THE WAY OF FAITH

Surrender, Transcendence and Awe

June 16, 2024 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ezekiel 17: 22-24; 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10; Mark 4: 26-34

The parable in the Gospel today is a fascinating one, specially taking into consideration the tall unrealistic claims of certain sections of humanity, who forget their limitation and vulnerability in their times of upward mobility. Life is filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, and curves and bends, that we are at times at a total loss as to how one can understand and approach issues in life. In spite of this there is no end to the haughtiness of human kind, especially on the part of certain sections of humanity which thinks, imagines and acts as if every thing is in their perfect control. Unfortunately, their attitude, their claims and the decisions that these so-called powerful sections make, affect the entire lots, particularly, the simple and weak, the voiceless and the meek. Human beings would do well to understand that so many elements in their life is actually not in their control and so many other elements that they would like to blame it on something beyond, is actually their making. The Word this Sunday, invites us to understand the right sense of this perspective of life - the human-divine relationship.

Our faith life, specially in days such as these, when we are going through tough times, comes into crisis. There are other days when we may not pay even the least attention to this aspect of our life, because we are flying on the top of the world riding the waves of the good times. The call is simple: to have a clear perspective that would guide our life consistently - whether in happiness or sadness, whether in problems or amidst prospects, whether facing failures or relishing success, we would remain balanced and in equanimity. Is it not the key to understand a truly "spiritual" person in Christ-ian terms. 

What is this right sense, according to the Word given us today:

1. A Sense of Surrender

First is a sense of Surrender that would remind us always that there is someOne beyond us who not only controls us and moves us around, but loves us and cares for us. At times the difference between an impersonalistic theism and Trinitarian faith is eclipsed and forgotten due to some of our modes of interpretation and approach. We look at God as some kind of force controlling everything and determining things before hand or taking to task those that which upsets God's plan! Instead, God is our loving parent, someOne who is walking beside us, helping us to make sense of our life at every step of it...some of those steps may be difficult, some advantageous, some challenging, some even unbearable...but we are through all these, and God is with us. The first reading reminds us of this sovereignty of God, and our need to understand that this Sovereign God is with us, helping us cope with whatever be the moment in life. It is not always easy to take it that way, but the way of faith helps us - if we develop the sense of surrender and say, Lord, you are the Sovereign, you have your way, and I follow.

2. A Sense of Transcendence

The second is a sense of Transcendence that makes me aware of the fact that I am created by God, called by God and meant for God. I belong to God and I need to have that longing to belong to God totally...it is not merely a grammar of the consecrated way of life...every Christian in fact is called, consecrated and commissioned to belong to God. The second reading from St. Paul may sound like promoting the dichotomy between body and spirit...it is not the point that the Apostle is making. The point is, our life is not merely what we have here. The body, the world, the things, the experiences, the others, the attachments, the pleasures, the likes, the dislikes, the discomforts, the problems, the difficulties, the temptations...all of these are passing. And there is just One who is eternal...and that is God. Our way of faith has to help us realise this fact more and more, it happens gradually. We grow into this sense, the sense of transcendence has to come by, as days and years and experiences go by. The way of faith helps us tell God, Lord, for you and for you alone I long, hide not your face from me and I shall transcend everything.

3. A Sense of Awe

The third sense is that of Awe that makes me remain always in wonder like a child who looks at everything with a freshness, the freshness which is not ignorance but innocence. A sense of awe helps me give God the place that truly belongs to God. God has an indispensable place in this world, in my life and in everything that exists...how prepared am I to give that space. The exaggerated claims of some - that we are in control of everything, that we can predict everything and that we can tackle everything - are being questioned and broken with a lot of experiences these days. Let us not make the mistake of making that an experience to point and finger and cruely make statements against the suffering humanity. What is important is to allow our mind and our spirit to have and to grow in a sense of awe at the presence of God with us, around us and in us. Just like that seed buried, lives on, sprouts and grows into a life form...so does our life too... it is guided by the power of God, the magnificence of God, the loving aura of God. The more we surrender to that sense of awe, we shall become that presence of awe for others, specially those who are struggling to find it for themselves in their life! The way of faith should help us see the presence of God in every thing, and in every moment of life and say, Lord, I see you and I stand in awe of you! 

Our way of faith needs to be marked by these remarkable senses - sense of surrender, sense of transcendence and sense of awe. May the Spirit help us in this way of life!