I Want What He Wants

Sometimes I wonder what I will see when I look back on the tapestry of my life. Will I see ugly patchwork of scars and loose stitches?

Both the First Reading and Gospel today speak of the newness God desires to give. (See Colossians 1:21-23, Luke 6:1-5.) The Pharisees confront the Lord and accuse the disciples of doing the work of rubbing head of grains together and eating them.

The Lord is frank. He says He is Lord of the Sabbath. Saint Paul is just as frank. He tells us to persevere in the new life of faith in Christ Jesus.

These calls to newness of life were simple to me in my younger years. But to be honest, I bristle a bit now. The old ways and scars—like the ones Saint Paul describes today—have become part of the way I see myself.

This is a subtle temptation. It’s a perennial problem that is easily overlooked in our spiritual lives: our vision of life is too small.

Sisters, the Lord has amazing and expansive plans for us. He wants to give us a gift: love so vibrant, so good, and so intense that we feel it threatens to burst our hearts’ capacity to hold affection. His plans are so beautiful that we need an entirely new vessel to hold them.

We need to allow Him to transform us.

Now, question becomes: do I want what God wants? It may seem like an easy answer but so often we are satisfied with the old, status quo that does not threaten our comfort. Instead, Jesus offers all.

And He offers to give all and be all for us, but it involves something from us.

Just as Jesus laid down His life for us, so we are called to lay down our own lives. Our Savior knows very well it requires a heroism to place our entire lives into His care. He knows it’s not easy. For this reason, He gives us every grace necessary to lay down our small vision for our lives at His feet.

In the end, He wants to look back on our lives with us and see His work of glory.

Just as Jesus laid down His life for us, so we are called to lay down our own lives. // @srmariakimClick to tweet

This commentary, the Catena Aurea by Saint Thomas Aquinas, provides extra historical context for today's Gospel.

Sister Maria Kim Bui is a Daughter of Saint Paul, women religious dedicated to evangelization in and through the media. She is originally from Tempe, AZ, spent most of her fourteen years in religious life in the northeast, some time in Texas, and now was recently asked to serve as the director of marketing and sales at the Sisters' publishing house in Boston. She is a contributing author to our children's devotional prayer book, Rise Up and the author of our Blessed Conversations Mystery: Belong found here. Find out more about her here.