22nd Sunday after Pentecost 10.11.19 Battle of
wills
Give to God what is His. That comes to everything.
Even what we call our own, like cars or houses; but also, closer
to home, even our minds and hearts, our plans, ambitions, desires…
The objects we ‘own’ are really His more than they are ours.
He has a greater claim to our cars and houses than we have, and we should use
them in accord with His will rather than our own. This would mean, for example,
that we would drive safely, or be generous with using our money or resources.
But the hardest part is the interior. We have a way of
thinking that we run our own lives., forgetting that we owe our existence to
Almighty God, and must serve Him first.
Many would say they have complete dominion over their own
bodies and their own lives.
Yet our bodies are not our own; we have been bought and paid
for. (cf 1 Cor 6,19-20)
And we cannot control external circumstances, cf James
4,13-14. We do not know even what tomorrow will bring, let alone planning the
rest of our lives.
And then there is the question of will. My will or God's
will – which shall prevail?
I have certain plans that suit me; He has other ideas for my
life. Should I submit to Him?
Yes, because He has absolute authority anyway, as above; but
also because He knows far better what is best for us.
It is not as though we become robots or puppets. We have a
fairly high degree of autonomy and freedom of initiative. God wants us to think
for ourselves and make decisions, only to make those decisions in union with
His will for us.
He wants us to be habitually attuned to His will, as Our
Lady was, and thus be regularly and automatically making the right decisions.
Once we get close enough to Him, we recognize His will and
come to love it as our own.
Not My will but Thine (Lk 22,42).
We can make plans but they have to be flexible. Man proposes, God disposes (cf Prov 19.21-23).
And at a moment’s notice. We must be ready to part with anyone, anything, and
even our own lives, or the world itself.
We are allowed to have our own preference for one thing over
another, but always be willing to submit to God's greater wisdom.
This is all by way of giving to God what is His. The course
of history is His. The course of our own lives is His. It is all subject to His
will – either what He directly wills, or at least permits.
Every breath we take, or every step - there is no escaping
His rule. Go to the bottom of the sea; or into outer space – no place or time
is outside His knowledge and authority (cf Ps 138, 1-15).
Nor can we escape the inevitability that we must face God in
judgment one day; or that this world as we know it will come to an end.
But then we have the possibility, probability, even
certainty of eternal life to console us.
We are fortunately placed, if only we can keep the balance
and not think we can somehow bypass all this and just live ‘normal’ lives.
We give to God our own wills, our devotion, our commitment.
This will please Him, at the same time being beneficial to ourselves and to the
surrounding society.
If everyone bowed down before the true God it would be a
perfect world, and even Caesar would be happy with what comes his way!
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