How do you respond when someone wishes you a good morning?
A typical response from me is usually something like, “I
woke up on the right side of the grass so it is a good start.” As I grow in my
faith I find myself asking if this is really the start I am longing for in my
day. If I truly believe in my heart what I profess with my mouth the best start
to my day would be to awake from sleep to find myself on the path to heaven.
Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours ends with –
“May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful
night and a peaceful death.”
For many of us, the death we long for comes in our sleep, as
an old man, surrounded by the smiling faces of our wives, children,
grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Peaceful, surrounded by those we love.
I have come to realize that the request we make at the end of Night Prayer is
one request, not two. Lord, please call me home to your side tonight while I
sleep.
There is another saying many of us have heard. “Everyone
wants to go to heaven. No one wants to go today.” Heaven is what we all long
for as long as it comes a long way down the road. We all want to live full
lives. For too many that is measured in the things we own, money we have,
places we’ve been, and those we have influence over. Lives are measured in the
material. Jesus, on the other hand, tells us that our lives are measured in the
spiritual.
“He who loves father or
mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more
than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow
after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he
who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” – Matthew 10: 37-39
Very difficult words for all of us to hear. If we choose
anything over Jesus, even spouse or child, we are not worthy of life in heaven
with Jesus. I have found a slightly different translation of this in the bible
that no one disputes. It goes something like –
“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ‘You shall have no other
gods before Me.”
If that vaguely sounds like the First Commandment that is
because it is. God gave that Law to
Moses, who delivered it to the tribes of Israel. Jesus, the Law incarnate,
reiterates this Law to his disciples. Or as it later says in the book of Deuteronomy,
I am to love the Lord, my God, with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength,
and with all that I am.
When I wake each morning I find that God has not granted me
that prayer I pray at the end of the Liturgy of the Hours, yet. There is a
reason why he woke me on this side of heaven that I may never come to know.
There is a purpose for me being here today. As I meditate on the reason why I
woke on this side of heaven the answer that I keep circling around in my head to
is a simple one.
“Be a
blessing to all today. Allow them to be a blessing to you.”
God woke me this morning so that I can see Christ in those I
meet today and be Christ to them. Admittedly, this is something I have gotten
extremely good at failing at. If people are not seeing Christ in me what are
they seeing? I hope the worst they see is indifference but, as my family can
tell you better than anyone, far too often they see the devil.
And perhaps that is why I awoke here this morning. God has
given me another opportunity to repent, put on the armor of light, and go be
Christ to those who see me today. Only by the grace of God is that even
possible.
"Lord, come into my heart. Fill me with the light of your
love. Let your light burn out all the darkness within me. Make me a lantern to
carry the light of your love to all those still in darkness. And when they gaze
upon that light may they see only you through me."
Go and be a blessing to all you meet and allow them to be a
blessing to you.
