The Book of Wisdom tells us that God “is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.” Why this double negative?
Creation – the cosmos and the earth with myriads of radio waves penetrating the earth, the bowels of the earth with its minerals, seas itself continuously, plants and animals going through their life cycles. The only creation on earth that exercises independence is humankind – the only species with the gift of free will.
Humankind has used free will to do great things – with it, we learned to farm, build cities, and discover metals and chemicals. History shows we enslaved each other, coveted riches that pleased us, and demanded more. Today, organisms are sampled and dismantled “to understand” physiology, bacteria, viruses, etc., so we can “heal better and control lives.” We think we can improve on creation. Often, we don’t feel that we need to turn to our Creator; we appear to “disbelieve him.”
The news demonstrates we won’t manage our consumption, can’t control violence, and have difficulty managing bigotry and human trafficking. As we mismanage ourselves, our governments make laws defining right and wrong and what is moral when people “reject God.” Today, our world seems to disbelieve God.
In Luke 17, we hear Jesus, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore, ‘Be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Well…
Believe what John says in the Final Discourse, given to us at the Last Supper: “This is MY commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” Indeed, all the world’s cultures had, and have, prophets and mystics who believe that God is entirely in control.
How shall we respond to God’s promptings and heed our responsibility to participate in the care of Creation?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, by communion, Jesus comes to take possession of us and make us His. To enter into His plan, we must abandon to him all rights over and all ownership in ourselves; we must leave to Him the direction and initiative of all our acts; we must do nothing by ourselves nor for ourselves, but everything by and for Him. Amen. (From The Gift of the Personality, Saint Peter Julian, Holy Communion, Volume 2)
