The Favoring Hand of My God Was Upon Me

September 30, 2009

Wednesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

"If it please the king, and if your servant is deserving of your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves, to rebuild it." Nehemiah 2:5

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Luke 9:57-58

Piety

A choice! Yes, this is the pearl of great price, yet it is not intended to be buried and hidden away. A choice that is not used is worse than nothing; it is a snare in which a person has trapped himself as a slave who did not become free – by choosing. It is a good thing that you can never be rid of it. It remains with you, and if you do not use it, it becomes a curse. A choice – not between red and green, not between silver and gold – no a choice between God and the world! Do you know anything in comparison to choice? Do you know any more overwhelming and humbling expression for God’s condescension and extravagance towards us human beings than that the he places himself, so to say, on the same level of choice with the world, just so that we may be able to choose; that God, if language dare speak thus, woos humankind – that he, the eternally strong one, woos sapless humanity? Yet how insignificant is the young lover’s choice between her pursuers by comparison with this choice between God and the world!

No a person must choose, for in this way God retains his honor while at the same time has a fatherly concern for humankind. Though God has lowered himself to being that which can be chosen, yet each person must on his part choose.

[From the essay “Either/Or” that appears in the book Provocations: The Spiritual Writings of Soren Kierkegaard. Compiled and edited by Charles E. Moore. Farmington, PA: The Plough Publishing House of the Bruderhof Foundation. 1999]

Study

The “favoring hand of God” is not passing out comfort. If you thought that was the case, the readings today will wake you up faster than a bucket of ice water dumped in your warm bed.

Nehemiah was an important official in the household of the king. However, he offered to give up his favored position in order to be given the “opportunity” to help rebuild Judah. Because the king saw the sadness which weighed down the spirit of his servant, he granted Nehemiah his wish.

In the Good News, we encounter disciples who do not share the spirit of Nehemiah. They are not willing to let go of everything and follow Jesus. Jesus demands that they drop everything and follow him. Disciples have to be as willing as Nehemiah to give up their obligations and privileges and choose the path of God. What we hear from Jesus brings up the serious and unconditional nature of Christian discipleship. Even family ties and works of mercy like burying one's parents, cannot distract one no matter how briefly from proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Following Jesus does not mean staying in the finest hotels, traveling first class, or eating at the best restaurants. Instead, Jesus is up front with the facts and the discomfort that we will share in this journey. “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” We will not even have the kind of creature comforts enjoyed by…well…creatures.

As Kierkegaard reminds us about the tyranny of this choice, “In the end, failure to decide prevents one from doing what is good. It keeps us from doing that great thing to which each of us is bound by virtue of the eternal.”

Action

Choose. Consider some of the choices that you are facing. Which choice will lead you down the path God is clearing? What do you need to do to make that your decision?