Lent 2007
Service in the Providence of God:
(Why we should be good to each other)
Every Lent, we do something funny. We mark out a definite
period of time to consider things more lasting. We speak of
a season to live better and act accordingly. We make
resolutions and even keep some of them. The now-usual and
certainly famous penance accepted by your humble servant is
displayed before you intended as an inspiration. I am not
sure if you believe my denial of chocolate is for your
benefit, but it does characterize the ‘Lenten
Spirit.’
But so many today speak of ‘taking on’ more
than ‘giving up.’ The avoidance of chocolate
may seem immature in light of this advanced understanding
of our Lenten conversion. But undue focus on either remains
slightly off the mark. By all means, use the discipline of
Lent to strengthen your resolve in self-mastery by giving
things up. And, yes, take on more than usual to grow in
virtue. But join me in these meditations on going into a
new place, a new idea. Bounce these around as you go
through these next weeks and ask for the grace to see if
these need or do not need to be a part of your life more
than your Lent.
Before we begin, I unabashedly take most of these from two
sources. The first is the classic and short Practice of the
Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. The second is the most
profound book after the Bible: Abandonment to Divine
Providence by Jean-Pierre de Cussade. Cusadde’s work
is a radical (for its time) collection of letters addressed
to directees in a Visitation Convent in France. If there is
one book (aside from the Bible) I believe every mature
Christian should have, read, and refer to often, it is this
one. For the tech-savvy among us, you can even download it
from iTunes. I cannot recommend this classic more strongly.
That having been said, let us begin.
1. Providential Service as the Will of God
St. John 13
When Jesus had washed their feet,
and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to
them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me
Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I
then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you
an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than
his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent
him.
The nature of Christian Service is a ministry of
opportunity. The need now present is the need to be
remedied. Planning can be speculative; sacrifice is not.
Immediate to Christians and their communities, a lack
demands action. Hunger will not go away by wishing it
absent. Loneliness is not placated by ideals of virtue.
Impoverished children do not need any more good intentions.
The blind man calling out to the passing Christ did not
approach the local board for a permit to make a little
noise. They even tried to restrict him since he was
violating accepted behavior in public. He just called out
his need as the opportunity to do so passed by. In that
instant of history, having the opportunity at hand, he
states his need and Jesus responds. Sure we can comment on
society and its treatment of the marginalized. We can
evaluate the political structures that attempted to hinder
this man from obtaining the services he needed.
That’s a part of being a good person in the world.
But that was not the need divine mercy was to assuage.
Perhaps at another time God would call His faithful to
ponder the situation. But not that day. The greatest
Christian service was to offer what Jesus could then and
there.
If this is true of the Savior, then let’s take it one
final step. If the opportunity to perform a
divinely-patterned service in response to an immediate need
is modeled by God Himself, then perhaps the presentation of
that need is willed by God as well. In other words, it is
the will of God that I see this need right here and right
now. Among all the other wants and problems of life, this
one is the one God permits me to notice.
Take the idea of the present moment as the expression of
God’s will which permits and rules all things as this
final starting point. If we can accept that what happens
now – good and bad – is permitted in the
providence of God, then maybe we can say that the
opportunity to serve – as well as both the grace and
ability to do so - is also the clearest indication of the
will of God. We can say, to put it simply, that feeding
this hungry 6-year old before the play-date is the will of
God. I am scheduled to go to the doctor at a certain time
and therefore, this is the will of God. Sure there are
starving masses of refugees but this is what God wants me
to notice now. If I organized a food collection campaign
rather than making a sandwich for screaming Junior, I would
also be neglecting the revealed will of our heavenly
Father.
So we can say that the will of God and the opportunity to
serve God is revealed in the present moment. This is it;
the time is now. We often slug down a morning coffee in a
mug emblazoned with the adage Carpe diem –
‘seize the day’. There’s nothing wrong
with aiming for the better things in life and it may indeed
be the will of God that we sit around with good friends
enjoying a fine Bordeaux. But if the Christian faith is a
matter of surrendering our wills to God’s Providence,
our service cannot be subject to our capricious grabbing an
opportunity to do so. Our Christian Service is a
Providential Service. It is God’s will, not our
skill, that presents, equips and finally resolves things as
He sees fit. We grab our lantern and stand ready. We need
do no more and should do no less.
