March 25/Third Monday of Lent
Feast of the Annunciation
Sacrifice and offering you do not delight in, but you have dug out my ears.
To do your will, O God, I delight in; your teaching is in the midst of my belly.
~ Ps 40.7, 9*
Obedience — how it goes against the human grain. We no sooner construct a set of rules or guidelines for the common good than we invent ways to circumvent or break them. Speed limits, tax codes, children’s bedtimes, hospital protocols, all are subject to our disobedience. How much more so, then, do we find ways around fulfilling our promises to God. Some of us take the path of outright effrontery and completely sever ourselves from church-going and faith practices alike. Others do just enough to convince observers that we are people of faith, becoming CINO (Christians In Name Only). And then there are those of us who faithfully attend Sunday worship services and present our offerings while closing our ears and shutting our hearts to God’s true commands. We show up at the required times and places, but our lives at large consist of chasing our own desires. The payments for the shiny new car that diminish our contribution to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the time spent on social media that precludes meaningful conversation with our spouse, the professional ambition that leads us to an unhealthy competitiveness rather than productive collaboration — these are the devices and desires of our own hearts. God takes no delight in our empty Sunday sacrifices when they do not connect to our inner life. We are invited, today, to listen — and as the psalmist today colorfully puts it, God has even done us the courtesy of digging out our ears so that we can hear. The “delight” that God and we both experience — and the Hebrew verb is the same, underscoring the point — is the delight we will find in internalizing his commands (“belly” is the literal word) and truly doing his will.
Almighty God, Make me an instrument of your love, your peace, and your mercy, and grant that I may always seek to do your will. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032519.cfm
*Literal translation by the author
