OLDER LECTIO DIVINA

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival

In keeping the faith, there is a great deal of waiting involved. We hold vigils to prove our faithfulness as we wait for the Lord to act, for the Lord to return. I’m sorry, but I can’t help but ponder, what if we are wrong? What if Jesus isn’t coming back, and what if a life of faith ends up being all in vain? Blaise Pascal, a philosopher and mathematician during the Enlightenment, and a Christian, asked the same question. His conclusion is known as Pascal’s Wager, which states:

“ Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”

Fans of sports teams could wait an entire lifetime for their team to win a championship and never see it happen. Was their hope all in vain? I would say no, of course not. As we wait, we learn what it means to be faithful, hopeful, and patient. We learn how to live with integrity. At the end of our lives, being vigilant in waiting for the Lord will make us into virtuous people because of the very nature of vigilance. God is vigilant in waiting for us to turn to him. By being vigilant as we wait for him, as we wait for anything good, we exhibit one of his qualities.

PRAY

Lord,

Thank you for the hope you give. Help me to be vigilant as I wait for your return. Having faith is not easy. Sometimes I wonder why you make it so difficult. But it’s my own stubbornness that makes it so hard. Teach me to be humble and to see the truth all around me, your truth. Let that truth lead me to the hope of your return, so I may live a life of virtue and vigilance. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. 

Rich in what matters to God.

More and more I am noticing how Sunday Gospels end with a few powerful words that resonate. This week, we are left with these words, “what matters to God.” What riches matter to God? Virtue, holiness, doing good and avoiding evil. What matters to God is the heart, so I ought to work on having a rich heart. What does this mean? Fill it with the things and people I love, and nourish those people and things like the plants and flowers in a garden. Jesus wants me to be happy. He tells me to store up treasures in heaven, because those are the treasures that have deep, lasting qualities which will sustain my happiness longer and not leave me disappointed.  

PRAY

Good teacher,

I ask nothing of you, except for you to teach me more about these treasures of heaven and how to obtain them. I know too little about them, and that’s why the treasures of this world tempt me so much. I know they do not compare to the treasures of heaven, but the treasures of heaven are so hard to notice and appreciate while we are surrounded by things that appeal to the senses. I turn to those things for immediate satisfaction, but they always fall short of completely satisfying. Thank you for reminding me that we are made for something more. Please, show me more of that something more. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 

There is a need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

 There is so much truth and so much wisdom in these final sentences that I can only summarize it all. That “one thing”, the “better part” and the fact that it will not be taken from her are the subjects of books that could fill a library. One could say the entire spiritual tradition of the saints comes down to that one thing. Priests and religious have devoted their lives to that “better part”, leaving behind all other parts in their lives. What is that one thing? What is that better part? Some say it’s the presence of God. Others say it’s a relationship with God. Still others say it’s both. Can we be in his presence without having a relationship with him? Can we have a relationship with him without ever being in his presence? Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist has been adored for ages, but many people have a relationship with him without even believing in the Real Presence, do they not?  Here we have Mary in the presence of Jesus, sitting there beside him with the intent to strengthen her relationship. Many of us sit in his presence at church and don’t really work on improving our relationship with him. And some of us try to improve our relationship with him without spending time in his presence. Perhaps that is what Martha was trying to do. She was trying to draw closer to Jesus by serving him, which–in any other circumstance–would be fine, but when Jesus is there with her, the better thing is to just be with him.

Lord God,

Help me to not be a busy-body, but to know when to serve you. Help me also to not be idle in my worship, but to know when it is best to just be in your presence. Your presence is efficacious. It is our life source, the font of goodness and holiness. This will never be taken from us, if we abide in you and you in us. Help us to notice the better part, and to let your presence take precedence in our lives when we pray and when we serve others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Be watchful! Be alert!

You do not know when the time will come.”

Many of us have, or have had, a pet dog who would come running to greet us after a long day. The time separated from us must have been unbearable, judging by the uncontainable happiness they have at the sight of us. He might have filled in the time chewing on shoes and salvaging through the garbage, just because he didn’t know what else to do without us there. I didn’t want to compare us to dogs, but let’s admit sometimes our behavior isn’t much better. Feeling God’s absence, we fill our lives with sin. As a society, we even become prone to try and replace God and become our own arbiters of truth and justice. This has become especially apparent in 2020. With the way things have been going this year, we may be asking ourselves, “If the Lord isn’t coming soon, when in the world is he coming?” Talk show hosts are trying to indoctrinate us into a new morality that’s the opposite of the Bible’s teachings. In no exaggerated terms, the authorities are telling many of us where we can go, when we can go there, and what we have to wear on our faces when we go. Is this the end? Maybe, maybe not. The truth that matters is simply that Christ can come back tomorrow. And at the very least, he will definitely call for us to come home within our own lifetime. Another fact is that many societies have been through worse than what we are going through now. Nonetheless, we should be watchful if only to prove our love for Jesus. What does it mean for us humans to wait and be faithful, though? It means to continue to follow God’s commandments in love. Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. If you ever are finding it hard to love in any situation, don’t be afraid to call upon God even in the midst of your anger, fear, or whatever else you’re dealing with. He is there whenever we call upon him. It makes sense, then, for him to require the same kind of faithfulness from us.