And we see in Gethsemane the offering of Jesus to the
Father’s will as the intention behind the most
perfect sacrifice. The acceptance of the Father’s
will was an act – ultimately – of the purest
worship. Patterned in Christ, if the acceptance of what God
allows us to enjoy or endure is worthy of offering, imagine
the greater value of service offered the same way. What God
chooses for us to experience is a way of the disciple. What
He permits us to do in cooperation with Him is what makes
us saints. Our worship moves from offering to self-giving.
We engage in the activity of this tremendous creator-God as
we actively assent to His will. This is the work of angels.
2.
Now and Here: Present To Us
St. Luke 1
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the
virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail,
O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
People who do good to other people are popularly called
‘angels.’
Angels in the Bible are defined by the task at hand. As
messengers of the will of God, they are defined by that
duty. And that task is very specific and real. They
don’t hang around looking for customers. They are by
appointment only. And if the audience of the message is not
there, neither are they. Gabriel was sent to Mary, in a
certain place and in a certain situation. Gabriel was not
sent to a local chapter of the ladies auxiliary of the
Nazareth synagogue to look for a volunteer.
If our Christian Service is revealed in the present moment
by God’s providence, it is who and what is in front
of us who are to benefit from it. This is the difficult
part. It is not always easy to appreciate what we see when
there tugs within the desire for what is missing (more on
that next time). To train ourselves and accept the
opportunity of Providential Service is hard enough. But
when we consider the recipients of that service, it can be
downright frustrating.
Yes, the road often looks less attractive when we see to
whom it is going. But this is not how our God relates to
us. He doesn’t ignore us until we become what He
dreams for us. He is not interested in our better selves or
distressed at our sinful side. He sees us as we are. And
despite the presence of so many lesser and hateful things,
He loves us.
But consider the usual activities of our parishes. We offer
something and it seems as if only the usual suspects show
up. Well thank God! When that same crowd is always there,
Gloria in excelsis! ‘You need help with this
again?’, praise the Lord and Te Deum! Here’s
the thing – they are there and so are you. The
servant is here, the served are here, the service is needed
and the will of God is being done.
But really now, getting all that excited about the most
ordinary things and people? Is that called for?
Darn-tootin’ right it is! Imagine what our Church
would look like if it was? Imagine how our family life and
community spirit would improve. I’m not talking here
about some back-slapping happiness from a Central Committee
decision to be thrilled with what walks in through the
door. No, our ever-Present God is not that cheap. No, this
joy touches the heart of God because they are here and it
is good. This is the will of God.
The resolve of this aspect of Service is simple: work with
what’s in front of you. The same people, same
activities are the will of God. It’s wisdom –
plain and simple. When we see what’s in front of us,
we can start seeing down the road. And this is a journey
that keeps going on forever.
3.
Here? There? Who Cares?
St. John 10
I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,
as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay
down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that
are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will
heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my
life, that I may take it again.
I once asked a priest how a retreat had gone. He told me
that only 26 came to the monastery but he had hoped for
more. I repeated my question since he had failed to answer
it.
For most, I would venture to say this is a standard fault.
We can all assume the blame of failing to focus on what we
have in front of us. But how often do we spend so much time
on those opportunities not present to us?
If this were about a reception or a party, we could hold a
post-mortem and condemn the no-shows to eternal damnation.
But this is much different. We are talking here of the
opportunity to serve as a revelation to us of the will of
God. We have been given that opportunity with real people
here and now. And, yes, there are those who are not here.
Actually the overwhelming majority of the human race is not
present to us at any given time. The largest audience may
be during the World Cup but certainly not at the early Mass
on the Feast of All Saints.
So why do we act and complain as if they should be? And why
do we spend so much of our clearly limited energy on this?
This is a very real frustration for people who take their
faith seriously. Whether others should be here or not is
another matter and it is not ours right now. The stark,
brutal truth is very clear. They are not here.
In our focus on the ordinary and mundane of life, we have
the graced opportunity to serve those who are presented to
us by the will of God. At this moment, the others are not
part of that. It is the will of God, right now, that those
souls not receive the efforts of our ministry.
I can hear the screams now of “WHAT!” coming
from all over! How dare a priest say that some one who is
not sitting there on Sunday morning is unworthy of
God’s love!
Um…I didn’t say that! God’s will is
pretty big and we are not. Just because we are not feeding
some one who is hungry doesn’t mean they’re
dropping dead of starvation. It may be that God has willed
that we not be the ones who feed them. If we can believe
that the opportunity to serve and those who can serve are
part of the will of God, why do we have trouble believing
the same of its opposite?
