January 22, 2008

Boomerangs and the Moral Life

I can remember my first experience of cause and effect. When I was around four years old my hippie aunt was my baby-sitter. One day she entrusted me to some neighbor friends of our family, a young couple. I remember going out into a field to watch the man throw a boomerang. Well, BOOM, I caught it right in my face! I remember the shock, the pain, the blood and the swollen nose. Whenever I visit this couple I love to re-tell the story; it has become quite enhanced over the years!

Every cause has an effect. Every effect has a cause. What comes around goes around. What you throw comes back to you, especially if it is a boomerang! "He who sows injustice will reap calamity" (Proverbs 22:8). Or as Saint Paul put it, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal 6:7). In other words, if you plant tomato seeds, then you will get tomatoes. This moral maxim is important for how we live our lives. More from Saint Paul: “For he who sows to his own flesh will from flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:8). “The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6).

This principle should shape our moral life. We must strive to do good. We must strive to avoid evil. Yet, when we fall we must honestly take responsibility for our actions. When I sin, I damage myself and others. Like the boomerang story, sometimes we get wounded by other people. Think about the damage a divorce causes to the children. So let us pray about the many choices we face in life.

God bless you,

Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR

St. Joseph Friary, New York, NY

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