With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.
The human being is a restless, insatiable spirit, always wanting more and better, and never satisfied. And, it seems, so is our God. It sometimes feels like an unhappy marriage, an insoluble dilemma.
Speaking of human relations, the Irish poet John O'Donohue has written:
Each individual carries a totally separate world in his or her heart. When you reflect on how differently you think and feel about life, it is a wonder that we can talk to each other at all. Even between the closest people, there are long bridges. (Eternal Echoes, Exploring our Yearning to Belong, 1999, page 29)
We struggle as human beings to develop words, phrases, gestures, signs, and symbols that will make us transparent to one another. We want to be understood and we want to understand but we're often worlds apart.
In the introduction to their classic Elements of Style, Strunk and White spoke of the reader as lost and adrift in the sea of the writer's mind. They need a lifeline of clear, concise prose to bring them aboard where both minds can think the same thoughts.
If the differences between one human mind and another are so intractable, how can we hope to understand God's mind, or satisfy the eternal longing of God's heart?
And yet, O'Donohue adds, "This makes us attractive and fascinating to each other."
God is drawn to us as we are to God; it is an attraction like gravity which is finally irresistible. "I'm still here!" God says despite the crucifixion, and we reply, "Here I am."
Today's reading from the Book of Micah reflects that longing as the prophet describes the Lord's frustration. We know this passage from the "reproaches" of our Good Friday liturgy, which are sung while the congregation reverences the cross:
My people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me.
We approach the Lord in our sorrow as well as our joy, with guilt, shame, and remorse for our sins and a silent, humble confidence that the Lord will -- again -- forgive us. We have that confidence in God because we cannot resist our desire for God. If I long for peace and reconciliation and joy in God's presence so much, then surely the Lord my Creator must want it also.
The signs and sacraments of our faith assure us. This is the way, walk in it.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.