Scripture:
1 Corinthians 4:6b-15
Luke 6:1-5
Reflection:
Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?
Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’ -Luke 6:3-5
Uneasiness sometimes leads me to avoid what I feel called to do. I am part of a spiritual organization that has meetings all over the world, both online and in person. I usually attend three of these meetings a week and find them very beneficial, especially in terms of keeping me from isolating and keeping me in the present moment. Recently, I decided to change a regular meeting I had been attending in deference to my own ethical sensitivities. The new one I chose to attend was one I had attended many years earlier. To my utter delight, I found that the meeting was going well with a full house of attendees, following an agenda with which I was comfortable. The meeting felt like a perfect fit.
I also noticed that most attendees are quite a bit younger than I. (The older I get—I just turned 79 this past August—the more I get this revelation.) That has never bothered me before, but after three weekly meetings, I also noticed that some members in their shares were commenting on my and one or two other attendee’s ages. That made me feel uneasy—kind of like what Saint Paul refers to in his letter to the Corinthians, our first scriptural selection today. “… For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account…” (1 Cor 4:9-10)
I get the feeling there is an unwritten law that as an old man, I am only allowed to associate with much younger men unless I am their teacher or mentor. In the tradition of these meetings, I am neither. I am their peer. I don’t have all the answers. In fact, even after all these years, I still have a lot of questions and confusion about this gift of life that we’ve all been given.
This organization further encourages me not to anticipate, but to appreciate each moment of life that I have been given, that is for me to stay in the present moment by being open to what is happening and accepting this as my God’s revelation to me today.
God, help me recognize that all laws, whether they are written in our hearts or on tablets, are not necessarily Your laws. Your law of love precedes the laws I am sometimes told or feel I need to follow. Help me recognize Your law today, and more importantly have the courage to follow it, believing in You, the God of life and love.
Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists. He lives in Chicago.