Life and Breath and Everything

May 20, 2009

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. Acts 17:24-27

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-14

Piety

I am here in the midst of ev'ry trial.
I am here in the face of despair.
I am here when pardoning your brother...

Here I am, standing right beside you.
Here I am; do not be afraid.
Here I am, waiting like a lover.
I am here; here I am. (Tom Booth)

Study

He gave us everything so that we might seek him.

St. Luke does not describe just a casual seeker. We have all encountered the casual seeker. Think of the guy on the beach with the metal detector. Or think of someone roaming aimlessly in a shopping mall. They are looking for something but know not what they seek.

Instead, St. Luke describes someone who is getting serious about developing a relationship with God. God is not playing some childish game of “hide n’ seek” with us. He inspires us to "grope" for him with our whole body...eyes, hands, feet, until we find Him.

St. Luke also reminds us that God is not far from any one of us. God is just waiting for us to turn to him and find him standing near just like we hear in the lyrics of the Tom Booth song. When we get serious in our seeking, we also can expect results.

There is a line in one of the Eucharistic prayers that always snaps me to attention. “We thank you Lord for counting us worthy to stand by and to serve you.” This just drills home the point that St. Luke is making to the Greeks. We do not worship a God we do not know. We do not need a nameless altar or a temple 'To an Unknown God.' Our God wants to get to know us. He is nearby always. He even sent a special emissary to be with us – His only Son. When the Son goes away, he has promised to send another Advocate.

Action

We worship a generous God who is right here, right now, with us -- standing right beside us waiting for us to write Him a thank you note for everything which he has given to us.

Think of someone that God has put into your life. Write that person a thank you note.