May 12, 2010
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. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-15
Piety
Your way, O God, is holy; what god is as great as our God? You alone are the God who did wonders; among the peoples you revealed your might. Psalm 77:14-15
Study
“Groping for God.” St. Luke’s expression in Acts of the Apostles reminds me of the party game that children play – “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”
We are groping for God even though He is right there with us, in us and in front of us at all times. We blind(fold) ourselves by setting our sights on a bigger house, a better job, a fancier car and other creature comforts when the Lord only asks for us to seek him and we shall find him. We spin ourselves dizzy with the choices that the marketplace of the world offers to us – from flat panel televisions and blue-ray players to Ipads and Air Jordans.
Action
God does not want us to be distracted. He wants us to find Him in the blade of grass that Melanie Rigney wrote about amazing Marty Smart last week. God wants us to find him in the blooming azaleas that grace the yard of Bob and Ann Metzger’s house. God wants us to find him in the hands of the skilled surgeon who repaired Tom Copeland’s back (and the one who inserted his new heart a few years ago). God wants us to find him in the faces of the poor that pick up food delivered by Sam Dominick, Pete Garry and others every Monday night within the wealthy suburbs of Fairfax where we still have people who are homeless, hungry and unemployed amidst our affluence. God wants us to find Him in the lessons that Marty and Evelyn Merlo and all religious education teachers impart to the young people in their classes. God wants us to find him in the pages of Fr. Stefan’s new book, Fr. Ephraim’s Sunday homily and Fr. Barkett’s smile, handshake and prayer to St. Michael the Archangel as we leave Mass.
Maybe we can not bear it now because of the heartbreak of scandal that infects the institutional church right now. Yet even the despair of such scandal will not stop God from raising the sun tomorrow morning to light our way on the journey.
God does not just want us to grope for Him. He wants us to find Him! That is why we have the inheritance of Jesus to enrich our prodigal lives. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:15
What will you do with your inheritance from Jesus that you find today?
