What it Means to Abandon Ourselves to God
by Fr. David M. Knight
Friday, September 13, 2024
Twenty-Third Week of the Year
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary 441
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27/Lk 6:39-42
1Corinthians 9:16-27 reveals Paul as a true steward of Christ: one abandoned to the work of achieving the goal of creation and redemption: “I do all that I do for the sake of the gospel, in the hope of having a share in its blessings.”
That goal and its blessings are what we ask for in the Our Father when we pray: “Give us this day our [future] Bread, and forgive us our offenses as [while] we forgive....” This is a picture of the “wedding banquet of the Lamb,” where all are gathered together in the “peace and unity of the Kingdom,” at a communal table, being fed and made happy by the Bread of Life, Jesus himself. Jesus teaches us in the Our Father” to make this our all-exclusive and all-inclusive desire. It is the only petition we make for ourselves in the prayer he taught us to pray: “Give us the Bread, and forgive us as we forgive.” Give us Jesus here on earth and forever; it is enough. Give us unity and peace in love with everyone else, now and forever; it is enough. For this we live.
Paul is totally abandoned to this. He is sustained and empowered to persevere in this by conscious hope. “I do not run like a person who loses sight of the finish line.” This is wisdom: to see everything in the light of the last end. This is what sharpens our taste for everything “spiritual” that leads us to it.
Progress depends on keeping the goal in sight. This demands that we keep our eyes open. In Luke 6:39-42 Jesus asks, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” To blindly follow myopic leaders who are not keeping their eyes on the goal is disaster. Seeing is a personal activity.
No students are superior to their teacher; but when they have finished their studies, they will be on a par with their teacher.
Since Jesus is the only Teacher, and since we can never be “on a par” with what he sees until heaven, this means we will never “finish our studies” on earth. Discipleship is a lifelong commitment. (See Matthew 23:8-10; 1Corinthians 13:12.)
Meanwhile, Jesus cautions us that one of the things we are blind to is our own deficiency: “Why look at the speck in your neighbor’s eye, when you miss the plank in your own?” Insight is a two-way street: we have to look in before we can look out. And we look into ourselves first for single-mindedness: one radical desire for one ultimate goal:
Where your treasure is, your heart will be also.... If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light... No one can serve two masters... Therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink.... But strive first for the kingdom of God... and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:19-33)
This is abandonment.
Initiative: Focus your desires on the “end time.” This saves the “meantime”.
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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