Friday of the Third Week of Lent
This may sound strange, but sometimes I forget that God is God and I don’t have to carry the burden of the world (or even of my clients or family members) alone. I don’t want to believe that I think I am God (or a god or goddess), but I’m aware that I am at times guilty of acting or thinking/worrying as if it’s all up to me. It’s actually a relief to me when I have those moments of realization, as arrogant as it sounds, that I am not God! One of my favorite prayers is a rather simple and honest one of Pope Saint John XXIII who apparently would say before sleep at the end of the day, “It’s your Church, Lord. I’m going to bed!”
We hear in the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Hosea (14:2-10), “We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands….” And further in the passage, we hear the Lord remind and exclaim, “Because of me you bear fruit!” Every good that we do or attempt to do, all good that comes from us and our labors, is because of God the one God! We are further reminded with Jesus’ response to the scribe in today’s gospel passage from Mark (12:28-34), “The Lord our God is Lord alone!” We really can’t compete with God (and do we really intend to?). And yet I know I sometimes feel the burden of the weight of the world, or even my little corner of the world.
So, it is a relief when I realize and remember that God is God, and I am not. Certainly I desire to be an instrument and servant of God, but let me not confuse that with thinking it is all up to me. The often quoted gospel passage continues, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength is not the same as trying to BE God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
Let us let God be God, and let us bear the fruit that comes from loving the One God. May God bless the work of our hands (our words spoken and deeds done in God’s name), and then let us turn out the light at the end of the day with the same prayerful confidence as St. John XXIII. “It’s yours, Lord. I’m going to bed!” Amen.
—Eileen Miller