Thursday, August 8, 2013

God Our Guest

Every day of our lives God approaches us in many different disguises, hungry for our hospitality, hungry for our company and the love of our hearts.  We often complain that God has deserted us, that he does not answer our prayers, that he does not take pity on our sufferings.  We are oftentimes the ones who do not know how to deal with the fact that, if anything, God has perhaps come too close for comfort, though maybe we may be looking for him only ways that flatter our vanity or indulge our self-centeredness. God approaches us in ways that are mysterious, disorienting and challenging.  God, the Almighty, presents himself often in forms of neediness that deceive our logic and that challenge us to lay aside our haughtiness and laziness in order to become servants of anyone in need.  The greatest, though not the only, way of showing hospitality to God is to listen to his Word, to receive what he has come to give us.  Even at the purely human level, one of the most important aspects of loving is knowing how to receive love.  How could this not be all the truer when we realize that God has, literally, everything to give us?

Photograph of Fr. Robert at prayer by Br. Brian. Reflection by Fr. Simeon.