Mtr Paula Barker Datsko

“When the Lord saw that [Moses] had turned aside to see, God called out to him.…”

Dear friends,

God tries so hard to catch our attention, day in and day out. What does it take for God to succeed? With Moses, it took a flame burning in a bush while miraculously not consuming it. Moses wondered at this sight. By following the wonder, rather than snapping out of it to keep focused on the task at hand, he found himself on sacred ground in the life-altering presence of the creator and redeemer of the universe.

God does try to catch our attention, day in and day out. Theologian Karl Rahner, in the 20th century, suggested that self-communicating is God’s fundamental nature. And our fundamental nature as humans created in the image of God is to be capable of receiving divine self-communication. Early Franciscan theologians, in the 13th century, also testified to God’s desire for connection with us: we humans are so stuck in the sensate needs of our bodies that God chose to become incarnate in human form to catch our attention. The sight of a helpless baby makes us pause as caring feelings well up in us, so God became a helpless baby. Francis created the creche as a devotional object to evoke that response, facilitating the turn of our hearts towards God. Similarly, the sight (even in our imaginations) of Jesus as a man exuding the beauty of goodness attracts us, opening the wonder that engages his words, lifting our hearts to love of God who yearns with love for us. We can observe this dynamic in the story that the author of John’s gospel tells of Jesus’ conversation with Thomas and Philip.

Faith is what happens when the self-communicating desire of God flows into an open human soul. Such faith fuels action, as the letter to the Hebrews teaches. Courageous action. Action like Moses’, through which God responds to human misery. Action like Jesus calls forth in the those who follow him.

Day in and day out, God yearns to catch your attention and min. Where will we glimpse this today? Perhaps a flash of grace in the natural beauty of the world will bring a pause of wondering joy. Maybe someone’s smile will make your heart leap. Maybe a word of scripture will awaken us to divine life stirring within, ready to be born in action.

Faithfully,
Mtr. Paula