If Today You Hear His Voice, Harden not your Hearts

15 January 2011

Last Wednesday (12 January), I was blessed to be able to attend Opus Dei’s first recollection of the year at the Redfield College in Dural, New South Wales. Father Jerry opened up the meditation by saying something like:

‘I am happy and contented with where I am. Why do I need to change?’

This is the question that so many people (including myself), ask every so often. Admittedly, this attitude paralysed me for so many years.

Am I doing anything wrong? I don’t think so. I am a good person. I go to church every Sunday. I believe in God. I do not oppress other people. I enjoy life. Is this a sin? I enjoy sports – surely, there is nothing wrong with that. I am a part of a community – I spend more than enough time with God, going beyond just Sunday mass. I am a responsible provider for my family - isn’t this making good use of my talents? I love my family, and I would die for them – isn’t this the kind of love that God commanded us? God is a merciful God. He would forgive me for any of my other shortcomings, because I am a good person. Isn’t this the gospel truth?

I cannot pretend that I know the answers to these questions. A priest or theologian would definitely be in a better position to give a satisfactory answer. But then again, upon reflection (for me at least), it seems that the root of the problem, this attitude, is in the excessive focus on ‘I’. So where is God in the equation? Is He, in all His majesty and splendour, Creator of the entire universe, not entitled to be a part of our lives?

This leads me to ask more questions. From a business perspective: Is there an ‘I’ in TEAM? From a romantic perspective: To the person who I love more than anything else in the world, the person who makes my heart beat - Is there only an ‘I’ in our relationship? In both cases I would say that the answer is NO.

For any business venture, it is a given that we would do our best to work with our partners in order to ensure success. We would be proactive and implement kaizen (continuous change) in order to establish a profitable business. When we find that one person in the world who takes our breath away, we immerse ourselves in them – we change, for the better, in order to win their heart. From this perspective, perhaps the reason to change becomes a bit clearer.

Father Jerry went on to talk about ‘our interior life’ – pertaining to the mind and soul, our spiritual life if you may. I tie this in to the reading for 13 January 2011 from Hebrews 3:15 – ‘Oh, that today you would hear his voice; Harden not your hearts….’

Jesus delights when we pray to Him, for this is how we are able to experience His love. He wants us to feel His love for us. He wants to be a part of our lives. Jesus is calling us to have an ‘interior life’ with Him through prayer. Let us not be intimidated by what He might have to say. He wants us to know and experience a greater kind of happiness.

Yes, we may not be doing anything wrong in our lives. We may actually be living noble lives. But just like in business and in love, there is always room for improvement. There is always something more that can be done. Jesus is calling us – TODAY. Let us not harden our hearts.