One simple reason: the ego. That venomous serpent strikes
again. We are validated by results and comforted by
acclamation. And God help God Himself if we don’t get
them. And how many of our efforts are continued or not
based on this?
Now I am not speaking of laziness here. I am not referring
to doing as little as possible and expecting more than I
should. I am simply referring to the energy and effort
spent in the futile evaluation of absence. And we, with our
inflated and bruised egos, spend far too much of that
energy on refusing to accept the will of God.
Okay, given this situation, how do we do something about
our frustrations?
I believe the first thing we need to do is to surrender the
right, not the feeling, of frustration. It is not our right
to determine the will of God. Just because we want the
needy to need us doesn’t necessarily mean that God
does.
Secondly, we need to embrace apathea. I am using the Greek
word because there is no English translation that works.
Literally it means to be without feeling. Ignatius Loyola
and Francis de Sales called this ‘holy
indifference.’ But there is a need to say –
without rancor or sarcasm – ‘I don’t and
can’t care.’ What I hope for or would prefer is
of no consequence. This is about how I react to your
absence or presence only as a manifestation of the will of
God for me. This is only about me. This has nothing to do
with some one as a person but only as an opportunity. My
happiness, my fulfillment, is not dependant on you but on
the will of God. Nothing else and nothing less.
I think that sometimes when we communicate how much people
need God, we’re the ones who can come off as the ones
with the greater need. If we can rest in the sufficiency of
God, then we can offer much more than any attempt to
manipulate ever could. We can be thrilled at those who are
there. We can hope for those who are not. But the will of
God is not dependent on either because the presence of this
providence of God is not found in our reactions or actions.
The will of God is the standard, not our agreement with it.
4.
Christian Solidarity and Vision
Revelation 7
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no
one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and
peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in
their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation
belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the
Lamb!"
‘Being there’ is the currency of modern
religions. We all understand the importance of actually
being in proximity to others and being emotionally and
spiritually available to them.
But the truth is that we are limited and cannot be
‘there’ with everyone all the time. That is
reserved to the Deity who has the distinction of
omnipotence. Given this sad limitation, how do we allow
ourselves to be present with those we are called to serve
even if we have never met them? Even if they don’t
show up or come around any more?
The answer is the marvelous Christian characteristic of
solidarity. We use this word today mostly in the political
realm. We sometimes use it in a quasi-spiritual context.
Neither is really full. Political solidarity is the
agreement of goals in order to change the world. Personal
solidarity is the agreement of feelings to establish our
self-definition. Human interaction demands both but
Christian solidarity is a deeper thing.
Solidarity says that on a very certain level, I am with you
on this. It seems to tap into some sort of association that
is there rather than to create one. Christian solidarity is
the access portal to the communion of saints. Based solidly
in God rather than our feelings or motives, it hooks into a
truth from God’s perspective. It brings us into a
commerce of good and bad. It is based on a relationship
with each other beyond the limits of human agreement. And
most profoundly, it shines eternal value on those very
simple and ordinary shared things of life.
Heady, isn’t it?
Not really. In the personal and social order of things, we
have seen glimpses of it. When we know we are truly
‘there’ for some one at a difficult time and
even more when they acknowledge it, we feel a sincere and
even humbling connection. In many of the sad and awful
tragedies of the modern world, we have experienced our
communities and even nations being united in ways we do not
ordinarily exist.
So is Christian solidarity a ‘community unity’
we experience when religion is the apparent answer to a
disaster? Well for some, it sadly is limited to this. But
let me offer, by way of example, another face of this
solidarity and communion.
One the greatest benefits of being a Catholic is a
non-constructed experience of communion. In recent decades
this has been made more available by the frequent
international gatherings starring the pope. John Paul II
was a master at this and gave the modern church a vision of
universality that few had in the past. Well, back in 1991,
I was part of a pilgrimage to the new Poland free of Soviet
domination. Huge crowds of young people, mostly from the
now-freer Eastern European block, gathered at the Marian
Shine of Jasna Gora. As we wandered through the masses
gathered the night before, we heard the sounds and songs of
most nations on this good Earth. As we did, playing softly
over the loudspeakers, was the Taize chant “Laudate
Omnes gentes, laudate Dominum.” (Praise the Lord all
you nations) Well, here it was. In front of us and around
was omnes gentes praising God. There was a union of spirit
even if there was a disconnect of language. And the key to
it all was that it was not about us. It was not about
respecting our differences or finding common cause. It was
a union of spirit and it was a connection that had little
to do with us. And it was as real as real gets.
