| In Luke 18:1-8, we meet the Persistent Widow. A beleaguered woman whose unending pleas to the worldly, not God-fearing judge finally convinces him to give her justice. Her example teaches the value of constant intercession to the Lord as a means of achieving a spiritual goal. God wants to be in constant contact with us. If the worldly judge can dole out justice as the result of the widow’s tenacious behavior, “will not God give justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7) As I was thinking about the meaning of this gospel, I came across this meditation written by the Benedictine nun, Joan Chittister. I tried to carve out pertinent parts of the piece but decided that the whole article tells the lesson best. So, I share all of it with you. The secret of the really spiritual life Abba Sisoes says: “Seek God, not where God lives.” It is one thing to make a pilgrimage to the desert to find God. It is entirely another to be open to finding God where we are. Then we become what the challenge of the moment summons us to be. Then Abba Sisoes’ word of spiritual advice—to seek God and not simply the trappings of the spiritual life—becomes real, becomes true. Life is not an exercise in spiritual gymnastics. It is one long, unending attempt to put on the mind of God wherever we are, whatever happens to us on the way. We are not here to pray our way out of life’s challenges. We are here to grow through every one of them into spiritual adulthood. (emphasis added) The shrines and special prayers and holy pilgrimages along the way are spiritual oases meant to build our strength for the rest of the way. They are not God; they are simply signs that the God who made us is with us. It is that relationship that counts far beyond any particular devotion. Abba Sisoes held the secret of the really spiritual life. However faithfully we have cultivated a favorite devotion, he warns us, we are not to allow ourselves to be beguiled by any of them. Each and all of them have only one purpose. They are meant simply to point in the direction of the consciousness of God at all times and in all places. —from In God’s Holy Light: Wisdom from the Desert Monastics by Joan Chittister (Franciscan Media) I especially like the passage that reads “We are not here to pray our way out of life’s challenges”. The widow faced her daily challenges with the determination to get the judge to give her justice. She found God right there in the court with her continual requests for satisfaction. We, also, can find God right where we are and trust that He will be the guiding hand through those challenges. Remember God loves you unconditionally. Terri (reposted from October 2022) |
Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida 