MONDAY, October 19 Saint Luke (tr.)

I am a terrible cook, even with devices that give spoken step-by-step instructions. The problem isn't information; the problem is that no machine can make me want to cook.

God, in building a kingdom on earth, seems to want more than to give us step-by-step instructions; God wants to teach us to want that kingdom enough to sacrifice for it. God knows that the human heart finds inspiration not in fear, but in love; not in a God powerful enough to "count the number of the stars," but in a God tender enough to "heal the broken-hearted and bind up their wounds."

I want to please God, not because of the threat of God's punishment but because God chooses to heal me and others. I might obey a God of fear, but I am not inspired by fear. Perhaps God could tell me by threats and intimidation exactly the life I need to live to find salvation and transcendence. But isn't there something dissonant about using fear to inspire a life of love?
Wouldn't this world be better changed by people who want to change it?

PRAY for the Diocese of The Murray (South Australia, Australia)

Ecclesiasticus 38:1-4, 6-10, 12-14; 2 Timothy 4:5-13; Luke 4:14-21