"Do not worry about your life and what you are to eat, and your body and how you are to clothe it. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing."
Gospel of Matthew
Human nature, being what it is, first seeks the lower level needs of comfort, security, and bodily nourishment. In the Book of Numbers, we hear of the plight of the Israelite people. They have just been freed from slavery in Egypt. They have experienced God's saving hand at the Red Sea, and now they grow impatient. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread or water here, and we are sick of this unsatisfying food."
Although our basic human needs are important, and have to be met, we are continually reminded in scripture that our deeper hunger, our deeper thirst, will never be satisfied by these external realities. We need these outward things, we need food for good health and clothes for warmth; however, they will never fully satisfy us. We must look inward and discover that which truly nourishes, truly sustains, and truly warms us.
For a few years now, I have been visiting an elderly woman from an adjoining parish. Because of her age and condition, she often has difficulty breathing. It's the first thing I notice when I visit at her home. And, as you can imagine, this causes her a lot of distress and worry. After we have had our prayers and share the Eucharist, it is quite remarkable that her breathing is much easier and she is much more at ease. And she often remarks that her breathing has much improved. Could it be that as we turn inwards in prayer and get in touch with God's Spirit within that much of the stress caused by our anxiety and concern disappear? Could it be that when we rest more completely in God's presence, we experience greater freedom from bodily concerns?
When the Israelite people were attacked by snakes, Moses was told to mount a bronze serpent on a standard or rod. If anyone was bitten, they were told to look at the serpent on the standard, and they would live.
Are they not really being asked to turn inward, to place their trust and faith in God who is present with them? Are they not really being told to set aside their worries and concerns and rest in God?
On the feast day of the Triumph of the Cross, we are in fact invited to move towards this same inner reality of faith; not by looking at a bronze serpent on a standard, but by internally giving our attention to Jesus. "God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son, so that all who see and believe in Him may not be lost, but have eternal life."
What are your crosses? For most of us, if we reflect carefully, our crosses are principally the external things we want but do not have, or the conflicts and tensions we experience in our external world. We do not have enough money, we do not have enough time, we have to do something that we do not want to do, or we cannot do something because of an illness, handicap or personal suffering.
But as we look within, to get in touch with our inner being, to experience God's sacrificial love for us, we experience His special call. We discover anew Jesus' love for us, a love so great that it's as if we were the only person for Him to love.
Where are our crosses now? We accept and embrace them because we have been led inward to the source of our true fulfillment, a place where we discover the healing presence of God who loves and sustains us.
Pray, not asking for exterior things, or bending God's ear to comply to our wishes. No, pray by turning inward to the place where God dwells, to hear His promise of new life and abundance.
Prayer is this emptying of our self-concern so that God's radiance may dominate our entire lives.
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