The Three Stages

Grabbing the grace God gives in each life stage

05/29/2017

Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples.  He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They answered him, "We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." He said, "How were you baptized?" They replied, "With the baptism of John." Paul then said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Altogether there were about twelve men.

          It’s Monday morning, so let’s start with a little riddle; don’t worry, it’s easy. What has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? The answer: a human being. In the “morning of life,” we walk on “all fours” crawling like a baby; at “noon of life” we walk erect on two legs; and in the “evening of life” we need a cane to walk, and therefore have “three legs.” How many legs are you walking on these days?

           Archbishop Fulton Sheen also distinguished and described three stages of life, which correspond to three predominant temptations and sins we face. When we’re young we’re tempted mostly by lust and sexual sins. So, if that’s your problem, congratulations, you’re still young! When we’re in middle age, we’re tempted by ambition and power. We want to climb the corporate ladder, or become a “monsignor”! When we’re older, in the twilight of our lives, we amass wealth in the hope that money will buy us long life. Obviously, these is a lot of overlapping in these temptations, but there is also a lot of truth to them segregated into these stages. Now, Erik Erikson, the famed German-American psychoanalyst, said there were actually nine stages in life. But I like three stages because that’s easier to remember and more Catholic because of the Holy Trinity.

            In the first reading today, St. Paul explains to the Ephesians that the Bible can be divided into three stages, too. We read in Acts 19, “They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them.” You see, the whole Bible can be sorted into three stages. First, the Old Testament highlights the work of God the Father. Second, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recount the labor and love of the Son. And the rest of the New Testament, from Acts to Revelation, points out the purview and purposes of the Holy Spirit. This division is underscored in the liturgy of the Mass when we stand for the gospel reading but sit when the other Scriptures and proclaimed: the gospel reading enjoy pride of place. In every age of the Bible, God reveals more of himself – first Father, then Son and finally Spirit – but only in heaven will we see God “face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). In other words, you cannot fully know God without taking serious stock of each stage.

            My friends, take a moment to reflect on what stage of life you are walking in and how God reveals himself gradually and gracefully to you. Here are two ways to help you figure out what state you may be in. First, how many legs do you need to walk? And second, what temptations cause you daily difficulties? Once you figure out your stage, try to grab the grace in it. In other words, don’t wish you were in another stage. Have you noticed how young people can’t wait to be adults, and working people cannot wait to be retired, and how elderly people want to be young again? When we do that we miss the grace God gives us in this stage; we miss his self-revelation as Father, Son or Holy Spirit. For example, can I say this, “I am happy to be 47 years old; I don’t desire to be a day older or a day younger”? If I can say that, and really mean it, I will catch the grace offered in this age. Otherwise, I will miss what God reveals about himself to me in each stage.  I will not know God.

            Four legs, two legs or three legs; temptations to sex, power or money; Old Testament, Gospels or New Testament? These are not just life stages we pass through, each one of them is a gift from God. And the gift he gives us in each stage is himself.

Praised be Jesus Christ!