Trusting God's Wisdom

Moses makes a very interesting statement to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:2: “In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God, you shall not add to to what I command you, nor subtract from it.”

It’s easy to understand why we shouldn’t subtract from the ten commandments that God entrusted to Moses. For example, skipping the part about keeping the Sabbath when we’ve got a ton of work to do undermines the underlying purpose of this commandment. Keeping the Sabbath teaches us that our self-worth is not to be based on what we accomplish but on our relationship with God, which requires setting apart time to be with God.

But why would Moses caution that we shouldn’t add to the commandments? I can think of two reasons. First, adding a commandment such as “Thou shalt tithe 20% of your income to the Church” is more likely to feed the ego’s desire to appear more holy than everyone else than to be a true act of generosity. Second, by choosing to add an easy-to-fulfill commandment — such as, say, “Thou shalt volunteer at your church’s food pantry once a month” — one can avoid focusing on a commandment one finds more challenging, such as “Thou shalt not covet” (thy neighbor’s new iPhone, spouse, job, etc.).

St. Benedict was aware of these traps, for in Chapter 49 of his Rule, “The Observance of Lent,” he says that each monk should share his Lenten resolution with the Abbot so it may be done with his prayer and approval. Why? The monk may unconsciously be seeking glory or avoiding needed reformation in his life through his choice of what he will or will not do.

The psalms constantly proclaim God’s wisdom. Thus we should (1) trust that God carefully crafted the commandments to help us mature in our relationships with God and our fellow human beings, and (2) resist the lure of pride, which leads us to believe that we know best how to conduct ourselves. God covered what we need to do in ten commandments — no more, no less. As it says in psalm 86, “Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.”

Called By Name

In a recent New York Times article,¹ it was reported that elephants apparently have their own language and call each other by name, and that “social bonding is fundamental to everything about elephants.” What really caught my attention was a statement by a researcher, Dr. Wittemyer, who said that this commonality between elephants and humans might well benefit elephant conservation efforts, because it might “help us recognize ourselves in them, which is the only way we seem to understand anything.”

Unfortunately, human understanding does seem to be limited by our need to relate everything to our own experience. We find it hard to believe that any non-human form of life (plants, for example) may have its own type of consciousness if it doesn’t communicate through sound, use tools, and live in social groups as we do. God, who knows us intimately, understands our need to recognize ourselves in the things we relate to and came up with a very creative solution in order to be known by humans — God took on flesh and became one of us in the person of Jesus.

Now we know that God is compassionate through Jesus’ acts of healing. We know that God is forgiving through Jesus’ parables. We know that God grieves through the tears Jesus shed when his friend Lazarus died. We know that God suffers through Jesus’ passion on the cross. We know that God raises everything that dies to new life through Jesus’ resurrection.

God is so much more than we can grasp — and yet, thanks to the Incarnation, we know enough to trust in a God who loves us, walks with us, and continually calls us to new life. That grace is more than we could have hoped for at this stage of our unfolding existence and is a cause for deep gratitude.

1.     Golembiewski K. Every Elephant Has Its Own Name, Study Suggests. The New York Times, June 10, 2024.

A Rock Solid Image of God

I love trees and gardens, but mountains? Not so much. I’ve spent little time in mountanous regions and they just aren’t part of the landscape of my soul, so to speak. 

In the Bible Jesus is referenced as spending time both in the Garden of Gethsemane and on Mount Tabor, so clearly he resonated with images of both trees/gardens and rocks/ mountains found in the psalms. I, on the other hand, need to work on expanding my appreciation for all God’s creation and how it informs my spiritual life.

The following observation by Christine Valters Paintner was helpful in this regard: “Stones are an icon of grace; they reveal to me a face of the Divine that endures and is ever-patient with the world’s unfolding.”

In the midst of a society where humans have become programmed for speed, productivity, and instant results, it is comforting to know that God who is ever patient. As I feel myself aging and encounter the fragility of a growing number community members and friends who are dealing with illness and dying, it helps to remember that God endures and that we who share God’s life endure too.

Although I’ll never have the stamina to “climb every mountain,” maybe it’s time for me to add a stone to the landscape of my soul (or at least to my prayer corner).