Am I Listening?

Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper (Jer 7:23)

Listen.

Am i listening to God's voice or my own?

Walk.

Am i walking with God's wisdom as my light or am i leading my own parade? As the Jesuit's at Sacred Space ask us:

How carefully do we listen?  How well do we carry out the will of God in our lives?  How clearly can we discern the presence of God in our daily situations?  What kind of influence or force are we in our communities?  A force for greater unity or for division?

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Lk11:23)

Am a a force that unites or divides? To be without God is to be without Love, grace, mercy and forgiveness, all the things that make humanity great. To be without these things is to raise the Self, ones own ego, to great heights. Alone, unable to share, unable to see others as they suffer, Self-interest reigns and the world becomes a cold, inhospitable place, a City of Pigs in which only our basis instincts rule. We see these places in the world today, such as Syria. We know from our common histories that the slide back begins with fear, threat, discomfort. When we divide our house, we are scattered and weak and the suffering is great. We know this.

And yet, am i listening to God's voice, He who calls for us to unite in Love, grace, mercy and forgiveness so that we can prosper? How many more times must i scatter my talents and fall before i can stand fearlessly?

Hope in Anger

When someone we love, honour and respect gets angry at us, we are ashamed because we probably deserve it. What have i done wrong? What have i done to upset you? Anger is not pretty and to see it on a loved one hurts us. We want to change or heal the situation that has caused it.

When a mother gets angry at her child, she does not stop loving it. I remember with a smile all the times my mother said 'this hurts me more than it will hurt you' before laying in the corporal punishment. Oh, and i deserved it. And i did my best to avoid it again. Thinking back, it wasn't necessarily the physical pain, rather seeing my mother's face, anger, miserable, tearful, as she did what she thought was necessary to keep me from falling from the path of goodness. Kudos.

Yet when a stranger gets made at us? Do i see his love for me through the fury? Is there love? Do i see his very nature through his anger, namely a neighbour, Christ? Is the anger directed at me justified? Am i man enough to let it go? Or is my ego so great, so inflamed, so indignant that i must strike back in anger?

We see Jesus in anger, lashing out at the money-changers in the Temple square. What does Jesus hope for through his anger, because i cannot believe he simply lost control. Teacher, Son of God, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do", Jesus is acting in a manner that will teach them most effectively. He didn't post bills or recommend that they take their trade elsewhere. If the Jewish traders then are anything like the Jewish traders now, then a kind request would fall on deaf ears. Drama is required.

I recently commented on hope. St Augustine says, “hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are courage and anger. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are”. Jesus already knew what this lesson would lead to and yet, he shows courage. His anger is a vehicle. I like to think that this hope he has for even the unscrupulous traders extends to us all. Once and a while a kick in the pants might wake us up to what is important, where we've fallen astray and that someone loves us enough to go so far to remind us.

Deo gratias.