Psalm 50:7-15, 22-24
Isaiah 1:2-4, 16-20
Matthew 23:1-12
I AM A TRUE PRODUCT of the Me Generation, whose litany has been: “I’ll do it alone / No help needed / Can’t listen to you as I am too busy with myself and my worldly goals.”
This mantra had encased my nascent spiritual life in a polished and seemingly impregnable cocoon, and therefore, isolated, I believed my relationship with God to be unique.
I use the past tense for the above because a small crack was rent in that shiny surface, widening just a bit more after meditating on today’s readings.
These three works from disparate periods conjoin beautifully, forming a concise and clear summation of the simplicity of our relationship with God.
Listening to God and acting upon his word is the crux of the matter. God’s message is loud and clear:
- Praise God for he is glorious and omnipotent.
- Rejoice because he has made a covenant with man and has sealed it with a new sacrifice of thanksgiving.
- Cease doing evil and help the oppressed.
- Put aside our ostentatious trappings and put ourselves last, not first, in our dealings with others.
The summation of these commands is simply to listen, for if you are willing and obedient, you will know what to do and will have the strength to do it.
Perhaps this Lent we can try to simply listen and listen simply.
