EXAMINE OUR OWN LIVES
We may not have
idols like the golden calf, but how do we look at our own goals, our wealth or
the desire for it, our own time and comforts? Have we become rigid in our
conviction that we know and obey God's will for us?
Israel
had sinned and worshiped pagan gods. They were a "stiff-necked"
people and rejected God's Law and "the covenant which He had made with
their fathers" (cf. 2 Kgs. 17:7, 14, 15). These are the things we read
about in today's first reading. Turning their backs on the covenant, they
remained obstinate and unrelenting. But, of course, this is not something we
would do! However, it is that sort of self-righteous judgment that our God
advises against. The Scriptures, and the history of failures of the people at
that time, portray individuals who were not living up to the covenant.
We
shouldn't brag about our own sense of spiritual contentment either. We are
called to examine our own lives. How faithful do we live up to our own faith
lives as children of our heavenly Father and members of His family? We may not
have idols like the golden calf, but how do we look at our own goals, our
wealth or the desire for it, our own time and comforts? Have we become rigid in
our conviction that we know and obey God's will for us?
Jesus'
teaching was not for us to look down on ourselves and make us a nervous wreck.
He does, however, want us to take a deeper look at ourselves and be willing to
make adjustments. May we come to know that we are human and make mistakes in
our humanness. We need to turn from our own weakness and ask God for His
guidance so that we can have a true covenant relationship with Him.
We
have all been chosen by God to bring the Good News to others and to serve as
Jesus did, simply through our very presence. It is an awesome calling but it is
only possible, as the Saints knew, if we continue to pray as we did in today's
Psalm, "Help us with Your right hand, O Lord, and answer us" (Ps.
60:7b).
Our
challenge is to "Examine Our Own Lives."