Hg 1:1-8 / Lk 9:7-9
There’s a poignancy to the Lord’s words in today’s Old Testament reading: "You have sown much, but brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; you have drunk, but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves but not been warmed; and he who earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it." How much of that rings true with our own experience too much of the time.
So much effort yielding so little. We have to ask why this happens. Is it, perhaps, because of some blindness on our part that leads us to invest our efforts in barren fields that can never yield the returns we desire? Is it because we hope to find joy, satisfaction and fulfillment where they can’t be found? Yes. How many times do we have to look inside an empty room before we finally conclude that there’s nothing there? Quite a few times, it seems. Do we need a new investment counselor who can advise us better on how to invest our life? Probably so.
Most of us are not leading evil lives. But most of us are, to some degree, investing our lives and our hearts unwisely. Quite often we have the words right and the insights are there, but the deeds don’t follow, at least not with any consistency.
What are we really longing for? Communion: to be a family with God and his people. And how do we become family? By loving and not counting the cost. You see, we know the answer, we’ve known it all along.
Now we have to let the Lord show us, step by step, how to live it. He’s ready. Are you?
