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"Blessed are they who hope in the Lord."
What does it mean to “hope in the Lord?” Isn’t it somewhat synonymous with having “trust in the Lord”? The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines trust thus: “Firm reliance on the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing.”
Imagine a world without trust. Imagine a world in which nobody believed in the "integrity, ability or character" of others. Such a place could indeed be described as a living hell. Trust is the mortar that binds us together. Trust is what enables us to form families, friends, community and country. Trust is an integral part of what it means to be human.
In stark contrast with the importance of trusting one another, Jeremiah warns: "Cursed are those who trust in human beings." What are we to make of this? Simply put, trusting one another only is not enough to sustain us in life. Why? Because, as we know all too well - and painfully - we humans, despite our best efforts, are not always trustworthy. If our trust is limited to the human plane, we run the risk of being overwhelmed by the woes of pain, disappointment, heartache and cynicism.
Our ultimate trust must be found in God, the one who is always trustworthy. Our ultimate trust must be found in God, the ‘faithful friend who never deceives or betrays’. Our fundamental trust allows us to not merely survive this life, but to thrive in it, especially when confronted by our own imperfections and those of others. St. Francis de Sales wrote:
“If the whole world turns topsy-turvy, if all around is darkness … shall not all be well with us as long as we place our trust in God?” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 125)
Cursed are we if we expect others to fulfill all of our deepest wants, our deepest needs, our deepest desires and our deepest dreams without fail. Such expectations lead to bitterness, resentment and despair. Blessed are we if we take confidence and consolation in the God who is always trustworthy, even when human beings - including ourselves - are not. Our trust in God will not shield us from life's inevitable disappointments - those we receive, those we cause - but it will enable us to name them, to work through them and hopefully move beyond them.
Our hope in God – our trust in God – enables us to celebrate the ways we are and can be trustworthy. Likewise, our hope in the Lord – our trust in the Lord – enables us to forgive one another when we are not so trustworthy.
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“He sighed from the depth of his spirit...”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote
“We must recall that Our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance and that we must work out our salvation, enduring with all possible meekness the injuries, denials and discomforts we meet.” (Part III, Chapter 3, p. 128)
Jesus had his share of success during his public ministry. He healed the sick. He freed the possessed. He fed the hungry. He satisfied the thirsty. He welcomed the marginalized. He consoled the sorrowing. He found the lost. He raised the dead. Of course, Jesus also had his share of trials and tribulations during his public ministry. He was subjected to criticism. He was subjected to misunderstanding. He was subjected to ridicule. He was subjected to rejection. He was subjected to abandonment, arrest and crucifixion. He was subjected to death.
In short, Jesus took the bad with the good in his attempt to preach – and practice – the Good News. While Jesus didn’t go looking for trouble, he wouldn’t duck trouble either, especially when it came to promoting the justice and peace of the Kingdom of God. Given the amount of resistance that he faced from some quarters, it’s amazing that the Gospels don’t provide many more examples of how Jesus “sighed from the depths of his spirit” more often!
In our day-to-day attempts at living a devout life we can relate to Jesus’ frustration. We’ve all faced resistance in ways that make us sigh from the depths of our spirits, too. While we shouldn’t go looking for trouble, we shouldn’t be all that surprised when trouble finds us. Like Jesus, when trouble comes our way, let’s do our level best to not allow it to dissuade us from doing good – and being good – in the lives of other people.
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“Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation…”
Some trials that we encounter in life come from without. Some trials that we encounter in life come from within. Many – if not most – of the latter we know as “temptations.” In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales counseled:
“Temptation to a certain sin – to any sin, for that matter – might last throughout our whole life, yet it can never make us displeasing to God’s Majesty provided we do not take pleasure in it or give consent to it…You must have great courage in the midst of temptation. Never think yourself overcome so long as temptations are displeasing to you, keeping clearly in mind the difference between experiencing temptation and consenting to it. Let the enemies of our salvation put as many baits and enticements in our path as they please. Let them stand continually at our heart’s door in order to gain entrance. Let them make all the proposals they wish. As long as we remain steadfast in our resolutions not to take pleasure in the temptation, it is utterly impossible for us to offend God…As long as this act of refusal remains within our heart, we may rest assured that charity – the life of the soul – remains within us, and that Jesus Christ our Savior – though hidden and covered over – is present in our soul. Hence by means of the continued practice of prayer, the Sacraments and confidence in God, our strength will return, and we will live a healthful and happy life.” (Part III, Chapters 3/5)
Temptations are a part of life. Of course, inspirations are part of life, too. Living a healthful and happy life consists in saying “no” to the former and “yes” to the latter. Today, what path will you pursue?
