Why do you do what you ?
While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here--
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."
Why do you do this? Why have you logged on to this blog? Why am I writing this in the first place? Haven't we enough things going on on in our personal lives, why do we go to the rounds of preaching and preparing for a Sunday liturgy? Wouldn't be easier just to crawl into an obscure hole and let the 'storms of destruction' pass by? After all, are there not forces at work in this world larger than I, what possible contribution could I really make that would make a difference.
Well, there is only one answer to all this. I do these things, I pop my head above the parapet, I dare raise my voice because - I BELIEVE! That is the short and sweet of it, I believe.
I believe that no matter what happens in my life that God is present. I believe that I have been called into relationship with the He Who Is, and because of that all my weakness, all my sin, all my lacking is supplied for by He who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Ask yourself: if you were to walk away right now, would it make a difference to God? If you were to do the Pontius Pilate on it and wash your hands of Christ, would the whole plan of salvation grind to a halt, and the mission of Christ and His Church disappear from the record of human history. Of course not. If say, the whole of Ireland was to leave the Church en masse, would the Church cease to be? No, it would not. It would make headlines alright, it would create a but of a stir, but the world would keep turning and the Church would go on. We would be missed, but God's reign would not stop. But who would suffer? WE WOULD!
Our need for God is fundamental to our being. We need Him. As we need the care and affection of others, we need to be constantly open to the very source of our existence. So many forget that. In reality of fact, so few actually know it. We forget ourselves. We are so silly that we forget that without God, without the essence of our lives, we are hollow. We lack so much. And the funny thing about it we often don't even realise what we are missing. Ill give you an example: there is a story told about an old couple in Ireland in the 1950s. At the time there was plan to bring electricity to all homes in the countryside, and the local priest was very important in driving the plan in their area. They got wired up and had the electricity installed. A few weeks later the priest called to the house. It was a winters evening and very dark. To his surprise there was no light on. He knocked at the door and found the old pair sitting by candle light, as they would have done for years upon years. He asked them why they did not put on the light. The woman said to the priest: "Father, I never realised how dirty the house was. I can't bear to see it when the electric is on, so I leave it so."
I believe and it brings light. I believe and gives me hope. I believe and I know that I am not in control of everything that I want to be in control of. But because I believe I know that I am free in what is important. Maybe a stone will not be left upon a stone, maybe everything will be taken from me - but I still know that I am loved by God and that will never change. I believe and it makes me happy - and that's why I do what I do. If I can help one other person experience the pure joy of being a Christian on this earthly journey.....well, wouldn't that be a life worth living!
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