We are told in the second reading from Ephesians "Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord." We Christians spend our lives trying to do this. Sometimes we feel confident that we are on the right track and sometimes we have deep doubts. Sometimes we are confident that others are on the right track and sometimes we have deep doubts! Our first and third readings remind us that we often do not think in the same way that God does!
In the first reading, God obviously wanted David to be anointed but that does not mean that Jesse's other sons were not also pleasing in God's sight. Remember that David was not sinless himself. In the Gospel selection from John, the story of the blind man whom Jesus cured on the Sabbath has all kinds of twists that reveal what the people of the times thought pleased God. There were questions of what and whose sin caused the blindness as well as who should be teaching about God.
I think the bottom line is that we really don't know for sure what pleases God although we do have many pretty good ideas from Scriptures especially from the life and words of Jesus. We are reminded that the Lord looks into the heart, not just at outward appearances. It is in our hearts that the Truth resides. Our heart reveals our faith, even if it is just a tiny speck of faith. Our heart reveals our intent... to trust God or to find our own way.
The discovery process of learning about God is a complicated one for sure. Listening to our own heart is a practice that must be cultivated or the busyness and clamor of the world are sure to drown out the glimmer of faith we might have or the small yearning cry we have for God. I believe that God honors those small efforts of ours and will increase their fruitfulness... but only if we cooperate. We must attend to our inner self as well as become more aware of the happenings around us.
The Gospel tells us that the reason for the hardship and curing of the blind man was "so that the works of God might be made visible through him." My perception of what goes on in the world is that things happen at warp speed. We take so little time to contemplate the meaning of things and the possible reasons God wants us to notice them.
We can only learn about God through the works of God, in the past and in the present. Let us commit some time each day to bring the day's events to the Lord in prayer.. to be silent and hear the Lord's version of things as well as to ask the inevitable questions of why ? and what does this mean? Spending time with someone is one of the best ways to get to know them... God is no exception!
(Comments to Lanie at lanieleblanc@mindspring.com.)