Friday, November 22, 2019

God, right next to us!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 33rd week in Ordinary time 

November 23, 2019: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13; Luke 20: 27-40

It is easy to glory in a God of the past, recount miracles and remember feats. It is also not difficult to think of a God of the future, dream dreams of prosperity and share stories of great tidings. The real challenge is to believe in the God of the present, the God of the moment, the Lord of my life, the God of the living. 

The strength of my spiritual self is seen in my ability to relate to God on a daily basis, on a moment-to-moment basis. When Jesus today reminds us of the God of the living, and not a God of the dead, he is inviting us to experience God and live with God every day, every moment! 

We are fond of living on a spiritual nostalgia of an experience 'once-upon-a-time' or we are fond of looking at a bright light some time, some day. Like the people we see in the bible who thought of their ancestors or thought of a future splendour, but missed the great and moving presence of the Lord amidst them, in their daily events and difficult moments, let us not end up making up stories and throwing questions at the Lord. 

All that it takes to experience God right now and right here, is being still. Be still and know that I am (Ps 46:!0). Being still would be the famous "mindfulness" that is making its rounds now among the psycho-spiritual gurus...it is all there in the Word. If only we can open our eyes and our hearts to allow the Word to speak to us and the permit the Spirit to inspire us, we shall behold them all, here and now.

Become aware of all that you are involved in - what you are doing, why you are doing that which you are doing, what is the ultimate purpose of all that you are doing - become aware, and see that the Lord is right there beside you in everything and at every moment. Let us be still and experience the presence of the living God, the God of the living, living right next to us!