God's Will and God's Presence

Psalm 12
Verse 5 is an important reminder of God’s love and compassion for the poorest of society. “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up, says the Lord; ‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’ I recently heard part of the speech made by musician/activist Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington in which he says, “…God is with the vulnerable and the poor; God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house; God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives; God is in the cries heard beneath the rubble of war; God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives; and God is with us if we are with them.” God takes sides and calls us to take sides as well, to care for the least and the lost and to make our society fair and just in God’s terms.

Deuteronomy 30:11-20
Verses 11-14 struck me today: “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” We do not have to go searching for God’s will or God’s presence. It is in our midst. But we can’t hide from God’s will either or assume that it does not apply to us. Nor can we relegate it to one hour a week, or exempt a period of time from God’s sovereignty. God’s will is in our midst at all times and in all places, and God’s word is valid no matter who we are or where we are.

Luke 19:1-10
The gospel lesson offers a good example of God’s presence in our midst. Verse 10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Jesus indeed went and found Zacchaeus the tax collector from Jericho. God seeks us out as well, enters into our lives and lays claim to who we are and what we do. There is great comfort in the thought that God comes looking! But there is also the responsibility to do what Zacchaeus did, to seek to correct our misdeeds and to live a life of righteousness.