How close is God to us?  What can we do to get closer to God?  What is it that puts us at a distance from God?  Can we really be at a distance from God?  How do our intentions and actions effect our relationship with God?  And what about with each other?

The scriptures today could be asking these same questions.  In the first reading, (I KGS 19: 9A, 11-16), we continue with the story of Elijah that we have been following now for at least a week or more.  As the prophet almost complains to the Lord,

“I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant… I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”

 This complaint or confession by Elijah comes at the tail end of the beautiful and mysterious encounter the prophet has with God, after being called out of a cave where he is hiding.

“…Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by. ”

 Then we hear of the dramatic parade of natural calamities that appear to be the very presence of God – rock-crushing wind, earthquakes, and fire.  But in all these we are told that “the Lord was not there.”  Surprisingly perhaps, the Lord appeared to Elijah at the mouth of the cave as a “tiny whispering sound.”  This is when Elijah hid his face in his cloak by the overwhelming presence of God.

From Elijah’s standpoint, all the actions he had been doing in following God did not “accomplish” the intentions that Elijah had conceived were God’s intentions.   They did not seem to bring the people any closer to God.  Justifiably, Elijah probably felt that much if not all of what he had done was in vain.  But was it?

I find myself wanting to “see” the results of my endeavors many times.  It is a real affirmation when I work at something hard and then I see the fruits of my labor.  This sometimes comes out in relationships with people as well.  Maybe I am trying to help someone, and there is something I am able to do for them or perhaps say to them, that ostensibly has a positive effect upon them.  It seems clear that what I have done or said has somehow had a positive effect upon them.   I believe that this is true not just at the individual level, but also at the communal and societal level.  We strive to achieve certain benchmarks and when we can measure the results, and the results are those that were intended, it seems quite clear that something has been accomplished.  A desired effect has been achieved.

There is nothing wrong with this way of looking at things I believe, but at the same time I think it may only be half (or less than half) of the whole story.   It seems also true that desired effects in our intentional actions can have effects that perhaps we may not see or appreciate.  There are certainly times, and most of us can probably attest to this, that the efforts we put forth do not result in immediately apparent “results.”  As it is said, the seeds planted by us may be reaped by others.  And what if our best intentions in reality have an adverse or opposite effect on persons or situations than what we had intended.   And that’s not even considering the unknown effects that our “less-than-well-intentioned” behavior has on others.  This seems like a psychological and perhaps philosophical “mess,” so to speak.  But what it draws up for me is the whole question of how close we are to God and to each other.  Or put another way, how close is God to us?  And how this closeness ultimately makes us responsible.

Matthew, in today’s Gospel (MT 5: 27-32), has Jesus underlining the scathing subtleties that our attitudes and heart intentions can have on each other and in our relationship with God.

“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart…

…It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

 More than making any definitive moral proclamations about adultery and divorce, it occurs to me that Jesus may be trying to tell us how much effect we have on each other.  How responsible we are for each other – how close we are to each other.  For good or bad, it appears that everything we do has not only an apparent effect that we may readily see upon each other, but also a much deeper effect that perhaps we rarely see or never realize.  I think it has to do with how close God is to us in our everyday lives.

It’s not just Sunday worship, receiving the sacraments, or miraculous and outstanding events wherein God is present or wherein we encounter God.  Although these are all moments of grace wherein God visits us, it appears that unless we broaden our awareness of how we encounter God, we run the risk of compartmentalizing our lives and actions, with the unintended effect of dividing our heart into pieces that can only respond solely according to an “external” stimuli rather than from an interior center – the undivided heart of expectations.

As Elijah discovered in today’s first reading, the encounter with God did not come in the midst of the magnificent displays of nature in all its grandeur.  That moment where Elijah encountered God was in the soft tiny whispering sound – something barely audible, but even more real!  It was an experience that was not overwhelmed by expectations. It was an experience in the Heart!

As important as our actions are, it is perhaps the driving force from the heart that is most important.  Actions may speak louder than words, but the heart speaks the clearest, especially when it is unfettered from intended outcomes and narrow expectations.  Inasmuch as we can reveal our heart in our actions, we can also mask our real intentions through our actions.  As Jesus says in today’s Gospel, the infidelity that may show forth in our actions can be born from a much deeper infidelity that we hold in our heart.  This is a serious responsibility that we sometimes overlook.  The responsibility to try to keep our hearts free so that we don’t divorce ourselves from our relationship with God and from each other!

The French paleontologist and mystic, Teilhard de Chardin, was convinced that God was present in everything and everyone at all times.  All of creation, and the universe indeed, “glows” with the presence of God.  That is how close God is to us – always at a fingertips, in the breath of a soft wind that whispers, in the heart of all matter – in the heart of all that matters!  How can we see the “glow” of God in everything, in everyone?  Better yet, how can we not only see or recognize the “glow,” but actually fan into flames the hearts of each other so we may radiate God in all we are and do?

At times, it could just be a whisper…

Peace

Thomas