Living

 I recently watched a movie called Living starring Bill Nighy who played a public servant, Rodney Williams in the Public Works Department of the London City Council who faces a terminal illness. The plot is built on a previous film Ikuru and the Russian Novella, "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"(Wikipedia.org). Essentially it seeks to move beyond the nickname given to him by one of his clerks, Miss Harris who calls him Mr. Zombie. This is a person who looks alive on the outside but is dead on the inside. The movie touches on what it means to be alive and to live a worthwhile life. It is set against the backdrop of a group of women petitioning for a playground in a deserted area of the local council area and how their application passes from one department to another before landing back in the public works department. One poignant line which weaves throughout the movie is the image of children being reluctantly called back from the playground by their mothers. The impression that Rodney Williams ponders is whether when God calls him home he will reluctantly respond to the call as he ponders what he cherishes in life.

In the story of Lazarus, we see similar scenes played out as Jesus faces the death of a good friend. This is more than just a realization that the sickness will end in death but how we make sense of our lives. Martha is able to assent to her belief in the resurrection, and Mary is able to assent to the importance of where our hearts lie but Jesus draws attention to how we are all called to be present to God. This is not just about thinking and feeling our way toward God but also how we are physically present in what brings us life. It calls us to ponder not just what God can do for us but how we can be with God and live in union with God. There is an element where we come to life when we lose our life for the good of another. 

As we enter into the last days of Lent and come closer to Holy Week we are called to discover how we are present as body, mind, and spirit to the realities of our daily life. Are we just making our way through life or do we find the deeper meaning which is present in the silence of our hearts?