To and From Evil
I have been nourished and inspired by my new Small Christian Community which is truly a Gathering in Grace (GIG). We gather to share THE SPIRITUALITY OF SPORTS. We are a very diverse group of men and women, young Academy parents and longtime parishioners. A common thread is that we all played sports at the collegiate level.
We have watched and discussed movies and read books. We begin and end each session by reading and reflecting on the Gospel for Mass on the coming weekend. We simply make connections between the Gospel, our lives, our experiences in sports and other resources, but the Gospel grounds us.
We will discuss MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING during our next session. One of our members suggested this classic book written by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychologist, philosopher and Holocaust survivor in 1945.
The Gospel this weekend according to Mark, and the first reading from Genesis, have to do with evil. From Genesis we hear the man and woman answer God’s question as to why they tasted the forbidden fruit. The serpent introduces evil to the creation story and deceives humanity, urging the consumption of what is forbidden. The snake thus becomes a symbol for evil and an answer to WHY.
Mark tells us that the scribes accuse Jesus of driving out evil from people because he is possessed by the prince of evil. Jesus answers by asking, “Why would Satan drive out Satan?”
In the introduction to the book MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING, Frankl quotes Friedrich Nietzsche who said, “He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW.”
This quote immediately caught my attention. Perhaps you have heard me extolling what I believe are at least three types of WHY.
The Philosophical Why: asking Why do bad or evil things happen?
The Inquisitive Why: asking Why is the sky blue?
And, most importantly, the Motivational Why: Why do you do what you do?
Rabbi Harold Kushner sums up Frankl’s psychology by comparing it to Sigmund Freud who investigates humanity’s desire for pleasure, and Alfred Adler who investigates humanity’s desire for power. Frankl founded the logotherapy method for investigating humanity’s desire for MEANING.
Once again, this touches on something very near and dear to my heart. Through my many years of walking with people in search of purpose, happiness and fulfillment, I have stressed one of the church’s great gifts called discernment. It took on a more institutional meaning as it became a cornerstone of the seminary system guiding men to make a commitment to ordained priesthood.
However, the Second Vatican Council encourages all baptized, indeed all people, to come in touch with a desire for meaning by reflection, prayer, guidance from others and learning. These are some of the foundations of discernment, a great gift of spiritual growth.
So, what are the common threads in all of this – a sports focused GIG, the Gospel, the question why, evil, and our search for meaning? I believe that Viktor Frankl provides us with perduring wisdom out of the horrors of the Holocaust. Our SCC has quickly applied experiences in sports with experiences in life. We have bonded quickly, more so out of sports application to life than our memories of competing and conditioning. Life challenges us and one of the most significant challenges is evil. If we become more aware of our motivation – Why we do what we do? – we will move further into the meaning of life and what we are urged to do by our God.
The Gospel consistently provides a grounding for each discussion and, quite naturally, our group has tied together messages from film and literature to create a voyage into motivation and meaning, both of which emanate quite naturally from the spirituality and physicality of sports.
When we search for meaning and hold to a hope that any WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW, we gain confidence in the God-given goodness that is deep within us and is more powerful than any evil.