Foolishness

"The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God." I often think I know better than God. Usually there are two reasons for this. The first is that I want to justify my behavior. I want to insist that I am right. The second perhaps seems more virtuous but is in fact no less sinful than the first. It is that I often have worked out exactly how God should answer my prayers. Yes, these are often for my family and for those I love, and for those I serve. But when I really think I know better than God is when I am praying for something for myself. I struggle and struggle against God's way preferring my own. How the self-centered and the self-righteous ways of the world have infected our hearts. I do not think I am alone in my affliction. Thus St. Paul's words are such a comfort. He is the one who has told us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to put on the mind of Christ. He is also the one today to tell us that we belong to Christ. In belonging to Him we can have no fear. We can trust Jesus. We do not have to get our way. We do not have to understand and approve of things. We can abandon ourselves to His Loving Mercy. It is not only the Apostle Paul who teaches us this today. Look at the call of the first Apostles in the Gospel. In essence they abandoned themselves to Jesus and followed Him. Such was the power of His Words and the Strength of His Love as he gazed into their eyes and called them by name. They did not understand why He called them, nor what He would ask them to do. But they knew His Loving Mercy and they drew close to Him, and learned from Him and found healing and peace. We certainly can do the same.