Becoming Savvy to God's Ways

Are you savvy to God’s ways?

According to the A.Word.A.Day website by Anu Garg, savvy means “to understand or know; from Portuguese and/or Spanish sabe (do you know?), from Latin sapere (to be wise), and ultimately from the Indo-European sep- (to taste or perceive), which also gave us sage, savant, savor, sapid, and sapient….” 

Fortunately, we have numerous ways to become wise in the ways of God. One is to practice Lectio Divina, which entails savoring God’s word by reading, meditating on, praying with, and contemplating sacred scripture. Fr. Jerome Kodell, OSB, observes that Lectio Divina helps us see as God sees; it helps us put on the eyes of God. Seeing as God sees instead of as we see is surely a path to wisdom.

Another way to taste and see God’s goodness is by receiving the Eucharist, for as Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). God the Creator, Christ the son, and the Holy Spirit share one life, so when we remain in Christ through the breaking of the bread, we too share in God’s life and thus come to a better understanding of God’s ways.

Vincent Van Gogh believed that “The best way to know God is to love many things.” That thought likely should be amended to “The best way to know God is to love all things,” because that is what God does. Loving all things is a tall order for humans, but practicing Lectio Divina and receiving the Eucharist helps us become savvy to God’s way of love and compassion that nourishes all of us, whether we perceive it or not.