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“‘It is better,’ says St. Augustine,’ to deny entrance to just and reasonable anger than to admit it, no matter how small it may be. Once admitted, it is driven out again only with difficulty. It enters as a little twig and in less than no time it grows big and becomes a beam.’ If anger can only gain the night on us and if the sun sets on it (which the Apostle forbids) it turns into hatred, from which we have hardly any way of ridding ourselves. It is nourished by a thousand false pretexts; there never was an angry man who thought his anger unjust.”
“It is better to attempt to find a way to live without anger than to pretend to make a moderate, discreet use of it. When we find ourselves surprised into anger through our own imperfections and frailty, it is better to drive it away quickly than to start a discussion with it. If we give anger even the smallest of opportunities it will become the mistress of the house, like a serpent that easily draws in his whole body where it can first get in its head.” (Part II, Chapter 8)
We know from our own experience that anger can get out of hand in the blink of an eye. How many conversations, interactions and negotiations have come undone because someone allowed anger to get the upper hand? Even in cases where our anger may be justified, in the long run anger often does far more damage than good. Francis de Sales’ advice?“When your mind is tranquil and without any cause for anger, build up a stock of meekness and mildness. Speak all your words and do all your actions – whether little or great – in the mildest way you can…Moreover, in the unfortunate case that you realize that you are guilty of a wrathful deed, correct the fault right away by an act of meekness toward the person with whom you are angry. We must repair our anger instantly by a contrary act of meekness. Fresh wounds are quickest healed, as the saying goes.” (Ibid)
Today, do you want to accomplish the righteousness of God? Then, do your level best to listen. Think twice before you speak. Above all, avoid so-called ‘righteous’ anger in your interactions with others, since - most days - ‘righteous’ anger isn’t ‘righteous’ at all.*****
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“Faith – if it does not have works – is dead.”
The debate over the roles that (1) “faith” and (2) “works” play in Salvation has been around since the days of St. Paul and St. James. Of course, it was Martin Luther who popularized the debate - a discourse that played no small role in what would become the Protestant Reformation some fifteen hundred years later.
Being followers of Jesus requires both “faith” and “works”. For Francis de Sales (who lived and worked in the Age when this debate was raging), combining “faith” and “works” results in what he called “vigilant faith”. In a sermon he gave during Lent, the Bishop of Geneva observed:
“There is a vigilant faith, which depends upon its union with charity. Vigilant faith not only performs good works like living faith, but it also penetrates and understands revealed truths quickly and with great depth and subtlety of perception. It is active and diligent in seeking and embracing those things which can increase and strengthening it. It is always on the alert to do good and to avoid evil…” (Living Jesus, pp. 108 – 109)
Faith coupled with works produces a “vigilant faith.” This vigilant faith is one that produces good works, and these are the good works that produce deep faith.
Just today, consider how vigilant is your faith. How vigilant are your good works?
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“He was transfigured before them…”
Something remarkable happened on that mountain.
Consider the possibility that it was not Jesus who changed, but rather, it was Peter, James and John who were changed. Imagine that this account from Mark’s Gospel documents the experience of Peter, James and John as if their eyes were opened and their vision widened, enabling them to see without impediment the virtually blinding light of Jesus’ love that flowed from every fiber of his being.
Indeed, every day of Jesus’ life something of that remarkable brilliance, that remarkable passion and that remarkable glory was revealed to people of all ages, stages and states of life. The shepherds and magi saw it; the elders in the temple saw it; the guests at a wedding saw it; a woman caught in adultery saw it; a boy possessed by demons saw it; a man born blind saw it; the good thief saw it.
If so many others could recognize Jesus’ brilliance in a word, a glance or a touch, why might Peter, James and John have required such extra effort in helping them to see Jesus’ glory? Perhaps it was because they were so close to Jesus; perhaps it was because they were with him every day; perhaps it was because, on some level, they had somehow taken his glory for granted.
What about us? Do we recognize that same divine glory present in us, present in others, present in creation, present in even the simplest and most ordinary, everyday experiences of justice, truth, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion?
Or do we take it for granted?
St. Francis de Sales saw the Transfiguration as a “glimpse of heaven.” How might our eyes, our minds and our hearts need to be transfigured and transformed in ways that enable us to catch this “glimpse of heaven” within us and around us? How might we need to see more clearly the glory of a God who always loves, redeems, heals, forgives, challenges, pursues., strengthens and inspires us?
Today, may we grow in our ability - through the quality of our lives - to make that “glimpse of heaven” more clearly visible and available to the eyes – and in the lives – of others.
