Trust and Action

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary challenge our tendency to excuse our less charitable behaviour. Maybe it is inconvenient to stop and be present. Maybe we are embarrassed by the sense of concern that comes from our heart. It may be socially awkward to act against social norms. We will take care of it later. The prophet Jeremiah understands how our “heart may not be in it” right now. He exhorts us to know the fruit of life and growth which comes from trusting the intimate relationship with the Divine which prompts us to good doing and avoid the desert of always acting to avoid producing good fruit. The psalmist makes the comparison between the wicked who takes bad advice from his environment and the blessed who attends to the continuous communion with the Divine through the indwelling Spirit and lives fully like the tree by the stream. The Gospel of Luke recounts the consequence of inability of the rich man to get around to attending to poor Lazarus who begged unseen at his gate. Life is in this moment which requires our attention.