Making A Difference – Be Real With God

As we continue on our Lenten theme “Make a difference” where we’ll be looking at ourselves with the guidance and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, to make a difference in our world, the holy Roman Catholic church presents us with yet another very powerful reading taken from Isaiah chapter 58, to help us along our journey, one that challenges us to be real with God.

Many of us in the parish communities, would’ve sung hymns like “Change my heart Oh God”, but what happens when we leave the confines of the church? We would have sung:

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true 
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

You are the potter
I am the clay
Mould me and make me 
This is what I pray

Are these just mere words that we sing?  When we look at the life of Christ, can we truly say that we are becoming more and more like him? Are we being real with God or are we a bunch of religious “Dr. Jekylls and Mr. Hydes”?  Jesus made a huge difference and impacted on the lives around him in a very real and powerful way when he walked upon the earth, and to this day some 2000 plus years later, his influence continues to transform lives. He continues to make a difference in the lives of all who earnestly believe in him and seek his face. Can we say that we are making a positive impact in the lives of those around us?  When we go to Mass each weekend, are we the first to be out the church door when the priest gives the final blessing?  Does the message preached that the celebration of the Eucharist reach beyond the time we spend at Mass? Are we time-watchers when the Eucharist is being celebrated?  Do we go to Mass because we truly love God and desire to enter into a deeper relationship with him, or do we just go out of obligation?  Do we truly recognize the sacraments of the church as inward signs of outward grace, or do we see them as just rituals that aren’t really necessary but we go along with it – well because everyone seems to be doing it?

In today’s first reading, God tells the prophet Isaiah to lift his voice and cry out to the people, pointing out to them their wickedness and their sins. They were in the habit of fasting, but not as a means of drawing closer to God.  The problem was not with their fasting, but rather with where their hearts were. Many of us are familiar with an ad that is aired very often on cable, and ends with the question, “so what’s in your wallet?”  This reading challenges us to look at what is in our hearts; why do we do the things we do?  A couple days ago the church celebrated Ash Wednesday, and has become a norm, our churches were filled to overflowing. Has this become just a mere ritual?  Those of us who attended Ash Wednesday celebrations, when the priest or the lay minister signed our foreheads with ashes and said, “remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” did we understand the implications of this?

Every practice within the holy Roman Catholic Church is meant to make a difference in our lives and to empower us to go out and to do the same in the lives of others. For instance, the Ash Wednesday celebration, and this statement made by the priest or the layperson when we were signed with ashes, is meant to remind us all that someday we will have to give an account for our lives. If we truly understand this, then we should all have left at the end of the celebration, reflecting on our lives, with the resolve to make a difference in the kingdom of God and for the glory of God.

You may not be aware of this but you are being watched.  There are many who are looking at you for examples of how to live. Many look to you as a means of making a difference, one that really counts. Many years ago, I was involved in a youth group in our parish, and one of the things we did was to have our prayer meeting with a group of teenaged girls who stayed in a sort of shelter.  I remember when we first started out, it was a serious challenge to get them to pay attention and not be disruptive.  They really challenged us.  Eventually, some of our original members could not take the constant challenge and so they left, but those of us who stayed, saw a transformation take place.   By their actions, these teens were really asking one question; ‘do you really care?’  Do you really care about me or is it all about you?  Similarly, those who look at us look on to see if we are being real or just playing games.  The very same questions begs to be answered in our families and we must respond, not so much with our lips but rather with our lives.

In today’s first reading, God complained to the people that their fasting was all wrong.  They were doing their own thing and not the Lord’s. God complained that their religious practices were not being lived out in their normal lives and in particular, how they related with others. Their hearts were far from God.

What would God’s complaint be to us?  Are our religious practices done with a sincere desire to draw closer to God?  When we assemble to worship God in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, do we really seek and desire to worship him in spirit and in truth?  Just as Jesus gives himself to us over and over and over again in the Eucharist, we too are called to give ourselves over and over again to each other, in service.  Are we willing to change?  Are we willing to allow God to change us where it really matters; our hearts? Are we willing to give up our agenda for a much higher one – God’s?

The author unknown wrote: 

I bumped into a stranger as he passed by,
“Oh, excuse me Please” was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me too; Wasn’t even watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.
I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Look on the kitchen floor,
You’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers she brought for you.
She picked them herself: pink, yellow and blue.
She stood quietly not to spoil the surprise,
and you never saw the tears in her eyes.”

By this time, I felt very small,
and now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by her bed;
“Wake up, little girl, wake up,” I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”
She smiled, “I found ’em, out by the tree.
I picked ’em because they’re pretty like you.
I knew you’d like ’em, especially the blue.”
I said, “Daughter, I’m sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.”
She said, “Oh, Mom, that’s okay. I love you anyway.”
I said, “Daughter, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”

“This, rather,” says the Lord, “is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free those oppressed in your family, breaking every yoke, the yoke of un-forgiveness, the yoke you placed on your son or your daughter to live up to your expectation.  This is the fasting I desire,” says the Lord; “Sharing your bread with the hungry, speaking words of life to your wife and to those placed under your care; sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Standing up for those without a voice, those who are branded as not being human and are aborted.  Dare to stand up for what is right in your family! Dare to set proper and holy standards for your family and your home! Dare to tell your son and your daughter that there will be no pornography in your home! Dare to tell your son that his girlfriend cannot and will not be “sleeping over!” Dare to tell your daughter that you do not want her to be locked away in her room with her boyfriend!  Dare to turn your cell phones off when you enter my House! Do not put it on silent! Dare to turn it off! Dare to live the true teachings of the Catholic faith!”  “Then,” says the Lord God, “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.”  “Then,” says the Lord, “Then and only then shall you call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!”