My Wife’s Cooking

Understanding our existence as rooted in God’s love

John 1:29-34 John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

          “Why are you here?” What a provocative and potentially prickly question! If I asked you right now, “Why are you here?” how would you answer? You may say, “My mom made me come to Mass, otherwise, I would NOT be here.” That’s an honest answer. Or, you might reply, “My wife won’t cook dinner if we don’t come to Mass!” And that’s a selfish answer. But I’m still glad you came, regardless of the reason. What if we expand that question to mean, “Why are you here on earth?”? Whoa. Some of us may suddenly squirm uncomfortably in our seats because we rarely take time to ask THAT kind of question. Maybe we would say, “Who knows why we’re really here? I’m just here on earth to eat my wife’s cooking. That’s why I’m here.”

          The first time I heard that question was in the movie, “Star Trek, the Wrath of Khan.” Khan, the malevolent genius, asks two star fleet officers why they have stumbled into his shipwrecked spaceship. He stares probingly into their eyes and asks, “Why are you here?” It’s a chilling scene, and the two officers hesitate to answer, lest they betray their mission and put their crew in jeopardy because Khan will kill them. We hear echoes of this question throughout the movie. James Kirk has been promoted to Admiral and has a “desk job,” and asks himself the same question, “Why am I here in an office, instead of captain of the Enterprise?” Spock gives a shocking answer to this question by laying down his life to save the ship. His reply was a “heroic sacrifice” to the question, “Why are you here?” “Why are you here?” is a question we all must face sooner or later, and you are not just here to eat your wife’s cooking.

          Each of our readings today attempt to answer this same staggering question, “Why are you here?” Isaiah explains why the people of Israel are here, saying, “I – meaning God – will make you a light to the nations; that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Not a bad reason to be here - a light to the nations! Psalm 40’s refrain –which we all repeated – goes, “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.” That is, we are here to do God’s will, not necessarily our own will. St. Paul proclaims why he’s here, namely, because he is “called to be an apostle by Christ Jesus by the will of God.” The English word “apostle” comes from the Greek word “apostolos” which means “one who is sent.” Paul is here because he was sent by God; he’s a apostle, a “sent one.” In the gospel, St. John the Baptist answers this question by saying, “The reason I came baptizing with water was that he – meaning Jesus – might be made known to Israel.” John the Baptist is the last great prophet, the Precursor, Elijah redivivus (Mt. 11:14), who will announce the arrival of the Messiah. Notice that if Khan had asked Isaiah or Paul or John the Baptist, “Why are you here?” not one of them would have hesitated to give an answer. And because they could answer without pause, they felt peace and purpose in their life. It is an important question, nay, maybe the most important question, and we should not avoid it with cheap and evasive answers.

          I read in the news lately about a lady who is 108 years old, and you know she’s been asking herself that question for a while, “Why am I still here??” Carrie Lou Rausch lives in a nursing home in Columbus, OH, but was running out of money. So, a “GoFundMe” page was set up for her which raised $50,000 so she could stay in the nursing home. Her daughter explained: “It is close to all the family, I decided to move her there, knowing that ultimately they didn’t accept Medicaid. The honest thing to say is – I didn’t know she’d live this long.” In other words, her daughter is candidly answering the question, “Why is my mother here?”  She’s not sure! It’s not an easy question to answer for anyone, especially if you’re 108 years old!

          My friends, let me ask you that provocative and prickly question again, “Why are you here?” And I’m asking you to consider your answer in the biggest and broadest context possible, that is, not just why are you here at Mass today, but why do you exist at all? Why did God make you out of nothing? And now that you will exist for all eternity, for what purpose are you here? Why are you here? Some content themselves with shallow and feeble answers like, “I’m here to make lots of money!” or “I’m here to enjoy all the pleasures this planet has to offer!” or, a little more noble, “I am here for my children and grandchildren!” or “I’m here to help people, and maybe cure cancer!” While some of these answer are adequate, they don’t go deep enough. After all, why is Carrie Lou Rausch still here: she’s not doing any of those things.

          The best answer is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches, “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.” It continues, “Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (Catechism, 27). In other words, like Isaiah and Paul and John the Baptist, we must root our answer to this question in God’s love, in God’s will, and in God’s goodness. The reason you are here, the reason Carrie Lou is here, the reason I am here, the reason anyone is here, is because God loves us.  Or, as the Catechism used to say, “God made us to know, love and serve him in this life and to be happy with him in the next.” Oh, and also to eat your wife’s cooking.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!