Do you know God?
(5th Sunday of Lent, Year B) On these five Sundays of Lent, we’ve been reminded of God’s covenants with us. These are the ways that God was made known to us, and was united with humanity. The first Sunday, God’s covenant with Noah and his descendants. The second Sunday, God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants, which would bless all the nations of the earth. The third Sunday, the covenant with Moses laws for the nation of Israel. The fourth Sunday, God’s covenant with David, who in many ways lived in the power of the Spirit of the Lord, as if our new covenant was already in place.
Today, God promises through Jeremiah a new covenant. A covenant in which God will write the law on hearts. A covenant where nobody has to know God for us (remember how in the desert, the Children of Israel asked for a human mediator who could talk to God for them? Not any more.), but each can know God for themselves. A covenant with all Israel and Judah, the whole people. A covenant from the least to the greatest. A covenant in which not only is our evildoing forgiven, but even forgotten by God entirely.
In each of these covenants, we learn a bit more about God, and we also become more familiar with God. This is God’s desire. Not just that we would know “about” God, but that we would “know” God. In Spanish, this is the difference between saber, to know facts and learned skills and information about a person, place, or thing, and conocer, to be familiar with a person, place, or thing. English is lacking in this area. Even in previous times, in English, we would say that Abraham knew his wife Sarai, and she bore a son. We know (saber) from the context, that Abram did not know (saber) his wife, but was intimately familiar (conocer) with her.
The point being… God desires that we desire and acquire an intimate knowledge of God. When God says “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” it is a direct reference to the marriage covenant: I will be your husband, and you shall be my wife. That is because it is not in knowing (about), but in “knowing” (as persons) that we are fruitful.
So. Do you know God?
God knows us. Not just in a knowing-bout sort of way due to omniscience, but intimately. And not just by virtue of being God, but by virtue of being human. In the letter to the Hebrews, we hear that Jesus, “Son though he was… learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
Sometimes we forget that Christ was human in all regards except for sin. Jesus was tempted, like we are. Jesus had to learn things, and was not just magically all-knowing, as we see even in this reading from Hebrews. Although without sin, Jesus suffered the consequences of sin, falling in weakness as he carried his cross, being rejected, mocked, abused, and executed. Of course, this is for our benefit, it is so that we can understand how much God intimately knows us, and loves us. There was nothing lacking in God, but Jesus set everything aside but love and obedience to the Father, to show us that love and unity with the will of the Father are the very essence of the Trinity.
Some Greek Jews came to Passover, and wanted to know Jesus. What do they hear from Jesus? The hour has come for the Christ to be glorified – but glorified in his death, not yet in his resurrection, ascension, or coming again in glory… no, not yet. First, he is glorified in suffering and death.
I noticed something fresh in the words of Jesus.
“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be… when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”
And where is Jesus? Where do we follow him? Well, he tells us when he describes the judgment: I was the hungry. I was the thirsty. I was the stranger. I was the naked. I was the sick and mentally ill, the alcoholic, and the addict. I was the person in prison. I was homeless and dirty and alone.
Where is Jesus lifted up? On the Cross. So, it is to the Cross that Jesus calls and draws us. (He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.)
Casting Crowns has a song that calls me as a Deacon to account for my love and my service, but should call every disciple of Jesus to reflect on whether we are going where Jesus is… whether we are following him…
If we are the body, the song asks,
Why aren’t His arms reaching?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fouqn5Xg5-E
Why aren’t His hands healing?
Why aren’t His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren’t His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
We tell ourselves that we want to know Jesus. Do we? I hope so, because knowing him is our salvation.
Will we go where he is?
Will we suffer for love?
Will we perform corporal and spiritual works of mercy as penance and out of charity? Some of you are already doing these things. Bless you. Perhaps God is calling you further up, and further in.
Lent is not over. There is still time to seek Jesus where he is. There is still time to pray, and to fast, and to give our time, talent and treasure to reach out, to heal, to teach, feed, to clothe, to shelter… to love.
