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Does God ask the impossible of you and me? If you listened carefully to these readings – all three of them – you know the answer to this question. Yes, of course he does. Strange as it may seem, God does ask, nay, demand the impossible from us. Listen to the clear and unequivocal words of St. Paul that he wrote
to Ephesians, which we just heard: “Be imitators of God, as beloved
children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over
for us as a sacrificial offering to God.” In God’s eyes,
nothing short of total self-giving will do – to be like Christ
without reserve and without hesitation. Yes, what is expected of us is nothing short of imitating God – to do, ourselves, what God does. That’s what it means to live with the life of Christ. That’s what it means to be incorporated into Christ as a member of his body. That’s what it means to be a member of God’s family. In fact, that’s even what it means to be human, because the very first words that describe God’s creation of humankind are “in God’s own image he made them.” Yet, how can we take this seriously? How can we be like God, completely and perfectly? In exploring this question, let’s first look at what it does not mean. “Imitating God” or “being like God” does not mean “playing God,” as we sometimes suppose. It does not mean being all-knowing or all-powerful. It does not mean making lofty decisions that affect the course of human destiny – or even trying to run other peoples’ lives. It does not mean deciding for ourselves – or for others – what is right and wrong. Scott Hahn, in his powerful little book, Lord, Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession, shares the insight that sin is ultimately a refusal to take part in the inner life of the Trinity. That may seem strange, but let’s explore that thought a bit. Our faith in God as Trinity, three persons, means that the inner life of God is a constant, eternal, dynamic relationship of love and self giving: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit pouring themselves out in total, unreserved giving of self to the Other. If God created us, then, in God’s image and likeness, our one purpose in life is to pour ourselves out in love for one another. This means that original sin, and all subsequent sin, is a refusal to do what we were made for, a refusal to love in the same self-sacrificing way that God loves. Adam and Eve, given the choice, yielded to self-interest over self-giving, and consequently fractured the image of God that they were. And thus, we all enter this life divided: made for self-giving, but deeply inclined to self-seeking instead. When asked what is the purpose of our life, don’t we usually answer, in some way at least, “to be happy”? Few, if any of us, would naturally answer that question, “Oh, God made me to die for someone else.” And yet, isn’t that what Jesus Christ did? And he repeatedly said that “anyone who wants to be my follower must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” That’s why, if we take Scripture seriously, we inevitably run into the realization that God does expect the impossible from us. Humanly speaking, the kind of self-giving that God expects from us is impossible. Self-giving in imitation of the sacrifice of Christ, which is the human embodiment of the total self giving of God. It can’t be accomplished just by “being good” – we will soon run into limitations. We can try to be nice to others, but we soon discover lots of reasons not to be nice to certain folks. The love God asks of us has to go beyond human considerations. Nor does the heart of following Christ consist in keeping the commandments or in ethical behavior. Morality is important; it’s even the foundation of the Christian life. But what God wants for us goes beyond doing good and avoiding evil. God wants us to be like God, in order to share God’s life for all eternity. If we hear God’s call to be like himself, and try to answer it, we won’t get very far before we find ourselves like the prophet Elijah in the first reading – exhausted, discouraged, and ready to give up. There’s too much sin and selfishness around us, even within us. We are overwhelmed by the ungodliness of our world – no matter which way we turn. Elijah fell into a depressed sleep, hoping never to wake up. He was awakened by a power greater than himself, an angel, and given food and drink – and he was given strength to carry on, even if it meant a lengthy march through the desert. Notice that nothing else changes. Elijah still had to journey through the desert. He still had to stand in lone witness against the forces of evil around him. But, what was humanly impossible became divinely possible, because of the miraculous nourishment he received. Things around him didn’t change, but he was transformed. And this gives us insight into the way the Eucharist works. When we are nourished by the sacrificed body and poured-out blood of Jesus Christ, we literally become what we eat. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are transformed. What is humanly impossible – to love as God loves – becomes possible because now the love of Christ is poured out, not only in us, but through us. In approaching the table of the Eucharist and receiving Communion, we do expect a miracle; we do expect God to do something in us that we are powerless to do – to become like him, to imitate the self-sacrificing love of Christ in every aspect of our lives. Are we going to do this perfectly? No, of course not. But the bottom line is that we are not the ones who do it. What he asks of us is only that we have faith enough to allow him to accomplish his work in us, and that we do not fail to let him be our food that continues to transform us into himself. ©
Thomas Welbers 2003 |
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