Lenten Reflections

Click here for the daily readings

By Dr. Max Latona, Professor of Philosophy

Anyone of genuine faith and devotion yearns for a glimpse of God, but we should pause and ask ourselves: how would we recognize God, if God were to give us such a glimpse? How would we distinguish what is truly divine and holy and good, from something or someone that merely poses as such? As today’s readings show us, no matter how clearly God might show Himself to us, it is human nature to have doubts, and to turn away from what is real, to what is a mere appearance. God made himself known to the Isrealites time and again, and again and again they strayed and worshipped other false images of God. Christ was announced by John the Baptist, by the scriptures, and by his own words and acts of healing, but few believed him, and we ultimately put him to death.

So it seems the problem is not so much about having proper evidence, but about whether we are capable of seeing the evidence. It is not so much about the manifestation of God, but perhaps the blinders that prevent us from seeing the manifestation. This is the fundamental flaw in our nature as humans—a spiritual blindness that closes us off to the highest reality. But what causes this blindness? Is it fear? Attachment to worldly things? Bad habits? How “stiff-necked” we are, exclaims the Lord to Moses!

Perhaps Jesus puts his finger on it in today’s gospel: we simply do not have the love of God within us.

It makes me wonder: if we did develop a genuine love of God, maybe the scales would fall from our eyes, and we would see God present all around us. We yearn for a glimpse of God, but maybe our love of God is not deep enough to open our eyes to the glimpse that is already there.