The hole
We like to see ourselves as independent.
The masters of our own destiny. Beholden to no one. Boldly forging our own way in the world. With the only thing holding us back being our will to do it.
Thereâs something in us that is really drawn to that vision of ourselves.
Too bad itâs not true. At least not exactly.
Truth be told, weâre not as independent as we like to pretend.
Because in each of us, deep in our hearts, thereâs something missing. Thereâs a hole. On an intuitive level, we all know this. Itâs fundamental to our nature as human beings.
Thatâs why, consciously or unconsciously, we keep trying to fill that hole with â something. Thereâs a need weâre trying to meet.
Blaise Pascal called it a craving and a helplessness, And then said the quiet part out loud about how you and I really work,
âWe try in vain to fill it with everything around us. Seeking in things that are not there the help we cannot find in those that are.â
This truth about us is what drives every New Yearâs resolution, every fitness trend, every self-help fad. Everything that you and I do, telling ourselves that this is it. That once weâve got this in our lives, weâll be happier, weâll be healthier, weâll be better. Weâll be at peace.
Okay, but why doesnât any of that stuff work, at least not long-term? Why doesnât it lead to peace?
Because it canât. Back to what Pascal said about that hole,
âWe try in vain to fill it with everything around us. Seeking in things that are not there the help we cannot find in those that are, though none can help â since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object. In other words, by God himself.â
Translation â a glass of water wonât fill up a horse trough.
In todayâs Gospel, we see the resolution of that fundamental need, the only thing that works.
John the Baptist points out the Lamb of God. And Johnâs disciples follow Jesus.
Andrew tells Simon Peter that he has found the Messiah. And they both follow Jesus.
The rest of the New Testament shows us that their lives donât become magically easy because theyâre following Jesus. In fact, itâs kind of the opposite.
And yet, they will be at peace in the midst of it all. Why?
Because theyâre filling the hole with the only thing that truly works.
As St. Augustine puts it, âYou have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You, Lord.â
Anything else is just a glass of water in a horse trough.
Todayâs Readings
