God’s way is delight and joy

 

Contemplating the Lord calling Levi (Matthew) [Luke 5:27-32], I imagine He’s not meeting Levi for the first time.  He’s probably walked closely by him several times – maybe often.  Perhaps He’s stopped for a friendly talk with him on occasion.  For his part, Levi has no doubt heard a lot about Jesus through the grapevine, and likely studied Him whenever He walked by.  Suddenly, Levi is struck with the thought, “Why am I doing this?  Why am I, a Jew, working for the Romans by taxing my Jewish neighbors, cheating them in the process?  What about this Jesus?  He’s a good man—I like Him!  I’d love to know him better.  I’d like to be with him for a while.  That would be great.  Maybe He could help me turn my life around.”

I can imagine at this point Christ comes by again, and Levi looks straight at Him.  Jesus responds: “Follow me.”  Levi abruptly stops, stands up, and walks away with Jesus, leaving everything behind.   Levi was ready.

These may or may not be like the circumstances of Levi's call, but from the gospel text we know Levi was indeed ready to follow Our Lord.  All he needed was the invitation.

I find great comfort in knowing that Jesus has come for me as, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). 

While I strive to follow Him by loving him, obeying him and trusting in him, I sometimes fall short, stumbling, making mistakes, failing.  On this Saturday after Ash Wednesday, I find myself reflecting on how I can live a more sacrificial life.  Asking, what can I do to grow closer to God this Lenten season?

The prophet Isaiah reminds us to honor the sabbath (Isaiah 58:9-14).  Keeping the sabbath means giving up our ways and giving back to God.  The beginning of our Lenten journey is a good time to think about what we want to give back to God and how to do it.  Isaiah instructs us to not have somber demeanor and long faces, to instead "call the sabbath a delight…" and to not follow our own ways.

It seems clear when we look at our lives that God’s way is a way of delight and joy.  Every time we think only of ourselves and look to "fulfill" ourselves or find ourselves, we come up empty.  When instead we turn to God’s ways – when we do God’s works, when we feed the poor, and love our neighbor – we’re filled with the delight that Isaiah speaks about.

Whenever we try to find happiness in getting "more" for ourselves, relieving our own "suffering" or finding ways to always be more "comfortable" – we fail.  On the other hand, when we do God’s work, when we care about others, we too can be filled with happiness and joy in the Lord!

Luke reminds us to repent.  Maybe one of things we should repent this lent is our somber demeanor and long faces and seeking only our self-interest.

Let’s enter into this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving filled with delight in the Lord!