Prayer Warriors@ St Mary Help Of Christians Church, Aiken, South Carolina at 118 York Street SE, Aiken, SC 29801-4568 US - God is doing something new

 

 

 

“We have never seen anything like this.”  Of course not.  God is doing something new.  We heard in our first reading:  “See, I am doing something new!  Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”  Do you NOT PERCEIVE what God is trying to work in you?  For the prophet Isaiah, he was telling the people of Israel that although they had been defeated by the Assyrians, they would one day be restored to the Promised Land.  He was reminding the people that in spite of their sins, He would always remember His covenant with them.  God always honors the special bond He has with his chosen people.  He honors that same bond with us today.

 

Why is God doing this for us lowly creatures?  Because God has placed His Spirit in us.  Human beings are something ONLY because God put His Spirit in us.  We have value for no reason other than we are made in His image.  I know that this is one of those inconvenient truths we would like to forget, but as it says in Psalm 90, “We are like grass which springs up in the morning.  By evening, it withers and fades.”  As my hair starts to thin, I am more aware of it each day.

 

That is why we sometimes experience a feeling of worthlessness or emptiness.  We take our eyes off God, who is always faithful, and question whether we really matter.  But God is doing something new for the very reason that we ARE precious to Him.  The first step is a willingness on our part to bind ourselves to God in His Son, Jesus Christ.  This is our Christian dignity, to be one with God in Jesus Christ. 

 

And yet the talk of binding ourselves to God scares some of us.  In all honesty, it should scare all of us.  It reminds me of C. S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are taking the children to meet the great lion, Aslan, a figure of Christ.  The children ask, “Is he a safe lion?”  And the response:  “Of course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.”

 

Jesus is not just a moral teacher or philosopher, like Buddha or Socrates.  He IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Scripture tells us that in Him we live and move and have our being.  We are invited to the incredible privilege of binding ourselves to the source of all life and goodness.  Of course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.

 

I know that this talk about binding ourselves to God may sound impractical.  But, in all seriousness, there are few things more practical to our lives as Christians.  Salvation history is the story of God calling mankind to be bound to Him.  It is why God became man.  It’s the reason God sent the prophets.  It is why God revealed Himself to David, Moses, Abraham, and Noah.  It is the whole reason God created man in the first place. 

 

Being united to God is the whole reason for your existence.  Is it any wonder so many people have difficulty finding joy or peace in life when most of their days are directed toward binding themselves to things other than God?  Being Christian is about us BINDING ourselves to Him, like husband to wife.  How can this be?  It is possible because God became man.  Jews, Moslems, Hindus, and Buddhists can’t experience closeness to God to the extent that we can.   

 

God’s invitation is also the reason for the covenant actions of our Catholic Faith -- Baptism, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Eucharist.  The sacraments are not just quaint ceremonies.  In each sacrament we can bind ourselves to God in a radical way.  In the Eucharist, in a few minutes, we will be offered an opportunity to unite ourselves to the Body and Blood of Jesus.

 

Do you not perceive it?  A few weeks ago I had the privilege of witnessing one of my RCIA students receive her First Communion.  She was so radiant with joy – she was stunningly radiant.  It made me wonder if ever in my life I was as radiant as she was that day.  God did something new in her life.  He wants to do the same for you.  Do you not perceive it? 

 

Many of us have not.  It is why we hear the sad, longing words of God through the prophet, “You did not call upon me, because you grew weary of me.”  Dear people, it’s time for us to wake up!  We are not weary of God.  We are weary from attaching ourselves to everything other than God -- to friends, sports, entertainment, pleasure, school, careers.

 

It is time for us to embrace our Christian dignity.  It is time for us to set aside all of those other things that keep us from following Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  It is time to make God -- in whom we live and move and have our being -- our first priority.  It is time for us to make the journey from where we are to a more mature love of God.  For many of us, especially if we have bound ourselves to the things of this world, the first part of the journey is very difficult.  It is why many never make the journey.  It is difficult to leave our attachments so we can journey to a place that we are not sure exists, regardless of what promises that other place holds.

 

 

This is the powerful message of the movie “Fire Proof.”  I strongly encourage all of you to see it, not just married couples.  The journey to mature love sometimes involves periods of doubt, of sacrificing with no assurance of payback, of saying no to your worldly attachments, of journeying through the darkness of winter and then, almost like a miracle, a new day dawns and spring emerges. 

 

Yes, the movie offers a great lesson about marriage relationships.  Its message is equally true of our relationship with God.  Learning to love God is a journey of gradual maturing and deepening with periods of emptiness.  That is why the journey is so confusing for someone who wants a quick answer or reward.  We enter a dry period and ask, “How can this be?  I thought I experienced God’s love, and now it feels like there is nothing.”  Don’t be discouraged -- God is doing something new.  When you finally enter that period of springtime and new life, you will understand what God was doing. 

 

So, how can we grow in our love for God?  It starts with a spirit of devotion.  We already know how to be devoted to other things such as our careers, our friends, our studies, or certain activities.  Growing up I was devoted to being a good baseball player and then eventually traded my baseball bat for a tennis racket.  Unfortunately, in religion, devotion is a terribly misunderstood idea.  We hear people talk about their morning or evening devotions, their devotion to Mary or St. Joseph or St. Francis or St. Jude.  We explore a little deeper and find that there are set prayers, and we form the false conclusion that devotions are the magic words and phrases that automatically produce a relationship with God.  It’s ridiculous.  If, when I was dating, I had read words out of a book to tell a girl I loved her, I would still be single.  Those words and phrases of the prayers are words that others found helpful, and that you may find helpful in developing a spirit of devotion. 

 

First and foremost, devotion is a movement of the heart.  It is giving time and attention to the one you love.  Devotion to your wife, children, job, or studies are OK, as long you keep them in their proper place.  It is only in God that we live and move and have our being.  With God, devotion is manifested in prayer, quiet time, spiritual readings, acts of charity, and so on.  Devotion is that time given to develop a deeper relationship.  Do you have a devotion to God?  Notice that I am not asking if you know how to say prayers.  Do you have a devotion to God?  It starts with a movement of the heart.  It starts with your desire to be united to God.  If you have that, God can lead you on this journey.

 

As we approach the season of Lent, the Lord says to us, “See, I am doing something new!  Do you not perceive it?”  Do you NOT PERCEIVE what God is trying to work in you?  You are something because God has put His Spirit in you.  You have value because you have been made in God’s image.  It’s time for us to stop attaching ourselves to things that will pass away.  The source of all life, of all truth, of all goodness has invited you to be one with Him.  No, he’s not safe, but he’s good, and God desires to do something new in you.  Will you let Him?