Getting Caught Up in No

When I left the Sunday service yesterday, I felt a bit peeved. The homily did not lift my soul. In fact, I found the homily terribly negative, all about the things we shouldn't do, all about the evils we should avoid.

I sat in the pew and thought of the temptation of Jesus in the desert, and wondered what Jesus would preach about this event. And it came to me, Jesus would turn it around. He would tell us that with every "no" we must say, there must also be a corresponding "yes" to something else. To think of life's choices only in terms of things we must say "no" to is to make our life negative, to make ourselves only half alive!

A good example of what I'm saying comes from the gospel of Matthew. Jesus is asked to choose which commandments of Moses is the greatest. Instead, he replies: You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments. (22:36-40)

Just as the people of Jesus time got caught up in the "no" of life, so too can we. Think of Lent. Do we not make it a time of mostly things to say "no" to? What if we turned it around like Jesus did, and instead made it a time to make a list of "yes" choices? We can visit someone who is sick, call someone who is lonely, give time to a good cause. We can forgive an offense, forget an injury, say a kind word. Such actions would be "yes" actions. And an abundance of many "yes" actions would bring so much sunshine into our lives!

Love in Shadow

Psalm 63 reminds us to Rest in God alone. It continues He only is my rock and salvation, my stronghold: I shall not be distrubed at all.

Psalm 63 is reminding us that only one can give us unconditional love, God. All else will love us in a fallible but tangible way. We need to remember this. No matter how deeply we may love someone or they may love us, be it our soul-mate or a kindred spirit, if they are human their love will not always satisfy. Only God can love us perfectly.

Human love must be allowed human frailties. Human love can only go so far. It is based on God's love, but cannot totally imitate it. So the best of human love is the best of God's love in a shadow. We live with its crooked ways and its imperfect fulfillment. But we know, in God alone is my trust, for he is my rock...my refuge...pour out your hearts before him.

No Energy to Hate

Have you ever come to a time in your life when you cannot endure explanations of God, but rather yearn for insights that lead you into greater love? It is as though you have had enough of the maps of the how, and want to experience the forest or the landscape of the now for yourself; as though mere words no longer satisfied, you need the lived experience.

An ancient legend of an old woman describes how she is asked about her love for God. "Yes, yes, I love him very much," she replies. "And do you hate the devil?" she is asked. "I love God so much I don't have any energy left to hate the devil."

The story makes the point of asking us, where do we put our energies in this pilgrim life we live? There are so many baskets begging us to contribute something, our heart for this cause, our mind for this doctrine, our energy for this group. It's so easy to get caught up in causes and doctrines as to forget we started out as seekers of the Divine.

We need to remind ourselves that it all started with a desire for the Divine; that we are where we are because we have come to love God deeply. We need to take the time to savor where we are in our journey, to stop and enjoy the moment of truth, the place our energies have brought us, the light we share.

It is time to let the Divine warm our hearts and seep into our soul. It is time to enjoy the presence we have worked so hard to identify within our very selves. It is time to put down the map, and relish being.