Homily of the Day: Take Him Seriously!

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Homily of the Day


July 28th, 2011 by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Ex 40:16-21,34-38 / Mt 13:47-53

Some years ago, J.B. Phillips published a little book entitled, Your God is Too Small. The title says it all and it tells a sorry truth about most of us. We either domesticate God and make him into a kind of cosmic pal, or we caricature him as a nasty traffic cop, a saccharine sweet lamb, or a grand old man. God is none of that and to shrink our God-image to those dimensions sets us up for serious trouble. Especially in times of crisis, any normal person will flee from the silly God-images we conjure up. And then where will they go?

Today’s Old Testament reading offers a helpful corrective as we reconsider our image of God. Moses knew him as a God of love, with a proven readiness to forgive and heal, feed and liberate. But he also knew that God should not be trifled with. Incidentally, that’s what we mean by “fearing” the Lord: taking the Lord seriously at all times and in all places.

Moses had learned the meaning of “holy ground” when he took off his shoes before approaching the burning bush, and he knew it later as God made his presence felt within the Holy of Holies the people had built to honor him. Moses knew how to be quiet in God’s presence and how to listen.

Every place in the universe is God’s holy ground, for there is no place where God is not. Take him seriously. He wants to walk with you and be your mentor. Take him seriously and listen to him with all your heart.