Staying
Put
I’ve been thinking about all that it
meant for Jesus to leave his rightful place at the Father’s side to become
human. It really is a remarkable, wonderful, beautiful mystery to contemplate—God
taking on flesh. As I come to grips with the real divinity and humanity of
Jesus, I understand that his life on this planet was a real human life. I think
Jesus experienced deep joy in his human family and his human friendships. But I
also think that many of his experiences—even before his passion—were as
challenging for him as they are for us. But he didn’t try to avoid those
challenges, he moved toward them, lived in them, brought grace, and love, and
truth to them.
This has caused me to reflect on my
own responses under stress and how they differ from Christ’s. There are many,
but I will address one today. I confess that I often succumb to imagining
escape strategies to get out of stressful or difficult circumstances. I am
tempted to change my environment, wondering if the grass would be greener
somewhere else. The words from Saint
Anthony have come to my mind:
Someone asked
Abba Anthony, “What must one do in order to please God?” The old man replied, “Pay
attention to what I tell you: whoever you may be, always have God before your
eyes; whatever you do, do it according to the testimony of the holy Scriptures;
in whatever place you live, do not easily leave it. Keep these three precepts
and you will be saved.”
These
words encourage me to stay where I am. The dis-ease I feel in many situations usually
is an indication that something needs to change, and that something is most
often myself. I know this temptation is probably common in others as well. I
have had opportunity to share this advice with a number of people over the last
month. It’s always easier to try to change our environment than to allow that
environment and/or circumstance to change us.
Jesus
did not run away. He ran toward a broken and sinful world. He descended into
the challenge, struggles, and chaos of human experience to bring light, and
life, and hope. He didn’t run away from the cross either. To live like him
means to be willing to listen and to attend to God in prayer and in the word.
And often it means to stay put—to wait on God to do in and through and for us
what only he can do.
Are
there circumstances in your life that you long to escape? How does Jesus’ real
human life speak to you? How do the words of Saint Anthony speak to you? Listen
to what God wants to say to you right now.
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