Reconnecting with God

The 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

After several weeks of feast days and special liturgical celebrations—Trinity Sunday, the Body and Blood of Christ, the birth of John the Baptist—today we squarely return to Ordinary Time in the church calendar. And we can look forward to green vestments right up until December when Advent starts a brand new cycle.

“Ordinary time” doesn’t mean ordinary in the sense of plain or commonplace or mundane, but rather the word has the same root as “ordinal”—which just refers to counting or numbering a string of Sundays. Today, for example, is simply called the 13th Sunday of the year.

I thought that as we return to this phase of the church calendar, it might be good to begin by getting ourselves reintroduced to God.

Now, of course, you already “know” God! But what I’m speaking about is a way to make a deeper connection with him. I think every spiritual seeker searches for this: the way to love God more and at the same time to better experience his love for us. And more than just intellectually. I’m talking about a love that is palpable… tangible… something you can feel and see in your everyday life.

So how do we begin? At every mass—and hopefully every day—we pray the Our Father—the perfect prayer that Jesus taught us. Christ introduces us to God not just as some distant creator, but as our parent—the one who gave us life and birth.

But why “our father”? Why not our mother? Actually, God is pure Spirit. We say “he” for cultural reasons, but God does not have a gender. He is not masculine or feminine… or perhaps we can say he is both.

My point is, maybe the image of God as father doesn’t do it for you—or even gets in the way of a decent relationship with him. Perhaps you never knew your own father, because he was dead or absent. In my case, I never had a deep, close relationship with my father. He worked in the city and commuted every day. He dragged in dead tired at night and just wanted to sit and read the paper and rest up. As a kid, I couldn’t understand why he didn’t seem to want to be closer to me. So there was a distance between us. It was hard for me as a child and a young adult, because I saw the deeper bonds my friends had with their own dads—but we learn to cope, right? My point is, the image of God as father is tough for me to wrap my heart around. Maybe it is for you, too.

But you see, that’s the beauty of God! He’s not limited by a word or a title. He’s bigger than father or mother or any gender or any limitation. He’s everything! And he can be who you need him to be.

Think of who you are and who and what you love the most in this whole wide world. That is where God is deeply and actively involved in your life. That gives you an inkling of who he is.

The things you love to do, the places where your passions lie—God loves too, because they are part of his glorious creation. Fishing… reading… dancing… soccer… gardening… building things… art and music… cooking—they’re all part of God’s amazing world. He wants to share the joy with you if you’ll let him in.

And even more than activities or inanimate objects, the special person or people who make your pulse quicken—they are also very much God’s beloved. Sometimes people try to talk us out of loving somebody—“He’s no good for you!” “She’s on the rebound and is going to break your heart!” “Look at the age difference!” And so on. But when it comes to real love, God doesn’t care who you love or why you love them—because he does, too! True love is never “wrong,” because it is a reflection of God and his own love.

But the problem isn’t generally the loving part. It’s often the dumb mistakes we may make in the name of love. All of us can use some advice, and that’s why God has provided us with family, friends and his Church.

The “perfect” father or mother or friend or beloved one is above all going to be true to you. They’re going to tell you how it is, even if you may not want to hear it at the time. They’re going to put your interest first. Because of their love, you can trust them.

And that’s what the “Our Father” is really all about.

To build a true and deep relationship with God, we’ve got to learn to get our feet wet in the pool of God’s realm. We’ve got to learn that he really cares and that we can trust him. We’ve got to come to believe that we can always confide in him and know that he won’t laugh at us or condemn us or let us down. Ever. No matter what.

St. Paul writes so beautifully to the Galatians today: “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

To know and experience God’s powerful love is the epitome of freedom. When we know we are safe and protected, we can be truly free… spread our wings… and do wonderful things in life. And in the midst of all that, God becomes very real—whatever you choose to call him.

I pray that all of us will make a little time this coming week to reflect on the amazing reality of God’s deep and personal love for us… and then search for our own special way of tapping into it. In your prayer, ask the Lord to show you the way. Amen!