"To Do Your Will, O My God, Is My Delight" (Psalm 40)

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 40,  we pray: "Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will....To do your will, O my God, is my delight..."  In the second reading, Hebrews 10: 4-10, St. Paul reminds us that Jesus became a human being "to do [God's] will"  because that is what God desired of Him, not ""[s]acrifice and offering" and that God takes "no delight in holocausts and sin offerings."  St. Paul restates Jesus' response, saying:  "Sacrifices and offerings,  holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delight in. These are offered according to the law....Behold, I come to do you will." In doing do, St. Paul explains, Jesus "takes away the first to establish the second. By this 'will,' we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all."  In the Gospel, Luke 1: 26-38, Mary responds to the angel announcing the Incarnation, namely, that the Son of God will take on human nature in  her womb, by saying: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to  your will."

Each of those Scriptures state clearly our call to carry out God's will. He desires nothing less of us! How often, however, do I not choose my will above God's will. How often do I not forget that, like Mary, I am God's handmaid and that God does not desire sacrifices or offerings,  holocaust and sin offering from me. He wants me to surrender my will to Him, nothing short of that sacrifice!  And that challenge to surrender my will to His comes in ordinary, mundane ways:  right now, social distancing and limiting going out of my home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, cooperating with my spouse or with the leadership of my religious community, my government, my employer in responding to this call to do our part in efforts to stop the spread of this disease.  Surrendering to God's will may also  mean sacrificing my convenience to help another person in need, letting go of my way and accepting the way of another person, or changing the time that I do something in order to to assist another person to complete a different chore. 

"To do your will, O Lord, is my  delight" (Psalm 40) or is it really?

Partnering with God, as Mary Did

It is not even a week since Christmas and we are encountering what living the Christian life is all about: surrendering to the realities of life.  In today's Gospel,  Mary and Joseph present Jesus to the Lord and themselves  undergo the purification rites "according to the law of Moses".  They are to "offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.....[W]hen the parents brought in the child Jesus...[Simeon] took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: 'Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of  your people Israel.'"  Simeon then prophesies, saying to Mary:  "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce)..."

Imagine a young mother and father being given dire news about their child either at his/her birth or at  his/her baptism and also told that their hearts will be pierced with sorrow because of the destiny of their infant.  Now, Mary knows that Jesus is the Son of God, conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit, not by an earthly father but a heavenly one.  Shouldn't everything be rosy for Mary? Not so! How did she manage the sorrows of her life? Mary surrendered to God, trusting Him throughout her life: at the Annunciation,  at the birth of Jesus, the Presentation in the Temple, the flight into Egypt, the wedding feast of Cana, his public ministry, Calvary, the Resurrection, the Ascension and Pentecost. She let go and let God be God and she always "the handmaid of the Lord"--God's servant!

Life here on earth, as it was for Mary, is like a rose bush: it's beautiful and brings much joy but it also has thorns!  The thorny side of life is what we sometimes resent!  The thorns in a rose bush, however, I think,  keep hungry creatures from devouring it. So, too, the thorns of life are a protection for us, as it is those very difficult times that have the power to turn us away from evil toward the good, away from relying upon oneself alone to partnering with God.  The sufferings of life, I believe, are filled with graces that empower us to rely upon God, not upon ourselves alone. God is a powerful protector and helper as we deal with life's thorns and climb the mountains we encounter on our way to eternal life as God's servants here on earth!

The Feast of the Annunciation: Mary's "Yes"

In today's responsorial psalm we pray: "Here I  am, Lord, I come to do your will.  Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.   Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not; then said I, 'Behold I come'."

Both Mary and Jesus model this kind of obedience.  Mary, an engaged teenager, and her fiancé Joseph are preparing for marriage when the angel Gabriel visits Mary. "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you" is how the angel greets her.  He then says to her, when it is obvious that she is shaken: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and  you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."  Mary could have said: "Oh, no thank you. Joseph and I have plans! Besides, I do not know man." But, no! She asks how this is to come about.  The angel says to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." And, again, Mary could have responded:said: "Become pregnant through the Holy Spirit? You got to be kidding! Find someone else, Gabriel. Not me!"  The angel then tells her that her elderly cousin, way beyond childbearing years, has conceived a child and is in her sixth month, "for nothing is impossible  for God." Mary's response: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to  your word." And the angel left her.

