Arthur chops off the Black Knight’s left arm. With good reason, the king assumes the knight will then step aside and allow him to pass. But no. The Black Knight insists that his wound is simply a scratch and that he’s “had worse.”
The battle resumes, and this time, Arthur chops off the Black Knight’s right arm. Much to Arthur’s amazement, the Black Knight will not relent and continues to taunt Arthur and stand in his way, referring to his loss of limbs as “just a flesh wound.” Despite the loss of both arms, the Black Knight prolongs the battle by kicking Arthur, who responds by chopping off first one of the Black Knight’s legs and then the other. Finally free to pass, Arthur does so, but still the Black Knight persists. “Oh, oh, I see,” he shouts. “Running away then. Come back here and take what’s coming to you. I’ll bite your legs off!”
Now that’s staying on message! Of course, Monty Python is a fictional comedy. What about in real life? Perhaps the best example I ever encountered of this unshakable faithfulness was in the person of Fr. Larry Craig, who did prison ministry for many years in Chicago before his untimely death in 2006. Once, when I took a group of Catholic high school students to visit him, a student asked him how many lives he had “turned around” in his prison ministry. Fr. Craig said, “Let’s see. I’ve been doing this for 15 years…worked with about 5,000 inmates…probably reached six of them. Next question.” I interrupted and asked him how he was able to motivate himself given such a low “success rate.” He replied, “I do it because it’s the
right thing to do. Jesus said, ‘when I was in prison you visited me.’ Next question.” Now that’s staying on message in the real world—and in the Kingdom of God.
That kind of focus—of staying on message even under duress—is made possible by the Incarnation of Jesus, whose Death and Resurrection reassures us that if God can overcome sin and death, he can and will overcome anything.
—Joe Paprocki, based on Under the Influence of Jesus
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