A Statement of God
Father Jim Brand, a regular commentator on Vatican Radio, made a beautiful observation recently that gives one cause to stop and reflect. He put forward the idea that each and every human being exists as a statement of God. The Almighty spoke all into existence.
In this political season the airwaves and written media are awash in statements. Perhaps at no time in America has the nation been so tragically polarized across so many different directions. With the speed of one's Internet connection, newer statements supplant recent statements before one has time to fully digest the information given. The news cycle has morphed into a news continuum that never sleeps or contemplates.
In this environment truth does not exist. If bogus information gets released, no worries. One simply issues a revised statement to clarify things. The gravity of bearing false witness against one's neighbor has been lost. How many hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by one party or the other in their quest to issue statements intended to manipulate, castigate, or simply engage in self-promotion?
It proves difficult not to see a diabolic influence contained within this sea of mass confusion. For in the process of sorting and sifting through the cacophony of statements flying into one's head, often lost is the only statement that really matters; that one's very being truly is a statement of God, and that statement results in proof positive that God exists.
Imagine if the culture suddenly was able to see through the haze of information and came to the realization that God is not an opinion, not a theory, not a punchline, but rather that He actually exists. And not only that, but that His purpose in creating everyone was an infinitely supreme act of love.
Breaking news! God exists and He loves everyone!
What other statement can man make that matters more? If one truly embraces that reality, should not the next course of action be to stop whatever one is doing and pay attention to the implications? Are not a myriad of deep and important questions about the meaning of one's existence suddenly answered? For if each has been created by God out of love, then by default one has to recognize that one exists in a community of souls with a common creator. And it is in this very commonality that one must then find the very texture of compassion. Love of neighbor no longer becomes a commandment, but rather a calling.
The logical response to the above could be life altering, but hard reality maintains that one will compartmentalize this statement with perhaps a little greater or even a little less importance than the daily news. How much time does one spend in prayer versus the time used for catching up on world events?
Yet the truth remains regardless of how difficult to understand or grasp. One's existence still stands as a testament of love by Our Father. For centuries He reached out to His people with the message that He was there to love them. And when they did not hear, His word became flesh and did indeed dwell among humanity. Into human history stepped Our Lord, Jesus Christ to be with humanity, intimately, body, blood, soul, and divinity until the end of the age.
"Give me a sign, O Lord."
That lamentation gets answered each and every time one gazes into the mirror. God's statement of love gets eloquently orated in the recognition of the gift of self to the communion of souls that comprise the mystical body of Christ. One's purpose in this existence entails the joyful cooperation with grace to let His statement speak for itself from within oneself; all for His glory.
In this political season the airwaves and written media are awash in statements. Perhaps at no time in America has the nation been so tragically polarized across so many different directions. With the speed of one's Internet connection, newer statements supplant recent statements before one has time to fully digest the information given. The news cycle has morphed into a news continuum that never sleeps or contemplates.
In this environment truth does not exist. If bogus information gets released, no worries. One simply issues a revised statement to clarify things. The gravity of bearing false witness against one's neighbor has been lost. How many hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by one party or the other in their quest to issue statements intended to manipulate, castigate, or simply engage in self-promotion?
It proves difficult not to see a diabolic influence contained within this sea of mass confusion. For in the process of sorting and sifting through the cacophony of statements flying into one's head, often lost is the only statement that really matters; that one's very being truly is a statement of God, and that statement results in proof positive that God exists.
Imagine if the culture suddenly was able to see through the haze of information and came to the realization that God is not an opinion, not a theory, not a punchline, but rather that He actually exists. And not only that, but that His purpose in creating everyone was an infinitely supreme act of love.
Breaking news! God exists and He loves everyone!
What other statement can man make that matters more? If one truly embraces that reality, should not the next course of action be to stop whatever one is doing and pay attention to the implications? Are not a myriad of deep and important questions about the meaning of one's existence suddenly answered? For if each has been created by God out of love, then by default one has to recognize that one exists in a community of souls with a common creator. And it is in this very commonality that one must then find the very texture of compassion. Love of neighbor no longer becomes a commandment, but rather a calling.
The logical response to the above could be life altering, but hard reality maintains that one will compartmentalize this statement with perhaps a little greater or even a little less importance than the daily news. How much time does one spend in prayer versus the time used for catching up on world events?
Yet the truth remains regardless of how difficult to understand or grasp. One's existence still stands as a testament of love by Our Father. For centuries He reached out to His people with the message that He was there to love them. And when they did not hear, His word became flesh and did indeed dwell among humanity. Into human history stepped Our Lord, Jesus Christ to be with humanity, intimately, body, blood, soul, and divinity until the end of the age.
"Give me a sign, O Lord."
That lamentation gets answered each and every time one gazes into the mirror. God's statement of love gets eloquently orated in the recognition of the gift of self to the communion of souls that comprise the mystical body of Christ. One's purpose in this existence entails the joyful cooperation with grace to let His statement speak for itself from within oneself; all for His glory.
posted by David Jackson | 6:59 AM
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