Almost everyone who attends a World Youth Day can tell a
story like this. And there have been many over the past 25
years or so. It was acknowledged by priest and pundit alike
that a very large percentage of that crowd waiting for
hours to honor Pope John Paul II as he lay in state were
attendees in the past. This was strong enough to claim that
there is a new generation who has experienced Christian
Solidarity in a unique way so much so that they can be
called the “JPII Generation.”
When we have a perception of that union and understand what
solidarity we have with each other in God, we can begin to
be compassionate. Compassion without solidarity is a
selfish giving. We give because it makes us feel good. The
corollary must also be true: when it doesn’t make me
feel good I do not give. Solidarity says something more. It
enlarges my soul and not just satisfies my heart. It
doesn’t simply ‘respect our differences’
because it says that differences make no difference to God.
It says our cultures are diverse but emphasizes our
creation. And most importantly, it says, to quote Thomas
Merton, ‘thank God I am like other men.’
If this is our understanding of the world based in God, my
heart will go out to those in need even if they are
thousands of miles away. I can pray and work for their good
if God wills but I do not have to, nor can I realistically,
take on the burden (read: guilt) to eradicate their need.
Doing the ‘right thing’ or ‘feeling the
right way’ are pointless now. All that matters is
that I understand my union in God with all people as well
as my reaction and opportunity as an expression of Divine
direction.
I know this sounds selfish and, in a good way, it is. But
honestly, aren’t most appeals to charity similar?
Give because YOU are good. Share because YOU have more. Act
because YOU will feel bad if YOU don’t. This is a
tool of fundraising but has little to do with Christian
solidarity. The truth, found in Christ Himself, is the
graced proposition that while we are never separated from
human need, we are never called to be its absolute
elimination. We do as we can and as God gives permission.
The care of those beyond us is a matter of Christ-like
love. He prayed for those who are not of this fold. He had
compassion on those who were not with Him but who He longed
to gather as a mother hen gathers her chicks.
Yes, it is a world of many needs and many are able to
respond. For some it will indeed be the opportunity to
raise the world’s awareness to injustice. For a few
it may be using resources – their own or
others’ – to alleviate suffering. But others
will be called to do this in strange, local, unseen, and
even insignificant ways. Whether to the world or the person
downstairs is nothing. All that matters is the question of
God’s will. On the individual level, solidarity is
the only standard because it is a premise beyond ourselves.
5.
The Serving Christian – Ministry of God’s
Providence
St. Matthew 23
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one
teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your
father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the
Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles
himself will be exalted.
It’s all so obvious, isn’t it? Work with
what’s in front of us and kiss the rest up to God. Do
as we can because God wants us to. Be realistic and chill.
Have a global view and a desire to act. It is a recipe for
sanctity.
So why can’t we do it? Why are we spending what
little we have on futility? Why are we so blind to the
clear and so cold to the chill of pain?
Two words: original sin. We share a solidarity of
imperfection with all the monsters of history. We unleash
the ego as a weapon of mass destruction even if we see it
as an instrument of God’s new creation. That is why
we have a provident Savior. It is only the mercy of One
like us to save us from ourselves.
Fine. Let’s all agree that we stand in need of
redemption and that only the grace of God can accomplish
it. Let’s rejoice that God looks more to the effort
and intention than the result and accomplishment. So how do
we reconcile all this sanctified living with our daily
life?
We don’t because we can’t. The producer within
demands an answer and a workable system. Discipleship, the
truth be told, is a thing of abandonment. It declares any
system, program or paradigm to be ancillary and even
useless. Christian Service is a thing of vision born of
prayer and real life. The clay does not demand anything of
the potter. The soldier is about ‘do’ and not
‘why.’ One is the teacher; the rest are all
students. No wonder we are frustrated. We want to be the
potter and the general and the teacher. We know so much and
have seen so much. Surely a God who is wise can see that
too! I may have my faults. I can be really sinful. But even
with these, I have a better and wiser self that has really
been inspired and could be of real service. After all, they
told me that at Graduation and gave me permission to change
the world. I’ve discovered my talents and ministry.
Why hasn’t God or those who claim to work for Him?
In short: who cares? And if you do, the answer is
‘no.’ This whole line of thought is absent one
essential thing. There is no prayer. And by prayer I mean
that constant availability to the powerful presence of God.
