[Pearls Episode 142: Preparing for Sunday.]
Sunday’s first reading, from Sirach, tells us – “The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay.”
The spiritual masterpiece, The Cloud of Unknowing, zeroes in on “the prayer of the lowly that pierces the clouds.” Two questions stand out:
- What is so special about the prayer of the lowly?
- If God is always with us, and even within us, why must our prayer “pierce the clouds”?
As we see in this week’s Pearls of the Interior Life, the Cloud of Unknowing answers both of these questions by affirming the reality that God is totally and completely beyond us. Yes, God became man to restore our relationship – out of His boundless love for us. But God, who is the Creator of all that is intelligible is, Himself, completely unintelligible.
It is at our peril that we lose sight of limitless and otherness of God, and how infinitesimal we are in comparison.
That is why God tells us, “This is the one whom I approve: the afflicted one, crushed in spirit, who trembles at my word.” And that is why “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom. And, that is why it is a travesty that some in the Church continue to rebrand “fear of the Lord” as “wonder and awe.”
If we lose sight that God is completely beyond us, we are in danger of thinking of Him as nothing more than someone who is super powerful, and super wise, and super loving – but not so super that maybe we can’t start to measure up to Him. This was the thinking of the builders of the Tower of Babel – “we can build a tower that will reach heaven.” This was the thinking of Adam and Eve – just one bite and we can be like Him. And this is the thinking of our modern-day transhumanists (seriously).
And, truth be told, we all have a pinch of that mindset in our spiritual DNA. It’s (fallen) human nature that as we start meditating on God and receiving deeper insights into Him – especially the person of Jesus Christ – we start getting comfortable with our conception of God and putting Him “in a box.” This isn’t anything to beat ourselves up over – it’s just something we need to be reminded of from time to time.
And here we are, and our all-loving but fearsomely infinite and unknowable Creator is stooping down to do just that.
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: Sunday Old Testament and Gospel Readings
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
The LORD is a God of justice, who knows no favorites.
Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed. The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint. The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay.
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”