“Alleluia! Alleluia!”
For decades, I have loved the
repetition of this word. Liturgically, it only occurs during the period between
Easter Sunday and Pentecost. The point of repeating the word “Alleluia” is to
remind Christian believers that the Easter event – Christ’s resurrection – is
such an overwhelming moment (i.e. because He rose from the dead, we have the
opportunity to enter Heaven) that our joy should be impossible to explain
without repeating “Praise the Lord” (a rough English translation of the Hebrew
term). At the same time, I also wonder why this expression of joy shouldn’t be
repeated throughout the year. I suppose it’s the flip side of my difficulty
with the forty days of Lent – I simply don’t like the obligation to refrain
from eating meat on Fridays. Yes, I understand the purpose of the practice – to
remind me of the importance of Christ’s journey to Calvary – and the subsequent
joy I should experience at His resurrection; but I find myself becoming
impatient with a liturgical period which requires that I have to wait for the
better part of six weeks before I can celebrate something every Christian takes
for granted.
In a sense, I realize that the
whole point of the liturgical cycle of the Church is to remind us of the need
to stay faithful to Gospel imperatives – and I certainly recognize that I need
reminding – but I struggle with the notion that penitential practices (like not
eating meat on Fridays) will get me closer to the achievement of this ideal. So,
imagine my surprise, when I came across a column by Jesuit, John Conley in the
most recent issue of America Magazine
(https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/04/19/politeness-forgotten-virtue)
in which he offers an outstanding defense of the role politeness should play in
the social arena. Okay – wait for it –
how does this line up with my annual gripe about Lent and Easter? Here’s the
thing – we repeat the word “Alleluia” because we believe that the Easter event
transformed the world we experience…but the world we experience consistently
disappoints us…leading to the obvious question – how do we reconcile the
excitement of Easter with the facts of what we will face tomorrow? Father
Conley’s column helps me to face that conundrum. Here’s his take on the
day-to-day dilemma we all confront:
Behind all the gestures of politeness lies a fundamental respect for
the dignity of other persons. A mature moral agent does not use language or
gestures that insult another person. One can vigorously disagree with another
person’s positions. One cannot demean the person himself or herself.
And that’s my problem with the
world we – and the students entrusted to our care – occupy. Disagreements no
longer represent differing views of the world. They have become fundamental
road blocks to how we talk to others who don’t share our perspective. It has
taken me a long time to get to the point, but the philosopher, Stephen Hayner
said it best (for me):
“I believe in
objective truth, but I hold lightly to our ability to perceive truth.”
There can be no question for an educator – or a parent –
that the search for objective truth must be paramount; but I challenge each of
us to define the concept in advance. At La Salle, we expect students to suspend
disbelief in the search for Truth. More importantly, we expect them to
recognize that the search for Truth is an ongoing experience that will take the
rest of their lives.
And, for me, that’s the point of repeating “Alleluia.”
Christians rejoice because the Easter event made Hope possible. Yes, we are
struggling through a difficult time…but when was it the case that we haven’t?
We are all on a journey to Calvary – but we won’t experience the Easter event
until after our time here comes to end…which helps me to appreciate Father
Conley’s wisdom:
Politeness … respects the debt one owes to other persons for one’s own
happiness and achievements. It is striking how many current television programs
specialize in the glamorization of resentment. A procession of angry people
unleash their criticism of their parents, their teachers or their doctors in
front of a cajoling host. Where are the programs where we thank that patient
parent or devoted teacher? Without gratitude, our soul shrivels and our civic
life deteriorates into mutual recrimination. Authentic politeness springs from
the gratitude we acknowledge for the gifts given us by other persons.
And for that, I say “Alleluia,
Alleluia.”
