13th Sunday Ordinary Time (A) 2 July 2023 Putting God first
Do we put God first? We know we should but actually doing that is another matter.
God can seem far away while other things are right with us, all around us.
Many things are important to us, many things are attractive to us. These things will eat into our limited time and absorb our attention.
Several prayers of the Church acknowledge this difficulty. Frequently in these prayers we ask God to help us despise the things of the world and come to love the things of heaven.
St Paul tells us in to have our minds fixed on where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father (Col 3,1-2).
This is not so easy but it must be possible. By God's grace we learn to look deeper into different dimensions of reality. We cannot see the spiritual world, usually, but we can still be aware of its closeness.
We have a fear perhaps of being too ‘spiritual’ as in absent-minded, not facing hard practical reality. We still have to look both ways when we cross the road!
If we get the balance right we should be able to deal with the physical reality around us more efficiently, applying greater wisdom and motivated by grace.
We have to learn to be still and know that He is God (Ps 46,10); to come to trust in God to make things run as they should.
That is the real business at hand. If we trust God we can happily organize ourselves around Him and His will for us.
Seek first the kingdom of God… and all these things will be given you (Mt 6,33).
Whatever we need will be given to us. Not everything we may want, but everything we need. And we learn to want the right things in the right way and the right amount.
Another fear of becoming too spiritual is having to give up things to which we have become attached.
We learn instead moderation and purification of our desires. We want only what God wants us to have. Who has God wants nothing… St Teresa of Avila.
Too much of anything is going to do more harm than good.
Some will say that as far as needs go, they do not need God. They can manage for themselves. This is while they experience good fortune. But how quickly it can all come undone. No one can defy God and win.
Much of God’s creation is of a beauty that is hard to resist. But the more attractive something is just shows how good God must be to make all these other things. When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; 4 what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? (Psalm 8,3-4)
If we do put God first our capacity to appreciate the many blessings around us will expand. We see into depths that were previously hidden. We appreciate things more, but we are not enslaved to them.
Ironically, the things that interest us so much all come from God anyway, and would not be there but for His providence.
We must thank Him for these things, and then ask for the wisdom to use them as He would wish.
Prayer is especially important if we are to achieve a change of viewpoint. Through prayer we come to understand the ‘personal’ nature of God. He is not an unfeeling force indifferent to our troubles. He wants to comfort us in our distress and will do so if we let Him.
There is no getting around it: God is first by any way of looking at it. It is a point that has escaped much of the human race for much of the time. We must see it and live by it. His grace makes it possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment