TO BELONG
Where do we want to belong? As believers there is tension and the struggle of being in the world and striving not to belong to the world. Do we belong to the above or to the below as is said in today’s Gospel. Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come”. This statement feels so harsh but this is the reality for us. While we have a loving God, we also have a just God. We cannot be content with our sins. What a gift we have in the sacrament of confession. I look forward to going to the Lord and asking for forgiveness. When I was younger my motivation for going to the sacrament of confession was a fear of condemnation. Now however, I am more motivated to be fully reconciled with God and with others. That doesn’t mean that it is easy to humble myself and go to the sacrament, but I am always glad that I do. There is such an ache in my heart when I am not able to be where Jesus is, not be where the Father is.
My Lenten journey has been very tumultuous this year and I have struggled with placing God’s will before my own. It is easier at times to just do what I want to do and not strive for the harder thing, the right thing. I do know that when I fall, I want to get up again. I want to belong where God is. May we during these last few weeks of Lent make the most of our time of repentance and prayer. Where does God want us to go?
Lord, I want to go where you are going. Grant me the strength to follow you and to be where you are, to belong to you.
Teresa Chu