And the moral life is a detector that aims us toward or
away from that burning fire. How we live, how we serve, is
or is not an agreement to the will of God. If service is an
act of worship responding to grace, then it becomes also a
matter of morality since it is or is not a proper thing. A
patient God is more than lenient in allowing us to discover
it. A gracious God has not sent us on a wild-goose chase to
‘find our ministry’ but provides in the
ordinary, the opportunity to serve.
Service is not something to do as if it were just another
religious duty. Nor is it merely a consciousness or
mind-set. Rooted solely in the authority and goodness of
God, it is not about ‘being there’ as much as
it is about being. It stands ready but unplanned, able
without attitude, compassion of heart yet unconcerned with
results. It doesn’t see the other person just as some
one worthy of dignity but dignifies the divine
manifestation with worship. Like true prayer, Christian
Service is only about God. As they say of the lottery,
‘you have to be in it to win it.’ And for
Christian Service, it has to be in God in order to be in
the first place.
We all know what God wants us to do. It’a there in
the Book. But this Provident God wants us to know God. That
can only be found in prayer.
6.
Go Forth and Serve
St. John 15
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in
my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my
love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and
abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that
my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. "This
is my commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if
you do what I command you.
I remember walking out of a Methodist church in New
England. As you walked in and to your seat, you were in a
postcard. But as you turned to leave, there was a large
sign hanging from the choir-loft. It said: “Service
Entrance.”
Worship doesn’t lead to Service as much as Service
extends it. We can honor God only by doing His will.
Failing that, He waves off the countless sacrifices and
many words by which we try to flatter Him. What we proffer
to win His favor can only be described (as He Himself said)
as ‘loathsome.’ But what delights His Sacred
Heart is the attempt of His children to act like Himself.
Imitation is not just the highest form of flattery; in this
case it is worship. Rooted first in communion with Jesus
who is
the
Answer, we ourselves become the answer for others. We
infallibly proclaim that as God became flesh for the
benefit of humanity, humanity should be as God for the same
reason.
This is both trust and freedom. We trust in the providence
of God who reveals His will to us by the opportunities He
presents us. We also know such freedom when we discern this
truth without the poisonous weight of false guilt telling
us that we are neglecting the rest of the world. And as we
feel a new grace prompting us to Service in a strange
vigor, we pause in a shocked humility that God has freely
chosen to trust us with each other.
In this awe, let the Service begin.
Epilogue
The question: “Father, what do you do here?”
The answer: “Nothing.”
I am not being sarcastic or pious here. The answer is that
there are times when I really cannot do anything. At
others, an equally honest answer is “too much.”
Think of all the other possibilities: not enough, nothing
important, not as much as I should. The reason is that with
Multiple Sclerosis one day, one hour, is never like the one
before.
These reflections this Lent were born of frustration with
the variants of activity that manifest from MS as well as
my own laziness. For me, sloth is too often a goal instead
of a vice. And I am not alone. But it has become hard to
ignore my frustration and that of my priest-friends. Guys
who are good and prayerful get so down as they see their
efforts and goals fizzle to tedium. It is very sad to see
some one – anyone – end their
‘career’ expecting less of others and little of
themselves as a haze of cynicism settles over everything.
The Gospel says otherwise and all that matters, now and in
the end, is the will of God.
Let us pray.
A
Prayer of Providential Service
Almighty God, from all eternity You have called me to this
moment so that I may serve, with my limited efforts, You,
my God, whose love is boundless.
In Your perfect will is found my only possible means of
mortal perfection. In giving me the chance to worship You
in such ministry, You reveal to my heart the grace of Your
hidden, and often distressing, Presence in those You call
me to serve. And in this ministry to others, You minister
to my soul.
Grant me the vision to see how great is the glory of what
You permit me to be part of now. Give me the discipline to
resist the temptation to look elsewhere than here. In the
vast variety of so many needs and voices, give me a
compassionate solidarity for my benefit and the courage to
act for theirs when it is Your will that I do so. Cast from
me those things which deaden my senses to Your simple and
obvious calling: the dullness of routine, the constant of
the ordinary and the demonic influence of cynicism.
Enlighten my wisdom with Yours. Add to my good intentions
Your divine charity. Fill up my faults with Your mercy.
For these, I thank You this day. But for allowing me the
holiness of service, I offer unending gratitude. The
redeeming work of my vocation is a union with You that You
give me as my grace to see Your glory. Holding Your pierced
hand that stretched out to me on the hillside and the
wayside so long ago, I see today past the veil to the Holy
of Holies. And confident of Your grasp, I am secure as You
lead me to those joys which never change and will never
end. Amen.