You Did Not Require Reflections from Psalm 40, 40:6, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.” Tim Stafford in his book ‘Knowing the Face of God’ tells this story about St. Patrick, “The story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king’s foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king’s forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know. The king replied, “I thought it was part of the ritual.” I don’t know about you, but as I get older I long for those aha moments; when I get slammed in the brain with that sudden realization, inspiration or insight. All the thinking is done and the light bulb finally goes off over my head like some silly cartoon character. That moment is usually followed by someone I’m with exclaiming that I have that dumb look on my face again. Over the last several years some of those aha moments have revolved around my changing relationship with the Lord. I was always taught that the Lord ‘desires’ a relationship with me. Personally, I hate that phrase. I believe the Lord ‘demands’ a relationship with me. I believe that as a child of God, my primary responsibility is to my creator. Any goodness I have comes solely through Him, because of Him and for Him. Any goodness that I show is a weak reflection of how great the Lord is. When I do bad things, it’s all on me. My ability to be good, to bear good fruit, is directly related to the strength of my relationship with the Lord. My faith didn’t increase because I learned more rituals or because I memorized more prayers. That aha moment came when I finally understood in my soul what the prophet Samuel meant when he told Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Sacrifices done without faith, following the script of rituals without passion, or saying memorized prayers were meaningless in strengthening my relationship with the Lord. Those actions were like blemished sacrifices thrown onto a cold altar. For me, the aha moments come when I shut my mouth and listen to whisper of the Lord. It is when I hear Him calling from the altar during Mass; when I feel His presence in the Eucharist, when I prayer the Our Father and can’t get past the words “your will be done” that becomes a mantra for my day; when I see the face of Jesus staring at me from a homeless person. The Lord doesn’t want my sacrifices; He just wants my undivided attention and when I give it to Him wonderful things happen. Heavenly Father, each day I try to breath in your power and majesty through your words. I know I’m a poor representation of your glory, but I will continue to try and do your will and not mine. I know that the greatest sacrifice I can give is my undying love and commitment to you. The Peace of the Lord be with you always. Fr. Greg
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 01:27:28 +0000
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