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Our
Weakness; God's Strength
September
8-9, 2007
Fr.
George Smiga
Wisdom
9:13-18
Holiness
is not being perfect. Holiness is claiming our weakness in
the presence of God's strength. All too frequently you and
I place ourselves in the center of the gospel. We imagine
that our successes and our failures determine what our relationship
with God will be. Therefore, on a day when we are feeling
particularly generous or patient or just, we feel good; we
feel holy. We feel that because of our successful our efforts
our relationship with God works.
Today's
first reading from the Book of Wisdom explodes such an understanding.
The Book of Wisdom says, “Who can discern what God wills?
The reasoning of mortals is worthless. Our designs will often
fail.” The Book of Wisdom is saying that we are not
at the center of the gospel, God is. It is not our
actions, but God's action that make our relationship with
God possible. We have a relationship to God because God has
freely chosen us, chosen us as sons and daughters. God's free
choice took place prior to any of our successes and despite
all of our failings.
Are
we called to do good and avoid evil? Yes we are. Are we called
to work for justice and to love others with patience? Absolutely.
But it is not these efforts on our part which establish our
relationship with God. God does that by God's free choice
to make us sons and daughters. Therefore, we can be disciples
not only when we are successful, but even when we fail. We
can be holy not only when we feel God's presence, but even
in those times when we feel that God has abandoned us.
Recently
the private diaries of Mother Teresa of Calcutta were made
public. To the surprise of almost everyone who has read them,
these diaries make clear that this woman, who many think was
the greatest saint of the twentieth century, who many point
to as the clearest example of what it means to be a follower
of Christ, struggled with her faith on a daily basis. At times,
her doubts about faith were so severe that she even questioned
the existence of God. She revealed to a priest confidant,
“Inside my soul there is only darkness. I feel myself totally
cut off from God's love.”
Now
this is not the robust faith that we imagine would be present
in the heart of a saint. But Mother Teresa was a saint. She
continued to do her work with the poor even though she doubted
so profoundly and so regularly. She was a saint because Mother
Teresa knew that it was not her faith or lack of faith that
determined her relationship with Christ. She was willing to
claim her weakness in the presence of God's strength.
Our
journey of faith is not some self-achievement effort. It does
not proceed because of our successes in living the Christian
life. Even though we are always called to strive towards the
good, when we fail to reach that good, it does not exclude
us from God's Kingdom.
Is
it a blessing if we have a strong marriage and our family
is secure in love for one another? Absolutely. But even when
we have to face the pain of divorce and people who we love
reject us, even when our family fails, we can still be holy
people. Are we being followers of Christ when we work for
justice, when we love one another, when we forgive with all
of our heart? Of course we are. But even at those times when
we give in to selfishness, when we act out of prejudice, when
we find we are unable to love, God is still with us, God has
not forgotten us. Is it a joy when we can pray easily, when
it's easy to hope about the future? Of course it is. But even
in those times when our prayers are empty, when our hope evaporates,
and when we feel that God has abandoned us, even in those
times, Christ still walks with us.
Our
relationship with God does not depend on how successful we
can be. It depends only on God's love, and God has chosen
us. And God does not make mistakes. If Mother Teresa can be
a modern saint even though she struggled regularly with doubt
and darkness, then there is more than enough room for our
doubt and failures and shortcomings. Holiness is not being
perfect. Holiness is claiming our weakness in the presence
of God's strength.
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