God's Will

Strasbourg, France

                           Jesus said to his disciples:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’

will enter the Kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.  Mattthew 7:21

God's will or the will of my Father in heaven is something we find throughout the gospels.  If God is a mysterious figure, surely God's will is even more mysterious.  But however mysterious it might be, God's will is essential to the Kingdom of heaven, the world to which Jesus called his followers.  The Our Father is a prayer that all Christians say.  In it they say to God "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  So what is God's will, in general and in specific circumstances?

There are two ways God's will has been understood, one biblical and one not.  We hear the second meaning when something happens that is tragic or difficult or not desired by us.  A person dies and the grieving relatives are told it was God's will.  The death is either mercifully short or excuriatingly long.  That was God's will.  God has a plan for everyone and every circumstance and that plan will come to completion because God is omnipotent, all knowing, and unchanging.  The problem is that it often means that God causes pain and suffering because it is somehow part of God's plan.  It suggests a sadistic rather than merciful God.  We don't like to hear that for all sorts of reasons, most importantly because it is not scripturally sound.

In the New Testament, the word translated as will is better understood as desire or wish.  That is the core meaning of the Greek word "thelema."  It certainly makes more sense when it is used in the quote above.  "The one who does the desire of my Father in heaven."  A more idiomatic translation would be "the one who does what my Father in heaven desires."  When you read God's will or some variant in the Gospels, substitute a more accurate "what God desires."  It makes more sense and is more relevant to our lives.

So what does God desire us to do?  Jesus was asked this question and gave an unambiguous answer.

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:37-40

God's will for us is right there.  God desires that we recognize the existence of the Divine Being who is the source of all life and to take care of our fellow human beings and by extension all of creation as though we were taking care of ourselves.   God has this desire for all human beings.  If we all acted on those desires, then indeed the Kingdom of Heaven would be here on earth.

When I was young, I was taught that God is an omnipotent being for whom nothing was impossible.  If God's will means the plan God is implementing in the world, then how does it happen that it doesn't exist.  If nothing is impossible for God, what happened?  This omnipotent source of all life endowed each human being with free will.  We can and must choose to live a life in line with God's desire or not.  Our free will limits God's power.  God chooses not to force us to live out God's desire for us because what would be the point.

So the next time, someone says "It was the will of God" to explain tragedy or death, remember that God's will is not about that but rather a call to us to live our lives in the way Jesus described and in the way that Jesus did.

Is ten percent of my heart enough? Not even close.

Chalk used by sketch artist outside Notre Dame de Strasbourg

 

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people

putting their offerings into the treasury

and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.

He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest;

for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,

but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”  Luke 21:1-4

 

This is a familiar gospel story, one I remember from my years in a Catholic grade school under the care and supervision of the Sisters of Mercy from Omaha.  Until recently, its meaning for me had not changed much.  It speaks to generosity in giving.  Even though the rich people may have given more than the widow in absolute terms, her gift of two small coins represents a great percentage of her limited, if any, wealth and thus she was the more generous.  So if I donate to charity a recommended ten percent of my income,  should I be satisfied that I am being all that generous when others with substantially less resources give a smaller amount but one which may far exceed that ten percent benchmark?  Who is the more generous?  The answer is obvious.

The motivation for giving is important as well.  In another version of the story (Mark 12:41-44), Jesus prefaces it with the following:

 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” Mark 12: 38-40

 Clearly the teachers of the law and some wealthy people are giving because of the social status it confers.  Those who give large gifts even into the billions of dollars receive enormous social benefits.  They are routinely respected and sought after.  They are praised for their generosity.  Buildings and endowments carry their names.  There is nothing necessary nefarious about this but it does reduce the cost of giving by providing benefits back to the donor.  It is not ;surprising that those who create and operate Ponzi schemes typically make large and very public donations as a way of establishing a social status of success and public spiritedness.

All that aside, I recently came to see the fundamental message of this short story as something other generosity or charitable contributions.  The point is about a commitment to the message of Jesus that he has come to establish a kingdom of peace, justice and compassion.  His message is seen as dangerous by the powers that be and their regimes.  So those who follow Jesus and his message must be silenced, one way or the other.  What is needed is a whole hearted commitment to follow Jesus.  A carefully calculated ten percent contribution may be acceptable to the world but it is not enough in the kingdom.  It does not require a financial contribution but a commitment of the heart.  Am I with Jesus or not?  Just being with him a little bit is not enough, not even close.