March 14/Fourth Wednesday of Lent
The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. ~ Ps 145.9, 18
Stephen Sondheim’s song “Finishing the Hat,” from the 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George, is a paean to the creative process and to the fulfillment that comes from putting the final touches on (in this case) a work of art. Most of us, busy and distracted, may feel that our own work is perennially unfinished. We rush through our days trying to catch up, aware that we are not really bringing anything to completion, either professionally or personally. I believe that the name for this is “mortal life.” All of us live, and will die, with unfinished business — the relationships we have neglected, the work we have failed to do well. Over against our human incompleteness stands the wholeness of God. There is not one flaw, one iota of imperfection in the Lord, or in the Hebrew, Yahweh. The point is emphatically underscored by the dense repetition of two key words in today’s verses: “Yahweh” and “all.” Taken together, they construct a formidable framework of divine integrity. God, we are meant to understand, never proceeds by half-measures: Yahweh is good to all of us and compassionate towards all his works. Yahweh is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. And the concluding flourish, most comforting for us as we trudge through Lent: Yahweh is near to all who call upon him in truth. We may be plagued by a failure to finish, but what awaits us beyond our human life is the glory of the fullness of God.
Perfect and complete Lord, Bestow on me the desire to strive daily for your fullness, even as I acknowledge that I will fully attain it only in the glory of eternal life. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031418.cfm
To hear Finishing the Hat, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ducG55pfCMQ
