In North America and Europe God can seem so far away for
many people. Charles Taylor, a Canadian philosopher, has written quite a lot
about this. He explains that a few hundred years ago, belief in God was “axiomatic”,
it was something that people simply accepted. Today in Western society this is just
not the case. Believing in God does not come automatically. Many people are
unsure if God exists, others say there is no God. What accounts for this
dramatic change?
Though there are perhaps many reasons, I suggest that one
is that we have become blind to the way that God works and acts in our life. In
today’s gospel Jesus is warning the inhabitants of the cities in which He has
worked His greatest miracles. Even though Jesus has done His amazing works in
these places, the people have refused to change their ways and turn to God. In
North America and Europe we have an abundance of good things: plentiful food,
peace, access to education and a good medical system. Certainly things are not
perfect, but we do have so much. Often
we can go through our lives ignoring all the good things that we have. Perhaps it is because we tend to focus on the
negative. We should stop and ask ourselves: why do we have all this goodness in
our lives? I am not asking a scientific question here but a philosophical one.
Science, for example, can tell us how
we have so much food: good soil, climate, agricultural technology, etc. It is
an entirely different question though to ask why we have so many good things.
Is it just chance? Are we just
lucky that the factors are such in the universe that we happen to have it so
good? Or is the answer that there is a God who loves us and is trying to show
us this by giving us so many gifts? One answer is not more scientific than the
other. Maybe we have become like the cities that Jesus cautions in the gospel.
God is working so much and giving us so much but we do not recognize it comes
from Him. Perhaps as a society we have become blind to the way God works in and
acts in our life.
Being deaf to how God is speaking to us is a real
possibility for us who profess a belief in God and are trying to grow close to
Him. We too regularly ignore how Jesus is working in our lives, just like the
cities in today’s gospel. The problem is
that we expect God to work in dramatic and fantastic ways. God can work like
this but more than not God speaks to us in simple, daily events: a conversation
with a friend, a family dinner, a passage of scripture that happens to strike
us or a sunset. We might complain that God is not active in our lives, that we
feel unloved by Him or that He is not answering our prayers. We should ask
ourselves if we are paying attention. Perhaps God tried to show you His love
today through the smile of some stranger on the bus. Maybe God is trying to
tell you to be more patient with yourself through the words of a friend with
whom you are having a conversation. If you are having doubts about God’s power,
perhaps He is trying to demonstrate it to you through some wonder of nature,
such as a thunder storm. Since God is
always speaking to us through daily events, it is important to develop a
discerning heart by 1) being aware of different events that happen to us (not
just letting life pass us by) and 2) taking the time to ask, “what is God
trying to tell me through this person or event”? God is always speaking to us,
but often we are not listening.
Let us not make the same mistake are the cities that
Jesus rebukes in today’s gospel by being blind to the works that God is doing
in our lives. We should notice them and
allow them to lead us closer to Him. A very practical way you can do this is by
taking some time at night to review your day to try to find one or two events
in which God was active. Perhaps something good happened to you, for example
someone said something kind. Or maybe you felt inspired to do a good deed for
someone. Whatever it may be, identify it, give thanks to God and ask the
question, “what is God telling me through this person/event”? You may be
surprised by the answer.