Oh, my God. What now? Mary is pregnant out of wedlock and risks being stoned to death!  Solid in her faith, however, Mary says "yes" to letting God control her life. Will you and I let God do with us what He wills or are you and I taking things into your own hands, as did Adam and Eve?

Faith in "Good" Times and "Bad"

In today's first reading, Daniel 3: 14-20, 91-92, 95, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego face death if they do not worship a manmade idol--a golden statue molded by King Nebuchadneazar.    All are put to death who do not bow down in worship of this idol. These three men respond to his threat by saying: There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you  in this matter. If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue that you set up."

Notice the words "if our God can save us...may he save us" and the phrase ""[b]ut even if he will not..."   There is no manipulation of God by these three men. There is total surrender to what is or can be. There is total trust in God, the trust Jesus teaches us on the Cross. Resurrection and new life with the Trinity follows for the three men and for Jesus.

It is difficult to leave the outcome to God. Many times I am telling God what to do. And it is particularly difficult not to defend myself or my religion when people say "If there is a God, why does this or that happen? Or, being asked the question: "How can you believe in a God who allows evil or in a church that does such and such? Or asks, how can you believe in a God who allowed your mother to die of cancer and leave four small children without a mother"? Can I say: "If God can save so and so of dying prematurely of cancer, may He save her. But even if he will not, know that I will continue to believe in God and in His compassion, love and mercy?"

Being a Disciple of Jesus

In today’s first reading, Jeremiah 18: 18-20, we are told about the people of Judah’s plot to kill Jeremiah: “Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word.”   Jeremiah asks God to spare him this kind of suffering:

                Heed me, O Lord,

                And listen to what my adversaries say.

                Must good be repaid with evil

                that they should dig a pit to take my life?

                Remember that I stood before you

                To speak in their behalf,

                to turn away your wrath from them.

               

Obviously, Jeremiah is a prefiguration of Jesus. Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, the scribes and the Pharisees plotted to put Him to death by his own words.  ”Carefully, [H]is every word” was noted.   Like Jeremiah, Jesus begs His Father to take note.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, “he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, this hour might pass him by. ‘Abba, Father! For you everything is possible. ‘Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.”

How willing, when I encounter suffering, am I to pray: “Abba, Father! For you everything is possible. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you,  not I, would have it”?

In today’s Gospel, Matthew 20: 17-28, Jesus tells the Twelve that they are on their way up to Jerusalem. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

You and I, throughout our life time, also are on our way to Jerusalem.  And, like the Twelve, we don’t always get it (See today’s Gospel)!  Sadly, we could, like them, still be clamoring for first place, for places of privileges, for special favors that put us above others, as in the case of James and John, who, through their mother, begged to be given special privileges in Jesus’ kingdom, which at that point they still believed would be an earthly one!

For what am I clamoring? Do I realize that, as a follower of Jesus, I, too, am going up to Jerusalem, where, through the process of dying and through death itself, I will be raised to a new life of grace, a life where good triumphs over evil, where I am put in right relationships with God, self and others, where there are no more tears or suffering,  and where sin will not prevail?

Loyalty

As I reflected upon today's first Scripture readings, Ruth1:1, 3-6, 14-16 ,   I am touched by Ruth's loyalty to her mother-in-law.  Naomi, from Judea,  and her two sisters-in-law, Moabites, are on their way back to Judah when Naomi says to them: "Go back home and stay with your mothers."  Ruth says to Naomi: "Don't ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live.  Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried.  May the Lord's worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you."

Wow!  Have you and I, in following our vocations in life, be that marriage,  religious life, or priesthood not said the same thing. We all left our homes to carry out what we know is God's will for us. Husbands and wives have said to each other: "Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried." "Nothing but death [will] separate me from you!"  We religious and priests say the  same to our religious communities/dioceses, to our vocation, to God's call to serve in the way we hear the Spirit calling us through our superiors, our Church, our community's charism and mission in the world.

