1st Sunday of Lent 5.3.17 Values
The Lenten fast is symbolic of our need to hunger for the
right things.
We forego the immediate delights of the sense of taste, to
remind ourselves there is something better to eat if we are prepared to wait
for it.
The something better is no less than God Himself. Taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps
33,8). Are we hungry for union with God? We should be, but it may take some
working towards such a state.
We are very physical creatures, heavily influenced by the present
circumstances. We are uncomfortable with the metaphysical and the remote.
Many reject religion for just such reasons. They cannot wait
around to find out if it is true or not; they must have their desires fulfilled
here and now.
Even concepts of life after death can be limited by our
earthly viewpoint. Funeral notices talk of the deceased going to be with loved
ones; or engaging in the same activities they enjoyed while alive, such as
sport, or food and drink.
Heaven is perceived as a vague state of paradise.
Interestingly, such notices rarely mention God.
We will be with loved ones in Heaven, and there will be
enjoyable things to do, but there is something far better still. The real joy
of Heaven is the possession of God.
He is the basis and source of all our happiness. He it was
who created the people and the activities we love.
All He has created is as a drop in the ocean compared with
Himself. So to possess Him is to have more than the whole world at once.
Thus Our Lord can say: Man
lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mt 4,4); and Seek first the kingdom of God and all else
will be given you (Mt 6,33).
The mistake of the human race all this time has been to stop
too soon; to stop short of God Himself by becoming too absorbed with something
He has made.
In this life, and even in the next, we have sought our
happiness in lesser things.
Admittedly it can be hard to acquire a taste for God, but He
will help us to do that.
Fasting is one such way we approach this taste. When we fast
(or do any form of penance) we are training ourselves to see that we can
actually survive without the things we thought we needed.
We train ourselves to see beyond immediate physical or
emotional sensations, and seek the Divine Infinity beyond what we can see.
It has to be a daily process - prayer every day, sacraments
when possible. We work God into the normal flow of our lives, not just
restricting Him to certain times and occasions.
We have to keep doing this, just as we do with other
acquired tastes or talents. If we do three French lessons and then stop, we
will never talk French. If we pray only when we need something, we will never
get to know God.
A clue to finding the centrality of God is when we face
things like danger of death. If we are on the Titanic as it is going down we
will be thinking of larger issues, not just passing pleasures.
We might promise God that, if He spares us, we will serve
Him day and night from now on.
We just need to make that promise when there is no crisis;
to see it as a normal part of our existence.
The longer we stay on the right path the clearer the reality
will become. It is vital that we not give up too soon, as so many do.
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