Fifth Sunday in the Season of Lent - 2012
Today’s gospel reading brings to mind the hymn, Just a Closer Walk with Thee. Each of us has those moments, those days, when we long to see Jesus, to be with Him. to talk with Him. It is not strange to have that same feeling when we feel betrayed by a loved one or a friend, when our relationships with another are torn to pieces by misunderstanding and when we are lonely and feeling so empty. In all of these kinds of moments and many others, there is that feeling that I want to be closer to Jesus. It is at those moments when a walk with Jesus seems to be the sure solution to the pain that is eating away at my spirit.
What this teaches us is that the very core of our being is that Jesus is our foundation. He is so much like the cornerstone on each new building. Theologians might write great books. Father Jeff may conduct outstanding liturgies only to be outdone by his skills in decorate our church with gorgeous arrangements and meaningful posters but deep within our hearts we do feel that what we want most of all is time with Jesus, alone with Jesus. When our faith seems to have little substance for our problems, we know that Jesus has what we need.
Yet, despite these moments that cause so much pain and sorrow, how do we feel about Jesus in the ordinary 24/7? How easily we seem to loose that need for a closer walk with the Son of God. Recently I read this thought: “At times, we act as if Jesus is an add-on to our imagined weightier matters that suddenly become so much more important.
Sometimes we allow ourselves to become wrapped up in various issues such as the call for a respect for the sanctity of life. Others get tangled in the HHS demand that birth control pills be provided in all institutions. Locally in our state there is going to be the full blown challenge to the Same Sex Marriage law recently passed by the State Legislature. While all issues may have rooted values, it is easy to become totally involved in an issue that is looked upon as a faith issue. At the same time, however, we might forget the primacy of Jesus. When all is said and done, doesn’t it happen that there is the intensity of longing to see Jesus, to be with Jesus, to hear Jesus and to be LOVED by Jesus that outstrips all those issues that distract us from him.
We are like the Greeks mentioned in the Gospel. Like them we want to “see” (have a meeting with) Jesus. If ever there was a period of time in the Church’s calendar year when we deepen our relationship with Jesus, we are about to begin that opportunity at this time in the season of Lent.
I would sincerely encourage you to put a on your refrigerator, your mirror and even on the dashboard of your car that reads very simply: Just a Closer Walk with Thee.
