Lent - Day Twenty Three - Who or What Do You Worship?

Gospel	Mark 12:28-34 ©

'You are not far from the kingdom of God'

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that, no one dared to question him anymore.

I noticed tonight that there was a thin crescent moon visible in the desert sky.  It is hard to believe that when the moon takes on its noble full circle shape that we will be in Jerusalem and our journey will be over.  What will happen in Jerusalem has not been told to us. The Master pushes us ever forward.  He is still cheerful and attentive to each of us but his eyes betray him sometimes, He is concerned and I believe each step closer to our destination is getting harder for Him to take.  

Today after we made camp and ate our rations we were sitting around the fire as was our custom.  The Master stood and spoke to us about God.  He went over the story of the Hebrews in the desert making a golden calf as their god.  He told us that the Hebrews were not fools.  They knew that the calf cast from the gold and silver of the people was not God.  They were harkening back to the old days in Egypt and placing back on themselves the shackles of slavery as they remembered  their life of "ease."   How soon they forgot the taskmaster's whip and the hard labor and it was funny how they only remembered the fragrant food made of bitter vegetables that were their mainstay. They did not remember the food God provided for them.  Manna in the morning and quail in the evening.  The Master said it was similar to how modern man sees things.  I stood up and questioned Him about this.  His face lit up and he bid me sit down.

"Brothers, this world knows not the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit and yet they are at work today as they are every day that has been and will be keeping the universe in motion.  They forget not even one of you not for a split second!   Should they forget you, you would not disappear, it would be as if you were never here.  All this is true, but modern man has lost sight of the fact that he is dependant on God.  God shows no partiality, He makes no attempt to interfere with a person's free will but as a light bulb shines brightly when electric current flows through it, so it is with mankind that when he receives and utilizes the grace that is constantly sent to him by God.  The grace can be used or it can be allowed to evaporate and do the recipient no good at all.  This generation worships many strange gods.  Walk in any city and you will see many people walking with their nose buried in the artificial world of the internet and not seeing the beautiful sky nor hearing the birds joyful prayer to the God that made them.  Modern man is as far away from God as he can get at times.  He bows down to the neon lights and electronic wonders designed to keep your mind on things of this earth. He gives little thought to God and yet he sings songs asking God to bless his country, not recognizing that the country he lives in is blessed every moment of every day and night as evidenced by the fact that it exists.  The man will camp in front of a store and spend many days wages on a technological device designed to draw him deeper into an electronic coma." 

"Brothers, don't let it be like this for you.  We have walked many miles so far and you have seen signs and wonders.  You have heard me speak, you have eaten the special bread and have fortified yourself with the cup of salvation so do not lose yourself in the whiles of modern society.  Oh, live with it but remember to use the tools and not let the tools use you.  Remember that the first commandment is the most important one and that you should love your God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your will.  If you do that, the things of this world will assume their rightful place in your life and you will be their master. "