Ordinary Time

Pause

For many of us, knowing God is a matter of the mind. But really knowing God is always a matter of the heart, and that’s because God is not merely an idea we agree to, but is first and foremost an experience we share in.

This is why today and every day we must prepare ourselves to receive the gift of God before we ever say anything about God.

Listen

The Lord said, “I’ll make all my goodness pass in front of you, and I’ll proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord.’ I will be kind to whomever I wish to be kind, and I will have compassion to whomever I wish to be compassionate. But,” the Lord said, “you can’t see my face because no one can see me and live.” The Lord said, “Here is a place near me where you will stand beside the rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I’ll set you in a gap in the rock, and I’ll cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by. Then I’ll take away my hand, and you will see my back, but my face won’t be visible.”

Exodus 33:19-23

Think

When you look around at all that’s going on in the world, it’s easy to wonder to yourself, “Why do bad things happen? Why is there so much pain and suffering? Does God even care?” These are good questions for us to ask, important questions. But we could just as easily ask, “Why do good things happen? Why is there so much generosity and joy? Why does God care?” These are also good questions, the kind of questions we typically don’t ask until all of God’s goodness has passed in front of us.

Like Moses, most of us want proof that God actually exists, and we want answers as to why God does what God does, to which God responds, “I’ll cover you with my hand until I’ve passed by… and you will see my back.” In other words, “I’ll show you where I was.”

So wherever you see goodness, or good things, there you witness God… or at the very least, you see where God has been. Every good thing is both proof of God and an answer from God. So be on the lookout.

Chris Robertson

Pray

God, if I’m being honest I often wonder why there’s so much evil in the world. But really there’s a lot of good too, so help me to keep my eyes open to see! Thank you for your goodness. Amen.

Go

Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened.”

So may each of us keep asking and searching and knocking.

May we keep yearning, reaching, wanting, and watching for something more.

And regardless of what we’re doing or where we’re going, may we come to every moment with the expectation that God wants to know us, and we can know God.