What  a God who leads us in the path to salvation: surrendering to God's will as it is revealed in the  circumstances of our lives, as it was revealed to Naomi and her daughters-in-law.

A Fist Full of Dandelions

In the Gospel of today, the rich man wants to know what he needs to do to inherit eternal life.  He’s kept all of the commandments but is there more he needs to do, he wonders.  Jesus, “looking at him, loved him and said to him, ‘Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then, come, follow me.’”

 Ever find yourself saddened, depressed, sluggish, feeling that something is missing, something is holding you back from experiencing life to the full, of being the person you want to be, of contributing in a way that makes a difference?  Imagine Jesus approaching you, looking upon you with love, and saying to you:  “Surrender totally to Me, (your name)______. Let go of needing to be perfect and accept the best that you are capable of giving me at any time.  Doing that, you will not hold back but will give generously, graciously, gratefully and joyously, like the little child that comes running in with a fist full of dandelions. That little child is giving all. You, too, are giving all even when the gift is, from your perspective, a “dandelion” and not a “rose.”  You problem is not the “dandelion” contribution but your unmet expectation. You always want the “dandelion” to be a “rose.” What is missing is your faith in my ability to transform your-less-than-perfect gift into a gift that does make a difference, to transform your “dandelions” into “roses.”

Holding Nothing Back from God

In today’s first reading, 1 Samuel 15: 16-23, Samuel asked Saul, “Does the Lord so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord?”  Saul, the first king of Israel, had  been asked “ to exterminate all of the Amalekites, including their king, and that none of the plunder would be taken for personal use”  (The Word Among Us, Daily Meditations for January 2014, 7115 Guilford Dr Ste 100, Frederick , MD 21704-5234). However, Saul, following his defeat of the Amalekites, takes some of the spoil, the best of the herds and sacrifices them to the Lord. He also spares the King. He is not totally obedient. He follows part of God’s will and part of his own will.    This is not what the Lord wanted. He wanted total obedience from Saul.  Saul’s lacked the humility of surrendering his will completely to the will of a Higher Power, to the One who saves us from our enemies.  In a sense, he was glorifying himself, not God, taking pride in the sacrifices he chose to give God.

It is so easy to be worshipping the service we offer the Lord and not be worshipping God alone.  God wants our humble obedience; he wants our all, not just a portion of our giving.  Jesus, the Word of God, God’s only begotten Son, obeyed the Father in all things, first leaving the glory of heaven and taking on human nature and then offering His life on the cross for the salvation of humankind: humility to follow the will of another and obedience in responding totally. Jesus held nothing back for personal gain.  What about me? What about you?

Surrendering all to the Lord

In today’s Scriptures,  1 Samuel 1: 24-28 and Lk1:  46-56, we have the story of Hannah who brings Samuel to the Temple to give him over to the service of the Lord and Mary’s Magnificat in praise of “the greatness of the Lord,” who had made her the mother of the Messiah, who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was conceived in her womb prior to her marriage to Joseph.  Both women’s wombs are made fertile. Both women consecrate the fruit of their wombs to the Lord and let go of their first-born sons: Hannah in the Temple, Mary on the cross when her Son surrenders to God’s will to pay the price for our redemption.  To what am I willing to die believing that new life is possible?  God’s plan for our salvation always involves a dying. Believing that God will bring life out of death always demands the faith of Mary, who said to the angel: “Nothing is impossible for God.” Do I believe that, when all around me is darkness and death, sacrifice and pain? Naturally speaking, darkness surrounded Mary when she said “yes” to the will of God, as she could have been stoned to death if she were found with child prior to her marriage to Joseph.   The miraculous encounter between herself and Elizabeth did not erase that possibility. It still existed until God intervened. That intervention was still a future event and demanded a surrender to the will of God, a dying to one’s fears and anxieties, a dying to anger and frustration and a rising to new life that faith gives to all who trust the Lord.

 Am a person of faith and trust? Or am I a person who wallows in fear and mistrust, anger and resentment in the face of this world’s injustices?