Today's first reading, Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13, again instructs us, clearly stating what God expects of us as His sons and daughters, that is, what gives God pleasure. "Like a stream is the king's heart in the hand of the Lord; wherever it pleases [God], God directs it." My prayer is that my heart and your heart are like streams in the Lord's hands, in that we allow the love of God, God's compassion and forgiveness, God's justice and truth to flow out of us into the hearts of others. "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice," the author of Proverbs tells us. I may think that I need to do this penance or that penance, treat myself harshly, endure strict fasts, and/or, for instance, sacrifice needed sleep to spend hours and hours in prayer in order to be "acceptable to the Lord." No, Proverbs tells us! What God wants is that we act justly and do what is right, as also emphasized by the prophet Micah (cf. Micah 6:8).
This passage of Proverbs also clearly speaks of what displeases God: "Haughty eyes and a proud heart--the tillage of the wicked is sin....Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue is chasing a bubble over deadly snares. The soul of the wicked...desires evil; his [her] neighbor finds no pity in his [her] eyes....A [person] who shuts his [her] ear to the cry of the poor will himself [herself] also call and not be heard."
Some questions that I need to honestly ask myself are: Would I describe my behaviors as haughty or deceitful? Am I chasing bubbles or desiring evil? Do neighbors wait in vain for me to show compassion and have pity on them when they are in a crisis situation? Have I shut my ears to the cry of the poor?
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