Friday March 18, 2011

Matthew 4:10

"At this, Jesus said to him, 'Get away, Satan! It is written: "The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve."'"

The Little Black Book has been hovering around the message all week of not letting anything stop you from being who God has called you to be. Strangely, it's with this verse that the writer changed tactics. The meditation today was a warning about the end of Lent, of how the devil only pounced at the end of Jesus' communion with God, fasting night and day. Coming out of that state of being with God.

I remember how many times my mom was horrified at how my sister and I would start sniping at each other right when we got out of Mass when we were little.

But perhaps the real deal is the same one as the Transfiguration, a later gospel in Lent. It's easy when you're in the Desert or atop the Mountain, to make God your only focus. To worship and love and serve only God. And then the world comes back and demands, well, everything. Offers everything. If only we will turn away - or just include other things.

After all, the three apostles on the Mountaintop came charging down full of the awe and wonder and started sniping with the others about who was the greatest. Why do we do that?

Perhaps it goes back to the idea of the difference between trying to do good and moral principles. Because moral principles don't let you get confused about whether you could do more good as ruler of the world than as God's stalwart tin soldier. Moral principles don't let you start tearing down everything you experienced with God. They don't let you bend a little because it seems like it will help. They give you the strength to say, to quote, "The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve." To know who you are and what you believe and what you will do.

Lord God, bless me to always find my strength and to live my life by moral principles. Be with me in hard times and confusing ones and help me to be strong enough to find my way not by good intentions but by the light of Your way and my faith in You and the principles by which You have asked me to live my life. Give me the strength, o Lord.