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CRAZILY IN LOVE WITH THE LORD - stephenkhoo - 01-24-2012 11:55 AM
Tuesday, 24 January, 2012, 3rd Week, Ordinary Time
CRAZILY IN LOVE WITH THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 SM 6:12b-15,17-19; PS 23:7-10; MK 3:31-35
Today’s first reading shows the excitement, great rejoicing and unreserved emotions with which David “went and brought up the ark of God up from Obed-edom’s house to the Citadel of David.” With pomp and music and dance, David led the House of Israel to welcome the Ark of the Lord. So great was his delight that “David danced whirling round before the Lord with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth round him.” What we have is a picture of someone so utterly consumed by his love for God that he could not be bothered what the world thought of him.
To understand this spectacle, we must try to enter into the depth of David’s heart. Why was he so happy to welcome the ark? It was because he believed that the Lord was the real King, and he was only his anointed one. He knew that with the Lord’s presence, there will be peace in his household and in his land. Indeed, this is what David wrote in the psalm, saying. “Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord! Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in! He is the lord of hosts the warrior. Who is this king of glory? The Lord of hosts; he is the king of glory.”
David was deeply in love with the Lord. When one is in love, one is moved to do all kinds of ‘silly’ things. One does not use the head but the heart to love. And because one loves with one’s whole being, one expresses this love not only through words but one’s entire body. Being a musically talented and a poetic person, David, without feeling abashed, publicly demonstrated his emotions of joy in welcoming the Lord to his city. David, as we know, was also passionate, as demonstrated earlier on in his love for Jonathan and King Saul. So we should not be surprised that David was so expressive of his love for God. Using all his faculties, mind, body, spirit, words, songs and music, he gave himself completely to the Lord. He was totally oblivious to what others might think of him, especially for failing to keep his decorum as the King of Israel. But then, David knew that he was just the representative of Yahweh. And so before the King of kings, he stripped himself almost of everything, symbolizing his total dependence on the Lord. Before the Lord, David let go of all his pretenses and danced freely before Him in gratitude and joy.
This ‘madness’ was not only confined to David, the lover of God. Jesus, who was madly in love with His Father, was also thought to be mad by His own family members. His relatives came to take Him home, thinking that He was out of His mind. We can be certain that many thought He was crazy in the way He proclaimed the Kingdom of God with a motley bunch of disciples in tow. His family members who still did not know Jesus’ real identity must have been concerned that He was going bonkers after hearing the many reports and stories of how Jesus was attracting large crowds of people, teaching them about the Abba Father, healing the sick, casting our demons and forgiving the sins of the people. He was not even eating well. That was why out of concern, they came back to bring Him home.
But isn’t this the way God loves us? If we think we are crazy in love, God is even more madly in love with us. Which God would be so passionate about His people as to continue to love them in spite of their constant infidelity? Which God would be so patient with such an ill-disciplined people? Which God would empty Himself to become a man like us? Which God would die for us on the cross, ridiculed, mocked and crucified? God is certainly a crazy God, but it is because He is in love with us, aching to love us and yearning for us to love Him. Because He loves us, He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all (cf Rom 8:32) “so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
When we realize the depth of God’s love for us, would it be out of character to express our joy and love with such elated uncontrolled joy? If God gives us a heart that feels, it is because He knows that only a heart in love can express compassion and love. Only a person who is capable of love is truly alive. Otherwise, he is in Sheol, the place of the living dead. It is pride that hinders people from being their true selves. They are always conscious of what others say and think about them. They pretend to be prim and proper, dignified and sober. Yet, deep within them, they want to express their hearts but hold back for fear of being ridiculed and laugh at. Instead, they try to rationalize their reservations by finding all the reasons why they should behave like robots.
In the light of this consideration, it would be appropriate to consider the external expressions of piety, love and respect we give to the Lord, particularly in the Blessed Sacrament. Although we profess that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, how many of us accord Him the due reverence? We certainly do not welcome the Eucharist the way King David welcomed the Ark of the Lord. Many do not even kneel in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament or show any reverence even when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. We pay lip service to the true presence of our Lord in the Eucharist but our hearts are far from being convicted of His presence. Otherwise, why it is that many of us just walk in and out of the church, conduct our own conversations, and occupy ourselves with all manner of activities, quite oblivious to the fact that Jesus, our Lord and King, is present in our midst!
In a similar vein, we too, receive the Eucharist without the proper dispositions and decorum, not just externally, but our hearts are often not spiritually purified or prepared to receive Him. How many of us are conscious that we are receiving the King of kings and the Lord of Hosts? How many of us are excited to receive Jesus the king into our hearts? For many, receiving communion is a routine done in a perfunctory manner. Thus, the communion we receive, unlike David, does not bring about a real union with Him.
What is the real problem? Why are we not excited or moved by love when we receive Holy Communion? The truth is that we do not believe in the power of the Lord, nor appreciate the power of the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. We do not feel the way David felt about the power of the Ark of the Covenant that protected him through all the battles against his enemies.
Of course, external piety is not just confined to liturgical worship and devotions. It also concerns the way we pray. Many feel uncomfortable to praise God raising their hands and shouting to the Lord with joy in worship and praise. Some even deem such expressions as inappropriate, lacking decorum and respect for the Lord. One fails to realize that gestures and postures are cultural expressions of our love and devotion to the Lord. Some prefer to kneel or even prostrate; others choose to bow or even raise their hands in worship. What is important is not what we do in worship but whether the body in worship is truly expressive of how the heart is feeling. Sometimes, the heart might not feel, but “performing” the actions and postures can move the heart to feel with the bodily expression. Of course, the right postures and actions in worship must be used in such a way that does not bring disorder, especially in a liturgical worship where rubrics have been given so that the community acts and worship together in uniformity.
In the final analysis our restraint in expressing our love for the Lord is partly due to pride and partly because we do not share the intimacy that David had with our Lord as expressed in the composition of the psalms. If Jesus’ relatives could not accept Jesus, it was, as Mark noted, they were “standing outside.” In other words, they did not feel with Jesus, nor did they understand Him, hence the misperception of what Jesus was doing. In contrast, Jesus addressed those who were inside, sitting in a circle about Him, saying, “Who are my mother and brothers?” And Mark intentionally wrote, “And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.”
In other words, only those who are with Jesus could share His mind and heart. To share the heart and mind of Jesus is to share His soul and His life. This spiritual kinship is even greater and closer than any human, biological kinship. Thus, Jesus declares that when we do the will of the Father just as He did, we become His adopted brothers, sisters and mothers. This union with Jesus, in heart and mind is what an integration of faith is all about. Our union with the Lord is not based on human ties, not even our rank or position in life, less still, our talents and wealth but whether we are one with the Lord by doing the Father’s will, sharing in His dream and His plan for humanity. When we are identified with the Lord, then we will find the courage to walk in the freedom of the Spirit.
Indeed, an integral faith is not just an intellectual faith or an emotional faith. It is a heart that is moved by love, a head that is enlightened by God. Only a love that is based on the truth of God’s word and love can motivate a person to love God with His entire being, mind, soul and body. Such love is not merely to be regarded as emotionalism because it produces the fruits of faith, namely, joy, peace and righteousness.