THE PLAN
Until the
invention of cameras, the chronicles of events depended solely on the eyewitness
accounts. Each account of course, having
its own perspective, thereby making the description of the whole event
questionable. And so it is with the
Bible. The wonderful thing is that even if those who wrote the Bible were
swayed by outside influences, the plan of God emerges whole and intact.
When the
scriptures are read backward as it were, that is from Christ to Adam, the
pattern is easier to see. The chaotic
development of the human race appears to be random, but here and there God
intervenes to keep that development on the path toward Jesus Christ. God really did appear as a burning bush, did
part the waters for the escape from Egypt, did
make it possible for women who were barren or too old to give birth, to give
birth anyway!
To us, the
Birth of Christ, that is, the actual birth of Christ is very important but to
the Gospel writers it was just the beginning and not vital to their mission of
spreading the Good News. Happily God
intervened again to give us St. Luke who provided enough detail to see the
pattern.
Why did Jesus come? The only valid answer is, to show us
God, to invite us to become part of the life of God. To say Jesus died to open the gates of
heaven is misleading. The life of God is
borderless. It is not a place, there are
no pearly gates, there is no great book of our sins, only God. We are invited
into the life of God, not there, but here! Jesus died to show us the way, the
way of love and absolute trust.
God does not intend for us to know him thoroughly only when
our life on earth is over. God came
himself to earth to invite us into his life now! Only a few people got it then and even less
get it now.
Every person who decries the empty pews in church has missed
the point completely. God is not bound
by doors. God is revealed in the people
who make sandwiches for the homeless and go out at night to find and feed
them. God is revealed in the first
responder who sacrifices his/her comfort and security to go to the aid of the
stricken. God is revealed in the parents who sacrifice their own lives to
protect their children. God is revealed in the people who are discriminated
against because their creation by God is deemed an abomination. God is revealed
in everyone who sees the Spirit of God in others.
We parrot that God is love, yet we do not behave as though
that were true. We decide that God is
judging our neighbors. We have decided they are sinners and consequently have
constructed our own version of God where love is tempered by our
prejudices. Our reason for being is not
to attain heaven, but to live the life of God here on earth. That’s the plan.
Blessings
Carol Lemelin OPA