Our readings this weekend remind us of the importance of listening to God’s voice, and allowing Him to guide us to holiness. Perhaps this is clearest in the response to our Psalm: “O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!”
The message of this Psalm, and of our other readings, reminds us that God’s word comes to us in ways that we do not expect, and that sometimes the message is one we would rather not hear. For the one who speaks God’s word, sometimes the message is also difficult to proclaim!
When it comes to listening to and speaking God’s word, our challenge is to not allow our own pride and ego to get in the way. Both pride and ego can harden our hearts to the truth of God’s word, and cause us to miss the heart of the message.
Sometimes, our biggest challenge is to remember that we are in the world, but we are not of the world. This is what St. Paul is reminding the Corinthians of in today’s second reading. St. Paul seems to have a very negative view of Marriage, but this was due to the fact that he believed that Christ’s return in glory was imminent. 2000 years after St. Paul wrote this letter, we can understand his words in a different way, by reminding ourselves that the purpose of Sacramental Marriage is not to seek earthly pleasure, but rather to help our spouse to get to Heaven. Keeping this in mind will help us to live by the spirit of St. Paul’s words.
Even if we are not married, we can understand what St. Paul is saying by asking ourselves if our words and actions are drawing attention to ourselves, or pointing to God. If we are more concerned with being liked than we are with proclaiming the truth, we run the risk of distorting the Gospel message. We are called to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our words and actions, so that everything we do, we do for the Glory of God, and not for our own gain.
To give glory to God for his action in our lives is a characteristic of the virtue of humility. When we live a humble life, we remember who we are before God, and we remember that we are created in his image and likeness. Remembering this also helps us to treat others with greater respect, since all humanity is created in the image and likeness of God. As we draw near to the Season of Lent in just a few weeks, I invite you to explore how God may be calling you to grow in humility during this holy time.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB