Putting God on the Sidelines

 This is another post on part of a homily that our pastor gave on Sunday.  He quoted a line from the movie "The Punisher".   Apparently it is a Marvel movie. I have not seen it.  Without trying to go into details about that which I have no knowledge (I did read that the main character is either characterized as a serial killer or a vigilante) I will quote the lines and go from there.  

As the punisher is about to go off on a last quest for justice? vengeance? another character says to him "Go with God".  He responds, "God's gonna sit this one out."

In our own lives we often let God "sit this one out".  Whether intentional or not, it is when we forget or refuse to pray about decisions that we are making, be they big or small. 

How many times have we heard or said, "I've got this."? Apparently it's a very male thing, although women also want to feel like they can handle things on their own. 

The truth is, we are dependent!  We have no control over our own heart beating regularly enough to keep us alive.  We must eat and drink by design so that we have the energy to do what we have to do. We need enough sleep to keep us energized and healthy. 

The decisions we face every day are no exception.  My dear one likes to ask me what the next day looks like before we go to bed.  Apart from having a specific appointment that I have to keep, I usually tell him, "God hasn't told me yet." I have found that making a step-by-step plan for many things is asking for frustration when things change. 

If I let God have my day, He usually lets me know what Mass to go to and where. The homily is usually exactly what I need to hear if I go where he leads me. 

 He reminds of things I have to take care of and leads me in the way to make them happen, most of the time, easily. 

He puts people on my heart that need a phone call or some snail mail. 

He calls me to prayer regularly and recently He is showing me how to sit in adoration in silence and wait for Him to speak. (Very hard for me to be silent even in my head.)

There is an old bumper sticker that read: "God is my co-pilot."  We don't need God to be our co-pilot. We need him to take the controls while we wait for His instructions for us. 

Fear not to let Him have that control.  Is it hard at first? Absolutely.  Society tells us we have to have it all together and be all to everyone all the time.  Not so. 

God says,  "take my yoke upon you and learn from me." (Matt 11:29).  Jesus did not scurry from town to town with a to-do list.  He spent time in prayer and learned what the Father's plan was for Him. He lived to do God's will. 

We should too! 

Remember, God's got this.  Go with God. 

 

Writing Your Autobiography

 This Lent, I am participating in Magnify 90. We participants actually started January 5 and will conclude at Easter.  I was sort of keeping up with the demands of the program but on Ash Wednesday I decided to jump in completely and give up my secular audiobooks, scrolling on SnapChat, and definitely chocolate!  

I turned instead to my School of Reading book: Jesus our Refuge by Matt Fradd (highly recommend) and the Hallow app's 40 day challenge.  In this challenge, on the first Sunday of Lent, Fr. Mike Schmitz posted his homily for the day.  WOW.  Homily here 

I am going to summarize the homily but I encourage you to listen to the whole thing.  

Fr. Mike talked about writing our autobiography.  Not starting with our birth and going through a timeline, but rather by making a decision about how our lives will look starting today. Because is it Lent, we are called to three things in particular: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

Each Lent is a time for personal renewal and growth in our relationship with God. Giving up "stuff" just to give up "stuff" isn't enough.  We need to lean into these self-imposed crosses as a way to find more time for prayer, to eliminate the false refuges in our life that lead to overindulgence, sloth, vanity, laziness etc., and to help those in need in a more concrete way.  

In short, it is time for a new beginning.  A new strong start, for our autobiography to make a difference, not just for Lent but for a lifetime, is needed.  

Fr. Mike taught that a strong start  has 4 parts:

    -irreversibility

    -identity at stake

    -risk

    -agency

Once we make a decision it is irreversible.  We dive headlong into that decision and whatever it is,  and it will change us. 

Our identity is at stake: who will we be after we make this decision and stick with it?

It is risky: we don't know what the future holds.

Agency is making the decision to start. 

I won't go through the bad choices we could or already have made. You know your shortcomings.  But I will suggest a great choice that will change everything, one I have made a multitude of times in my life:

Confession! 

Going to confession will absolutely change your autobiography (if you are completely honest with the priest, and you are willing to be made whole.)

When you walk into the confessional and unload your life, the effect is irreversible: God forgives you. He washes you clean and those past sins no longer matter. You are free to move forward in your new holiness.

Your identity is really at stake.  After confession, you are a new creation, but that means things in your life will have to change.  The people in your life may have to change if they are holding you back from drawing closer to God. Your habits will have to change.  Your prayer time will have to change. God wants all of you! 

It is risky for all of the above reasons.  You will have to (truly you will WANT to) start being authentically Catholic. What does that future look like?  It's up to you and God.  Ask Him. He will show you. 

You have the power (agency) to make this decision.  Only you. 

Talk to God.  What strong start do you need to make to change the trajectory of your autobiography into one that delights Him? Are you willing?  

A little note on irreversibility: Every decision leads to consequences, good or bad.  If you have made bad decisions, you can reverse course and make better ones. You already know how the bad decisions have molded you, changed your identity, and affected your future.  The point here is, make a strong start toward a better tomorrow. The homily talks about the prodigal son.  He made some really bad decisions. However, he was able, with a strong start, to begin again and be healed. 

Have a blessed Lent.