Innate, Not Foreign

“No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out."

Deuteronomy 30:14

Sometimes it can feel as if God is far away and is someone who is distant and hard to grasp, especially when we are going through difficult times and trials. We may begin to doubt and question God and His existence and goodness because our suffering seems unjust or our trials too trying. When this happens the enemy will do all that he can to persuade us to stay in this state and wallow in our misery, driving us farther away from the Light, from God, from the One who calls us beloved. The enemy tries his best to tell us that God is foreign to us.

As he begins to prepare for his final moments, Moses once again encourages the Israelites. He reminds them of the commandment to love the Lord with their entire being, and that this commandment is not some lofty, idealistic imperative, but rather something very close to their hearts, something that is not foreign but rather innate.

Brothers and sisters, God is not neither far from us nor is He foreign. Every fiber of our being is connected to God, in whose image and likeness we are created. The command that Moses enjoined on the Israelites became flesh in Christ Jesus and in every way, inscribed upon our hearts and woven in our DNA. Truth, goodness, and beauty are not foreign to us. They are a part of us, they are that which draws us close to God and to one another. To know God and to be known by God is not something foreign to us, but rather innate. We were made by God, for God. So, when we find ourselves in a situation where we are tempted to pull away from God, let us always remember that deep down we know the true voice that speaks to us, the voice that says, “I am with you always. Just as the Father and I are one, so too are you one in us. Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

Fruits and Growth

“Israel is a luxuriant vine
whose fruit matches its growth.”

Hosea 10:1

The Prophet Hosea speaks of Israel as a luxuriant vine. At this time in history, Israel was not being very faithful to God, so much so that Israel was likened to a prostitute. Yet, God reminded them of their dignity and who they were and professed His love to them time and again. But that did not stop the Israelites from turning away from Him. Although God regards Israel as a “luxuriant vine,” she has cheapened herself, becoming a fruitless vine. We too are regarded as “luxuriant,” do we see it or do we too cheapen ourselves? Do our fruits match the luxuriant nature with which we have been endowed?

Sin is ugly and oftentimes it takes a strong hold on us. It may affect the way we think, speak, and act. Perhaps there have been times when we deliberately do or say things that we know are wrong, and as a result of that find it shameful to return to God. Just as Israel sold herself to other powers, prostituting herself, there may have been times when we have done the same. Have we allowed the power of the world and the enemy draw our hearts away from what is true, good, and beautiful? How do we know? By our fruits. Do what we think, say, and do reflect the goodness of God or does it reflect something else? Maybe our own pride, selfish desires and ambitions, or greed. It is by our fruits that we and others will come to know to whom we have decided to belong.

Brothers and sisters, being made in the image and likeness of God we have been endowed with a dignity that is far beyond any price we can imagine; we are the luxuriant vine that is grafted onto Christ who draws us into His Father’s loving embrace. May we never lose sight of our true identity.

Fearless Sheep

“Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”

Luke 10:3

Our world today seems to be filled with well-prepared and strategic wolves and loss and confused sheep. We live in a world where Truth no longer matters, where human life is no longer regarded as sacred. Just in the City of Philadelphia this year nearly 250 (or more) innocent lives have been lost due to gun violence and other senseless acts. Who would have guessed that about 2000 years after the Resurrection, we would be living in a world where death is still seemingly winning?

From today’s First Reading, we hear in Third Isaiah the Lord telling the people to rejoice and exult. But the Israelites were returning to a Jerusalem that was no longer the same. It has become desolate, like a wasteland. It was not as glorious as it once was, there was no life, but God had told them to rejoice. Why? Because He will bring life once again.

Jesus, the Prince of Life, commissions 72 disciples to go out into the towns and villages to cure the sick and proclaim the Kingdom, warning them that they are being sent like sheep among wolves, yet to bring nothing! How can this make sense? One minute He tells them they are being sent out like defenseless sheep among hungry wolves and the next He tells them to not bring anything. On face value it does seem contradictory, but if we look closer, it really is not. Jesus is telling them to be like sheep, for sheep relies and depends entirely on their shepherd. They know that the shepherd will protect them from the wolves so they need not worry or fear. They are called to be the fearless sheep of the Good Shepherd.

The Lord further outlines what they should do — enter and stay and be gracious guests and if they are no longer welcomed to leave, shake off the dusk from the feet and keep moving, all while proclaiming the truth of the Kingdom. Brothers and sisters we are called to be fearless sheep, who are unafraid to walk in this world that is filled with hungry wolves. We are called to depend utterly and radically on God, His Word, and His Providence. God will provide. To do this, we only need to do one thing: put prayer first. We must put our relationship with God first, then all that we need will be given to us when we are ready to receive them.

We are fearless sheep not on our own accord, but we are the fearless sheep of God, the God who led the Israelites out of Egypt, the God who sent His only begotten Son into the world, and the God who raised His Son from the dead so that we might no longer live in fear for His Son has conquered all things, even death.