Green Day’s song “Holiday” is a statement about the way we celebrate our national holidays in America—often celebrating some type of war that involved killing and hurting people. They sing, “I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lives. This is the dawning of the rest of our lives on holiday.” Their lyrics are a commentary on what we have done as a nation, and now are acting like everything is just fine, when as a matter of fact, it is not just fine. “Hear the sound of the falling rain,” they begin the song, “coming down like an Armageddon flame. The shame—the ones who died without a name. Hear the drum pounding out of time, another protester has crossed the line to find, the money’s on the other side. This is our lives on holiday.” 

What is the makeup of people who lead hollow lives? Jesus would answer by giving the example of religious leaders who should have been living in a holy way and they were not. They called themselves “guides,” but in Jesus’ mind, they were “blind.” Blind guides lead no one. Their lives could be called “hollow."

The rock group Green Day describes as “hollow” those people who extol war as an answer to problems. People who celebrate days like “Independence Day” or “Veterans Day” or “Memorial Day” without paying attention to why they celebrate, miss the point or more importantly miss the lesson that killing people is not an answer to anything. We can celebrate the fact that people are willing to defend our country, and indeed we should, but we should never forget that killing is not a good thing.

There are people who lead hollow lives in our world right now. These are the people who have no substance. They simply enjoy their lives, often using other people, without thinking about what is really important, and what foundations they should have. Jesus wanted the believers in his Kingdom to be people who understood the principles of judgment and mercy and fidelity. He wanted them to lead lives that went further than pleasure and individual fulfillment. He wanted people to be the opposite of “hollow.”
           
Too often those who should be achieving maturity in their lives hold themselves back because it is so much easier to be “hollow” in their thinking. Using Green Day’s thoughts, we must be people who dream of a better life, and really want to achieve it.

THOUGHT
What are some examples of people leading “hollow lives”?

PRAYER

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America