Jesus' father and mother were amazed at what was said about him, and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign what will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Green Day’s song “Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a song written by Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong for his father who died when Billie Joe was very young. “Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last, wake me up when September ends. Like my father’s come to pass, seven years has gone so fast, wake me up when September ends.” During the song, the group makes the statement: “Here comes the rain again falling from the stars; drenched in my pain again, becoming who we are.” That is to say, pain happens every once in a while whether we like it or not, but the pain actually helps us by shaping our lives. We become better more mature people by being able to put up with the pain. The pain helps us become who we are.          

One of the more difficult realities that people have to work with in life is the fact of pain. Because we are human beings, we will have pain. Sometimes the pain will be extreme, causing people’s lives to take on a different direction, as with an physical accident, a disease or the like. Sometimes the pain is not a physical one, such as the psychological pain of losing a loved one, or the pain of the deliberate mental harm that one causes another. Pain, whether great or slight, always affects us in some way.

It is likewise a reality that people will react differently to pain. Sometimes the pain will make them bitter people, people who carry a grudge their whole lives, people who will be angry about the way life treats them, and so forth. But for some, pain is a teacher, something that can help us become better people in the long run. Such is the thought of Green Day in their song “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” when they sing that pain helps us become who we are. Such was the belief of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who heard the holy person Simeon describe to her what her life would be.

The lesson for people of the twenty-first century from both the group Green Day and Simeon the prophet as he spoke to Mary is the important lesson that pain can be a teacher. We can learn the effect that pain and suffering has on us and how we react to it, but most of all, it can help us understand the direction our future lives should go. It might involve real change in our behavior, moving us in a different direction that will enable us to live better. 

THOUGHT
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son felt pain in his human life, as did his mother Mary. The pain was not a negative reality for them. It taught them about how they were to live. Help us understand the pain and suffering that we have in the present and future, and help us learn from it as well. Be with us, we pray. 

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