Life-giving

(a short reflection on movie To Live)

The movie, To Live, depicts the life of a family in China in the 1940’s until 1960’s. At that time, the life there was very hard and this movie tries to present that kind of hardship. It shows how they struggle in order to live, how bitter it is for the parents, Fugui and Jiazhen, to witness their children’s deaths, and how happiness and sadness fill their life in turn. The movie ends when Fugui and Jiazhen, their son-in-law, Erxi, and their grandson eating together in happiness, after the father and the grandson have just finished put some young chicks into a box that used to be their puppet box.

In many cases, people die in order to give life to others, and some live because of the death of others. In this movie, it is very obvious that sometime, people have to die to give life to others. Many people died in a civil war, that Fugui and his friend, Chunseng are involved in. Those people died in order to give life to their people. Fugui and Chunseng are saved because other soldiers are killed. The death of Youqing, the son of the family, somehow also gives life to others. He always tries to defend his sister from some naughty kids. His death is considered ‘an offering’ (or sacrifice?) to Communism and Chairman Mao. Communal life suggested by the communism demands a lot of people’s lives. Fengxia, the daughter of the family, dies after she gives birth to her first son. And, in the middle of the movie, Chunseng gives him an amount of money since he knows that he is going to die.

For me, as a Christian, life-giving is not a new idea. Jesus himself is our model and example of person who gives his life for the life of all people. He gives his life so that human beings can live. He gave up his divinity and became human so that men can become divine. In my life as a Jesuit, life-giving is also not a new idea. Self-giving and life-giving, as an integral unity, can’t be separated from each other. What must we do to give ourselves and our lives? We must help and love others, and sometimes we must be ‘dead’ for others life. It means that to help others, we must be willing not to be popular or well known but merely o do for God’s sake. It’s supposed to make other people feel happy and helped. That’s one factor that keeps our life lively and meaningful. As a Jesuit, I find that by making people happy, by helping people, and by being ‘dead’ for others, I can endure my life as a Jesuit better. I can stand and enjoy my life, I am happy with it because I make others people happy. Giving life, being self giving and sharing have become my way of life and these support my life as a Jesuit.