Desperate for God
February 11, 2007

Readings for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1: Jer. 17:5–8

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 1:1–2, 3, 4 and 6

Reading 2: 1 Cor. 15:12, 16–20

Gospel: Lk. 6:17, 20–26

Link to Readings

By Father David Poecking

Once upon a time, four people lay dying, each on the same night. To the first a demon came and whispered into his ear, “There is no God.” The man shrugged and said, “Alas! But at least I die knowing I’ve lived a good life, savoring love and happiness wherever I could find it.” The demon laughed wickedly and dragged the man into the depths.

As the second soul lay dying, the demon came and whispered into her ear, “There is no God.” The woman sighed and said, “Alas! But at least I die knowing I’ve lived a good life, as a loyal wife, a devoted mother, and a model schoolteacher.” The demon laughed wickedly and dragged the woman into the depths.

As the third soul lay dying, the demon came and whispered into his ear, “There is no God.” The man groaned and said, “Alas! But at least I die knowing I’ve lived a good life, obeying the Ten Commandments and caring for the poor and needy.” The demon laughed wickedly and dragged the man into the depths.

As the fourth soul lay dying, the demon came and whispered into her ear, “There is no God.” The woman cried out, “Alas! For I have no other hope!” The demon shrieked with frustration and anger, as the angels swept into the room and carried their saint into heaven.

Only those who depend upon God can be saved—a hard teaching! Only those who learn to trust God survive for eternity. So often we’d like to reduce our religion to morality. We’d like to say, “The important thing is that we learn to be good people,” but Jesus is looking for something more than this.

As far as Jesus is concerned, we must learn to trust God entirely, to recognize Him as the true source of all goodness. If we take consolation in our wealth and comfort, if we are satisfied with having lived life to the full, then we’ve missed out on the true source of life. Even if we try to be good and loving people, if being a good person means more to us than knowing God in Christ, then in the end we have cut ourselves off from the only one who is able to make us good. Anyone who thinks he has a decent life even if there is no God—that person has no life in God.

It’s the desperate who are on the right track. The desperately poor, desperately unhappy, desperately whatever—desperation means we are on the brink of despair, that the world offers us little hope. And when the world offers us little hope, that’s when we begin to look for help outside the world, that’s when we begin to open our minds and hearts to the favor God offers us.

Jesus says it very plainly: Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the unhappy, the persecuted. Blessed are those whose needs are not met in this world, because they’re the ones who really depend upon God, and they’re the ones whom God saves. Blessed are the desperate.

So let us never forget our desperate need for God. Our worship at Mass is not meant to be chocolate frosting on the rich cake of a good life: It’s more like a few precious drops of water on a tongue parched with thirst, a few bites of bread for a starved stomach.

If you don’t know what that means, if you don’t know what it means to be hungry or thirsty—well, you’d better learn. But if you have ever been desperate, if you’ve ever been close to despair in this world, then cling to that experience, remember it as often as you can, because that moment was probably the closest you’ve been to God. May God have mercy on us all.

Father David Poecking is a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

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