Standing Alone

"McRib is Back!"
The commercials have been running the last week or so, and this morning as I was leaving with the kids for school I saw another announcement that, yes, indeed, McRib is back. Suddenly, I found myself swept through time to my first church where I served as a young priest. St. Michael's was on Summer Avenue and the McDonalds was about half a mile away. I rarely had (or took) time for a proper meal, in part because eating alone was still new to me (and somewhat depressing). I was also trying to serve the Lord and it seemed that having to eat in my car because I had no time was a sign of that commitment. I was young and enthusiastic!

I ran into the McDonalds that day and ordered up "a McRib, hold the onion" when to my surprise the young lady said, "We don't serve those any more." When I asked why she said that they had not sold enough in the last six months to justify keeping them on the menu. "Well, how many did you sell?" I asked. She said, "Six." I looked at her and said, "I wonder who ate the other one..."

Realizing that I had been the sole (with one exception) purchaser of McRibs during that six month period was a surprise. It made me feel out of step with the thousands of people who lived and worked in my neighborhood. As a Catholic priest, I usually felt 'different', so it wasn't the first time. Yet there was a bit of a sting to it. Like most people, I wonder if there is something wrong with me.

Being different can be a positive. There was a time when everyone wanted to be "unique" which meant that they were "special." I do not hear that so much any more. Moods and styles change with different generations. The desire to be different is often balanced by the need for community. We want to belong, to be 'part of.'

This morning as we drove to school (it was 6:40 am) it was dark. My daughter, more an owl than an early bird, muttered, "I am not into this.... this darkness." She then asked when the time change would be so she would not be going to school in the dark. I told her I liked the phrase and would blog on it this morning. It ties in with being alone. The darkness, as Jesus refers to it, is our world. Jesus came into the world to be the light of the world. The darkness did not apprehend Him. The Greek word, like the English word apprehend, is double meaning. It can mean to understand and it can mean to overcome. The world we live in is increasingly secular and hostile to the traditional faith. As such, believers find themselves more and more often standing alone. Even churches are less secure. Fewer people go to church. Many churches teach all manner of things inconsistent with the traditional faith.

The danger is that one can fall in love with standing alone. One can become combative for the sake of being combative. One can be so defensive that one no longer listens to others. On the other hand, the more likely temptation is to 'join the crowd and fit in.' I think that 'not being into the darkness' is the key. It is about being His.

I try not to think too much about the isolation of life as a traditional Christian in a culture and church where tradtional beliefs are held in low regard. Yet, even so, I think about it a lot. Will my faith stay strong as fewer and fewer others believe? Will my faith stay strong when I see people persecuted inside the church and outside for believing? I no longer naively assume that I will stand strong. I pray that God will keep me strong. I remember that the darkness does not understand Jesus, but it also does not conquer Him. I pray, each day, that He would be in me and I in Him. I pray the same for you!