God looks at the heart
Wwe Dominicans publicly make our vows, our superior asks us: “What do you seek?” We don’t say: “I want to be a Dominican.” Our answer should be: “God’s mercy and yours.”
We beg for mercy because we believe that God calls us, not on the basis of our qualifications but on the basis of His unconditional mercy and love. He calls us, not only for what we are, but for what we can BECOME through His grace.
The readings in today’s mass talk about men who feel unworthy of having been chosen to lead His people.
Before Jesus could tell Peter that he would cease to be a fisherman and instead become the head of the apostles, Peter had exclaimed: “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8).
Before Isaiah accepted his vocation to be a prophet, he saw God in a vision and, overwhelmed by a feeling of unworthiness, he declared: “Woe is me, I am doomed. For, I am a man of unclean lips living among unclean people” (Isaiah 6:5).
Likewise, Paul had considered himself as “most despicable” and unworthy of preaching the Good News of Jesus because he had earlier persecuted the Christians (1Corinthians 15:8).
Isn’t it consoling to think that God does not look at us the way we look at ourselves? For, we might feel unworthy and undeserving of His love, but because of His mercy, we will always be His beloved.
The poet Edwin Arlington Robinson once said that there are no adjectives in God’s vocabulary. We use adjectives to pin a person and thus presume to have said everything there is to say about him. But in truth, adjectives do not demolish a person’s mystery and uniqueness. Prejudice is the hardening of our categories.
Unlike human judgment that is partial, discriminating, and categorizing, divine judgment is based on God’s penetrating but merciful grasp of our uniqueness. God sees us, not only as we are, but as His children, imbued with unending grace to become the persons He wants us to be.
Election time is fast approaching. Let us not be deceived by unscrupulous pollsters who brainwash us into thinking that those who prominently figure in their surveys are our best choices. Remember when Pilate wanted to know which prisoner to set free, he conducted a survey. The result: the thief Barabbas was released and Jesus was crucified.
Let us not believe paid advertisements that extoll the alleged virtues of this or that candidate. Advertisers are image-makers. They don’t care about the character of a person. What matters is the packaging. They imprint a face in our consciousness through endless repetition. This makes us decide by instant recall, not on the basis of merit or value.
When the prophet Samuel was to anoint the leader of the Israelites, God told Samuel: “Do not consider his appearance or his height. For, I do not look at the things people regard as important. People look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).
Who knows? Those who have no money to buy votes and pay survey firms and advertisers, or those who are ignored by the media, might actually be the ones handpicked by God to lead us.