That’s the question I ask myself every time I confront scripture passages like those for this Sunday, August 2: “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! Come without paying and without cost” shouts out an exuberant Isaiah.
“You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing,” the psalmist sings.
“Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” insists Paul.
“All ate and were satisfied,” Matthew tells us about Jesus feeding the large crowd. And there were twelve baskets full of leftovers!
The simple yet amazing point is this: God’s love is FREE. God’s love is always. And God’s love is yours. That is the heart of the Good News.
Notice that Isaiah didn’t say the thirsty should make sure they are ritually pure or free from sin before they come to the water. Just come! Drink, drink, drink—for free!
The psalmist did not sing that God opens God’s hand to satisfy the desire of the do-gooders. No, the psalmist sang every living thing is satisfied by God’s loving hand.
And Paul did not say nothing will separate us from the love of God except. . . No, absolutely NOTHING separates us from God who is Love.
And Jesus didn’t divide the crowd into the good, faithful, law-abiding Jews and then the “others.” He fed without distinction.
Such great news. Liberating. Life-giving!
So why do we so often get it backwards? Why do we sometimes hesitate to come near God in prayer, especially when we are aware of our sins and foibles? Why do we stay away from the FREE banquet gifts of bread and wine/Body and Blood because we think we are “unworthy” or have to straighten ourselves out before we are fit to receive? Why have so many in the Church taught such a backwards and anti-Gospel message?
Perhaps it’s because the news seems too good to be true. We feel we must earn our place at the table, our share of the life-giving water, our portion of the Bread and Cup. (And, quite frankly, there isn’t much for the religious clerical caste to do or control if God’s giving it away freely and directly.) Yet Jesus insists that it is just the opposite: God’s love is free, God’s love is accessible to all, and God’s love is here, now and always for the taking.
It’s when we freely accept the freely given gift of God’s love from which we cannot be separated that we can begin to be healed of our sins and weaknesses. We become increasingly more aware of God’s every present, faithful-enduring love.
And then, when we don’t have it backwards anymore, we move forward ready to give Love away as freely as Love has been given to us.
Peace and every good,
Father Liam