Franciscan Fractal
Contemplating Today’s Culture through the Eyes of St. Francis & the Life of Christ
“An Autographed Heart”
“I will put my law within them (Israel), and I will write it on their hearts:
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:33
“Always be sober, endure suffering,
do the work of an evangelist,
carry out your ministry fully.”
2 Timothy 14:5
After the Israelites departure from Egypt, God gave them the Ten Commandments or a “list” of things to do and not to do. This “list” was God’s way of attempting to help the people of Israel stay focused on God, who was always about keeping promises and showing examples of love to Israel. By keeping the commandments, people were guided into viewing the world as grounded in God’s compassion.
In time, the “list” morphed into things to be “checked off.” The more items that could be checked off, the more one was considered a better person. Checking off more items than another person was an easy way to feel righteous before God and much better than others. Eventually, the “check list” for Israel became an acceptable idol, which substituted for a genuine relationship with God.
Our checklists are all too common today as well. They can be found in credit scores, the amount of currency in bank accounts, number of designer clothes a person owns, types of houses in which we live, or number of influential friends with whom we associate. This “checklist mentality” even extends to the frequency in which we attend church. If we want to look good before others, we are caught in a self-serving “checklist mentality.” Our focus is out of line with God’s purpose for our life.
In response to Israel’s self-serving “checklist mentality” displayed over the years, God sent Jeremiah to clearly correct their fractured relationship. Jeremiah said (on behalf of God), “I will put my law within them (Israel), and I will write it on their hearts,” meaning that the law of love and compassion would be autographed and etched into their being. It would no longer be written in their minds, only to be distorted by their thoughts.
By putting the mind in its place, God confronted those who would see the world in terms of who was deserving and who was not. The focus changed from an emphasis on sin to a focus on addressing suffering through love and compassion stemming from the heart, and not the mind. The only person who would be deserving was a suffering God, and the people who would suffer with God.
This is why St. Paul in Timothy commands that we are to be sober and endure suffering. To follow Christ means to enter a pathway of suffering with eyes open. All people suffer in this world. Yet, suffering for Christians takes on new meaning. Following the commandment to love, as Christ showed us, often requires that we test the world around us including societal norms – norms that do not operate in a way that Jesus taught and lived.
Despite suffering, the Good News is that we can rejoice in the suffering that we experience when we do the work of Christ. We need not worry. As the Psalmist says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:2-3)
God promises to share our suffering, protect us, and eventually transform all suffering into goodness. St. Paul says, “But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. (Romans 8:17-18)
Following God with your heart is tough stuff, and much harder than simply keeping the commandments. It requires the courage, love, faith, and fortitude to speak out on behalf of situations and persons that need redeeming. And, when we do that, we will encounter suffering – suffering that nonetheless will pale in comparison to the blessings that await us.
Prayers and Blessings,
Fr. John
