In this weekend’s Scripture readings, we read a few times of the intimacy of God in our lives. How close He is to us and how much His word and presence can be with us. This also shows in the Gospel reading, which is the very famous parable of the Good Samaritan where Jesus asks of his disciples, both then and now, to show mercy. “Go and do likewise,” he instructs. To be an ambassador of God in the world, we must know our God and what He speaks to us and places on our heart. But how can we do that if we are not listening?

Theologians Jacques Ellul and Gabriel Vahanian both wrote about God’s silence in the world today. Both decried the “God is dead” philosophy because it leads to nihilism and hopelessness. It isn’t that God is dead, both argue (they were compatriots and peers), it’s that we have turned our back on God. We no longer listen to him. We are even forgetting to how to listen to him. The Deuteronomy reading instructs us to, “turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” This is the only way we can truly hear from our God. Our God is not silence because His Word is always speaking.

One of my favorite Ellul quotes says that we must, “demand God be God.” We need Him to speak to us. And He wants to! Many of our hearts are yearning for something new. We are waiting on a word from God. I know I am. My prayer is that we can always be turning toward God. Contemplating with a silent and open heart and ever knowing that our God is here and now waiting to show us his mercy and truth, so that we may live mercifully and in truth. Amen. God bless!

In Christ,

Fr. Zach