Knowing God

Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent (Jn. 17:3)

  I have written before about "eternal life," not as a series of unending days, but rather as a kind of vibrancy of life despite all else that human life may offer ---grief, sadness, boredom, poverty, etc.  The "pearl of great price" for which someone may give all that he has is a peace, joy, enthusiasm that over-rides daily vicissitudes.  And this eternal life is the gift of God given to us in Jesus!  It is nothing else but participation in divine life.

So the question today is how do we come to "know" God, the only true God, and Jesus Christ?  St. Thomas Aquinas says that man is a "knower," not a "thinker."  That is, while a great many people like to "think" God, there are a few --- let's hope a great many --- who actually "know" Him.  Over a period of a lifetime, they come to know Him in all the ways the Bible describes Him -- as their Shepherd, as a Shield, and as "the lifter of my head."  They come to know Him as a "rock," and a "hiding place," as Defender and Provider ("Give us this day our daily bread").  Above all, they come to know Him as Jesus revealed Him, as Father -- and Jesus as the Doorway to the Father ("No one comes to the Father but by Me!")

So how do we move from "thinking" God to "knowing" Him?  In this week's (Nov. 12) Sunday homily, Bishop Barron says that God is like a helicopter pilot looking for a place to land in our lives.  He is just waiting for us to clear a space for Him to land, to enter into our lives.  We tend to think that man has been looking for God, whereas God has been looking for us from the beginning.  We do not have to earn anything -- we just have to clear away enough of life's clutter to make an opening for Him to land.  

Usually, it is hardship or difficulty that creates the first space for God to enter --- when we have exhausted our own resources and run out of our own strength.  The moment we finally look up and say, "Help me!" is often the place of entry for God in our lives.  And when we begin to experience His nearness, His help, we begin to know Him.

In the desert of Arabia, the Egyptian slave girl Hagar encountered God.  Twice.  The first time, she had run away from the encampment of Abraham and Sarah because she was being mistreated.  But the angel of the Lord found her in the desert, and God promised her a great increase of descendants, just as He had promised Abraham.  At that time, Hagar gave God a name: You are the God who sees me!  She said, "I have now seen the One who sees me!"  She no longer "thought" about God; she had actually entered into a relationship with "the One who sees me."  She could live with confidence that she was seen and known by the living God.

Hagar's second recorded encounter with God comes in chapter 21 of Genesis, when Abraham sends her away because of conflict between the two women.  This time, "God heard the boy crying," and Hagar herself was sobbing. The angel said, "Do not be afraid, Hagar. God has heard the boy crying."  At that time, God (The One who sees me) provided water in the desert for her and her son.  Though Scripture does not record it, she may now have known God as "The One Who hears me!" (cf. Psalm 34).

If we are more confident that God is looking for a way to enter our lives, we may not have to wait for a disaster to open the door to Him.  Barron recommends 5 minutes a day to simply say, "I believe You want to come into my life!  I open the door now. Please let me know You as the One who sees me, the One who hears me!"

Words That Create

 As Saint Augustine has observed, all of us want a "blessed life," happiness.  We rarely know what it is like or how it will be, but we feel attracted to it.  This is a universal hope, common to men and women of all times and all places.  The expression "eternal life" aims to give a name to this irrepressible longing; it is not an unending succession of days, but an immersion of oneself in the ocean of infinite love, in which time, before and after, no longer exists.  A fullness of life and of joy: it is this that we hope for and await from our being with Christ.  (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus 2008)

Jesus instructed His disciples:  Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace be to this household!"  If a son of peace is there, it will remain upon him.  If not, it will return to you. (Luke 10:5)

Now the Hebrew word for "Peace" is Shalom.  However, "Shalom" means so much more than "Peace." When spoken to friends and family, the word includes the intentions for Safety, Welfare, Health, Prosperity, Quiet, Tranquility, Contentment, and Friendship.  This is what Benedict XIV refers to as a "blessed life," happiness, the goal of every man, woman, and child.

In his treatise on the Eucharist (This is My Body),  Bishop Robert Barron points out that there are words that describe or explain ("It's a beautiful sunset!), and there are words that create what they express, such as when an umpire cries, "You're OUT!  In the book of Genesis, we hear that creation occurred through a series of speech-acts.  When God spoke, "LIGHT! BE!" light was.  When He said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind," so it happened.  The Divine Word is active, creative, and according to Hebrews 4:12, "sharper than any two-edged sword."  It does what it says!  So when Jesus said, "Peace be to you," it was no idle wish that peace would come to his listeners.  It was rather an active, creating word that accomplished what it said (See Is. 55:10-11).

When Jesus said at the Last Supper, "This is my Body," He did not say, "This is a symbol of My Body." He was not describing or explaining; He was creating.  His words create what they express!  and when we receive what He has created, He brings with Him His own Peace/ Shalom -- the blessed life for which we all hope and pray!  Peace be with you!