Total Surrender

The readings for Mass on this second day of Lent are worth examining. The first reading comes from the end section of the book of Deuteronomy; the reading is 30:15-20:

“Moses said to the people: ‘Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’.”

Moses tells us that we have a choice between life and death; if we obey and turn our hearts toward God, we will have life and blessing; if we disobey and turn our hearts away from God, we will have death and the curse. We will have life if we love God and heed His commands; an obedient, trusting and loving heart will be blessed and have life. Again, my theory that the tree of life is the heart finds resonance in this passage from Deuteronomy. When our heart turns toward God, clings to Him, loves Him, and obeys Him, we have life. God is the source of life, and when our heart is attune to Him, our heart receives His life. The heart is the vehicle through which God gives us His life.

The theme of the heart continues in the responsorial psalm; today’s psalm is Psalm 1:

“Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.”

The one who despises God’s law disobeys God’s law and is a wicked, insolent sinner; he is like chaff which vanishes in the wind. The one who delights in God’s law and constantly thinks about it is blessed, and he is like a tree planted close to a river. His leaves do not fall off, and in season, he bears fruit. Delight comes from the heart, and we meditate and think about reality in our heart; Mary pondered all that happened to her in her heart. Therefore, when our heart loves what God loves, we are a fruitful tree. When we love, trust and obey God, our heart is a tree of life.

The gospel for today takes a slightly different, yet related, route. It comes from Luke 9:22-25, but I will only quote the second half of it:

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

Immediately before Jesus said this, He was telling His disciples about His crucifixion. When Jesus says we must take up our cross and follow Him, the place He is leading us is to our own crucifixion. When we are following Him with our cross on our back, we are not out for a joy ride and a relaxing, pampered destination. We are on the way to our very own complete self-offering on our very own Calvary. Jesus died not so that we don’t have to, but rather, He died so that we would have the heart to do what He did. Jesus’ mission is to give us a new heart, His very own heart, so that we too can be a self-sacrificing lover.

When someone tries to save his life, it signifies that he does not trust in God. When one gains the whole world, he is trying to control his life and not need God. This saving of our life and this gaining the world is another way of saying that one has abandoned God. If we seek life and try to save our life, death is our keep. The reason for this is that life comes through trust in God. Life does not come through ourselves or our abilities. The heart that trusts God is willing to face death, embrace his cross, and follow Jesus to Calvary. The heart that trusts God will lose his life, lose the world, lose himself, and become a pleasing sacrifice to God. In no other way is there life. The trusting heart is the tree of life.

There is no difficulty trusting if everything is easy and everything is just as I would have it. There is no trust when all is well and I have whatever my heart desires. There is no trust when I am doing exactly as I would like to do. There is no trust when it is “My will be done.” Trust enters the picture when it is “Thy will be done.” Trust enters the arena when it is “Not my will be done.” Trust enters our hearts when all we have to hold onto is God, when we are racked with pain and suffering, deprivation and discomfort, and shattered plans and empty hands. When life is easy, we are dead for we cling only to ourselves. When life is a whirlwind and a hurricane, we are fully alive for only then do we cling to God, He who is life and existence Himself.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said on page 111 in the book, Jesus, The Word to Be Spoken words that I think resonate, in part, with what I have been saying:

“Total surrender to God must come in small details as it comes in big details. It’s nothing but that single word, ‘Yes, I accept whatever you give, and I give whatever you take.’ And this is just a simple way for us to be holy. We must not create difficulties in our own minds. To be holy doesn’t mean to do extraordinary things, to understand big things, but it is a simple acceptance, because I have given myself to God, because I belong to Him—my total surrender. He could put me here. He could put me there. He can use me. He cannot use me. It doesn’t matter because I belong so totally to him that he can do just what he wants to do with me.”

“Lent is a time when we relive the passion of Christ. Let it not be just a time when our feelings are roused, but let it be a change that comes through cooperation with God’s grace in real sacrifices of self. Sacrifice, to be real, must cost; it must hurt; it must empty us of self. Let us go through the passion of Christ day by day.”

Thanks for reading and your prayers.
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