19 March 2013 - louder than words

19 March 2013 - louder than words

It was not through the law
that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants
that he would inherit the world,
but through the righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,
so that it may be a gift,

God wants us to inherit the world.  That is amazing.  He wants so much for us.  Why would we ever second guess an offer like that?  Yet we find ourselves to be like the prodigal son who wants his inheritance apart from God.  Living in the presence of God's awesome power is awe inspiring and perhaps sometimes terrifying.  Imperfect creatures are tempted to run from his presence.  That is normal.  But there is nothing good or worthwhile without him.  

Still, he honors our freedom and allows up to withdraw from his presence.  All the goodness we then think to enjoy vanishes in dissipation.  And this is why the only attitude befitting such an inheritance as he has planned for us is faith.  Faith depends on God for everything from moment to moment.  It never thinks itself to have attained something on its own.  All is gift.  All is blessing.  It needn't run away, therefore, because of its own imperfection and lack of attainment. 

Following the law is insufficient, because we can and do follow the law in a superficial way that does not depend on God for strength and transformation.  This is a way we shield ourselves from the true radiance of divine light.  When we follow the law this way, relying on our own strength, we cannot receive the true inheritance of the Holy Spirit, and eventually we end up tired and empty.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.

Joseph is seen to be a righteous man, but his plan still doesn't coincide immediately with God's plan.  If he insists on his own agenda he will not be open to the blessings which God intends to give him.  But Joseph relies on God moment to moment.  He is ready for an about face when the angel intervenes.

When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

Joseph is among the best examples in Scripture of the righteousness that comes by faith.  And for this reason he is blessed to be the adoptive father of the savior of the world.  In a unique way he is allowed to represent the eternal Father in the world.  He is privileged to uniquely speak these same words that the Father in heaven also speaks.  

I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

And though he has no recorded words in Scripture he is content, through silence, to let Jesus be his one word just as he is the one Word of the Father.

Let us come to see the truth of the greatness of God's love for us just as St. Joseph sees it.  In so doing we will be able to trust him with reckless abandon and have all our hopes and dreams fulfilled.

For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.