First World Problems

Learning to complain only about heaven and hell

02/23/2017

Mark 9:41-50 

Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

          Yesterday our missionaries returned from Honduras, and they were all smiles from their stories and adventures. Each of them experienced personal and peculiar blessings, but one thing was shared universally among them all: the surprise of seeing people who are poor be so genuinely happy. They met people who owned little more than the clothes they were wearing or the sandals on their feet, walking around laughing and loving life as if they were the “Queen of Sheba” herself.  Now, this shocks us Americans who cannot imagine being happy without our wealth and creature comforts and all our technological advances. I remember thinking at first, surely they must be faking it, but now I suspect sometimes we are the ones faking happiness. We assume movie stars should be the happiest people on the planet, but how many actually “lead lives of quiet desperation” as Henry David Thoreau said?

          Have you ever heard of the phrase, “first world problems”? It’s become popular in the past five years and indicates the insignificant issues we face in the advanced countries compared to the much more urgent problems in the developing nations, like Honduras. We complain and moan and groan when our chai latte is not as hot as we like. We lose sleep because the Razorbacks might not make the NCAA tournament. We lose our temper because the red light takes too long to turn green (especially at Gary and Old Greenwood!). And I can’t stand the fact that no one can make a decent martini in this town! What is the world coming to?! In Honduras, our missionaries saw you could be happy without chai latte or spotty cell phone service, or even a decent dirty martini. Indeed, you can be much happier.

          Our readings today turn our minds away from “first world problems” and invite us to contemplate “next world problems,” that is, issues of heaven and hell and eternity. Ultimately, that’s the only world that will matter. Sirach says, “Rely not on your wealth; say not ‘I have the power.’ Rely not on your strength in following the desires of your heart.” In other words, don’t place your confidence in creature comforts. Learn a lesson from the Honduran people who have little wealth but lots of happiness. In the gospel, Jesus tells his followers to prioritize happiness based on heaven. It is better to lose your hand or foot or even your eye than to sin and end up in hell. Forget your “first world problems” and think instead about eternal problems of heaven and hell.

          Today, take two minutes at the end of the day and write down the five things you heard your spouse or your children or your friends complain most about today. Don’t write down your own complaints because they will seem utterly urgent and earth-shattering to you. Here are a few things I complain about, to give you an idea: when there’s not enough hot water in the shower (that’s why I get up before Fr. Pius), when the altar server forgets to ring the bells at the consecration at Mass, when I wait too long to see the doctor even though I made an appointment, when someone calls me during my afternoon nap, and did I mention I can’t get a decent martini in this town!? Then, show your list to one of our missionaries and ask them if the Hondurans would complain about such things. And then you’ll get a glimpse of the secret of their happiness, and the surprising lack of our own.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!