BEYOND THE EYE

Peacefulness, the sort of peace that pertains to the eye of the storm, is fictitious because, beyond the apparent quietness, the storm rages on.  Life is like that: as long as we direct its course, all appears normal. But as the storms of life penetrate our quietness, awakened from our slumber, we cry out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22,1; Matthew 27.46; Mark 15,34). 


This cry accompanies us in our adventurous decision to follow the Magister who points out that, “a disciple is not above his teacher” (Matthew 10,24). Forgetful, we create our own paths or pretend to do so and yet, he reminds us: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14,6).

 

Encountering the raging waves, beyond the eye of the storm, the illusions of fidelity are swept away when we realise that our love is self-centred. We associate sin with what we do and not with what we become: hardened, calloused hearts; hardly able to hear, our eyes are sealed (Matthew 13,15). When this happens, we take refuge in honouring God with our lips, because our hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15,8).

 

Choices accompany: some pack their bags and move on to greener pastures, which carry their own worries; others shelter behind cloisters because they offer them security and social status hard to maintain otherwise. But some rediscover their initial love and renew their fidelity: a new heart and spirit, abandoning stony hearts as they embrace a heart of flesh able to see God’s Presence (Ezekiel 36,26), which permits us to have the same mindset as our Magister as we relate with one another (Philippians 2,5).  

 

Two keys sustain this renewal: a maturing understanding of God’s love and stillness. Some are caught up in their clamouring, unable to acknowledge it. Preaching repentance but unwilling to live it; self-focused Eucharistic celebrations, masking our infidelity. Sadly, the Magister warned us: “ Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7,15).

 

Rather than condemning, we are asked to think: to be honest in our hearts and question our intentions. To do this, we need stillness: “to be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46,10). Stillness, as understood here, concerns the live-out repentance no longer subject to the fear of condemnation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11,28).

 

 

Martin

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