Walter Buczynski was a 59 year old lender making $330,000 per year as recorded in 2007. The economic downturn in 2008 claimed much of that fortune and, along with relationship issues with his wife, led Buczynski taking his own life and that of his spouse.
The financial and housing crisis of 2008 claimed many victims. People lost their homes, their savings and many lost their lives. One gruesome statistic from that year was that the number of suicides increased by nearly 5,000 compared to the previous year. This number grows to about 10,000 when including Europe in the numbers. In addition for each successful suicide there is reported to be 30-40 unsuccessful attempts.
Financial losses and mental illness take center stage when it comes to suicide in the US. On a personal level, we lost our business partner in our veterinary practice 10 years ago to suicide as a consequence of what we believe was a struggle with bipolar disorder. Suicide is a complicated condition with many factors involved but stress and hardship seem to be large contributors to the condition.
In preparing for this reflection I viewed a video from a priest who gave a homily on today’s readings. During his talk he related the story of a friend in the parish who was doing well financially but this wealth ballooned to multi-millions when he had a successful run with tech stocks in the late 1990s. With this new found wealth he decided to create a foundation within the parish by giving young religious education students the ability to research needy individuals or companies and donate funds to support their ideas. And he supplied the capital. However, he lost much of his wealth in the same downturn of 2008. His response was to develop a network of contributors to the foundation to keep it running. Continuing the relationships he had nurtured within the parish.
Why the difference? Why is one person’s response to hardship self-destruction while another’s is to change direction and reshape their lives in a new direction under new circumstances? I think we can glean one answer from today’s first reading from St. Paul to the Philippians. As some background, Philippi was a Greek city occupied by the Romans and was financially a fairly wealthy place. At first, the new Christian community there established by Paul did not share in this wealth and was unable to support Paul in his ministry. Later their financial state improved and they were able to not only help fund Paul’s activities in their community but also was able to contribute to his work in Thessalonica.
Paul reflected on these transitions in the fortunes of the Philippians, which also translated into his personal financial state. He reported to them that he had learned to live with abundance. Likely thinking back on his time as a Jewish religious leader and in favor with the Roman authorities for his abilities to track down and persecute the new sect of Christ followers. But he also relayed to his followers in Philippi his ability to live with little:
“I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need.
I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” (Phil 4:12-13)
What Paul is saying here is that he had not allowed his circumstances, particularly his financial ones, to dictate and drive who he was. Who he identified as. These circumstances were…well…circumstantial. Not under his control and, therefore, could not dictate who he was. They were in a sense, incidental to his life. And, as a result, he did not let them be a source for celebration or misery. His life was focused, instead, on spreading the Gospel and living the Gospel. Christ was at the center. It was his bedrock. This did not change with external ups and downs in his life.
I remember in college and in veterinary school being very focused on my grades. My goal of getting into veterinary school, and graduating, was the biggest driver in my life at the time. I also recall doing poorly on an exam or in a particular course would cause me to get angry and then despondent. My self worth at times was dependent on my performance in class. A big variable in that some classes were more difficult than others and my abilities varied with course material. Things at times beyond my control.
Many of you have heard the phrase “Carry Your Cross”. This was a concept that I had a difficult time understanding until I finally realized that Christ, while he willingly took up His cross, He was actually doing the will of His Father. This was His mission and, in a way, He could not deviate from what He knew was coming. And we are often faced with hard situations that are out of our control. Financial collapse, health issues, offspring or sibling problems. Things we cannot change. We can let these situations drag us down and destroy us…or we can see this as following Christ’s model. Working through the hardship by focusing on our relationship with God. And with others. To be a reflection of God’s love for us by being God’s instruments for the care of others. That friend of the priest giving the homily on today’s readings could have self-destructed in pity but instead turned towards keeping a valuable program alive, even when he could not supply the resources directly himself.
When we use God’s gifts for the benefit of others I think it takes us out of self focus and, instead, leads us to doing God’s work for His people. And we need to know, really KNOW, that God loves us regardless of our circumstances. Whether we are wealthy, causing us to forget how much we need God, or living in less fortunate circumstances, resulting in us blaming God. Either way we allow our union with God, our relationship with Him, to suffer dragging us further away from His love and the love of others. AS Luke tells us in today’s Gospel:
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)
Mammon (meaning whatever you allow to take center stage in your life) is a fickle friend but God’s love is unchanging. Which do you choose?
