“ONE THING I ASK OF THE LORD”
Psalm 27:4

“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” This question was posed to Job after he had dared to question the grace and wisdom of God. Job, you will remember, suffered innumerable earthly torments. In the span of just a few short hours, nearly all that he had come to know and cherish in his life was taken from him. His children, his house, his livestock, and his health. They were all gone. And after dwelling upon his plight, he made the following accusation against God: "Though I cry, 'I've been wronged!' I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my paths in darkness. He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree. His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.” (Job 19:7-11).

And, to this charge, God responds: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you , and you make it known to me.”

How is it that we frail, sinful, beings feel that we have the right to question God? Possibly, it is because we are ignorant of just Who God really is. He is the Almighty One. The Creator of the universe. The One who has the power to bring life into existence and to take it away. He is the One before Whom each one of us must appear on the Final Day to give an accounting of our lives.

At the same time, perhaps we also forget just who we are. Compared to the majesty of God, we are, as the Psalmist writes, “nothing” (Ps. 62:9). We are temporal beings whose lifespan is a matter of decades as compared to God Who is eternal. We are helpless people, frightened for our lives in the midst of a threatening storm– while God possesses the power to calm the storm with a single word. We are the creatures. He is the Creator. We are sinners, who pridefully imagine ourselves to be worthy to second-guess the One true Righteous One, Who alone is holy.

No, we have no right to stand up against God. We have no right to question His commands nor His will for each one of our lives. Like Job, our words are words without knowledge. While God's Words– are beyond questioning.

But, far from being the kind of cruel and indifferent God that Job, in his despair, paints Him to be, the real God is a truly compassionate God. The real God is One Who employs His almighty power for the good of those whose genius pales in comparison to His wisdom. God knows exactly what we need. And God meets everyone of those needs, without our counsel, including the greatest need of all-- our salvation.

Thus, He sent His only-begotten Son into this world to make something out of nothing. He accomplished it by giving His life for us on the cross; by exchanging His perfect life for our sinful one. As St. Paul wrote in today's Epistle, “[God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come .” (2 Cor 5:21 , 17).

According to the old identity, we were nothing. But now, in Christ Jesus, we are everything. For, our new identity has come. God sees us just as He sees His Son Jesus. Spotless. Clean. Endearing. Pleasing to His sight. All because He looks at us through the precious blood of Christ.

And since this, indeed, is how God sees us and loves us, we should expect that He would also treat us in the manner that He treated His Son, Jesus. Namely, He given His beloved children a cross to bear.

The cross which we are called upon to carry, certainly, is not identical to Christ's. Upon His singular cross, the holy sacrifice for the sins of the world was offered. And His was a once and for all atonement. But, like Christ's cross, ours is also an instrument of death. It is the place where all of that self-centered nature, which arrogantly imagines itself to be something, is put into its proper place– it is discarded into the tomb beneath Calvary .

And just what is that cross? It is not always identical for all people. For some, it means poverty. For others, persecution. Some suffer personal calamities and heartaches, as Job did. Others have their lives turned upside down by sicknesses. In any case, our weaknesses are blatantly exposed. Our sinful independence is crushed. And often our first reaction is to say, “I just can't bear the weight of this anymore!”

But, far from being a sign of God's cruelty or apathy, bearing the Christian cross is really the most precious gift which our Father could ever bestow upon us. For it means that we have been chosen to follow in the footsteps which He designed for His only-begotten son.

And, far from being something that drives us away from God, our crosses are actually those things which draw us closer to Him. For we find that we have no other choice than to fall helplessly into the powerful arms of God; just as a drowning man must cease his struggling so that he might be carried safely to shore by his rescuer.

And, so, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it,” (Matt 16:24_25).

And still, we protest that kind of personal death. “But, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” To which Christ answers us, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Do we still fail to see that, no matter what, God is in perfect control? Do we forget that at no point in our lives have we ever been self-sufficient and self-supporting? Are we overlooking the fact that the most important thing in our lives is not that we have a peaceful and carefree existence during this fleeting lifetime but, rather, that we do not forfeit our place in the next world? And if God is both the author and the finisher of our faith, had we not ought to trust Him to nurture and temper that faith as He sees fit?

Not a single sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of the heavenly Father. (Matt. 10:29). And, dearly beloved, God did not give His Son to die on the cross for the sparrow, but for you.

Like Job, in our shortsightedness, we may often be tempted to demand answers from God; most of which may be summed up in that incredulous accusation, “Why me, God?” Nevertheless, God, in His mercy and forbearance, answers us in such a wise way. He gives us a cross to bear; a wondrous sign of His true love and compassion for each one of us. Which, when considered in faith, prompts us, again, to ask the question, “why?” but, this time, from a very different point of view: “Why should I be singled out to be a recipient of God's grace?”

It is truly an amazing thing. And, in absolute wonder, we echo the words of King David, who wrote: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?” (Ps 8:3-4). Why should God care about us? Why should He take an active interest in what goes on in our day to day lives? Why should He be bothered with supplying such ungrateful creatures as we, with daily bread, clothing, home, family, and the like?

There is only one explanation: It is all for the sake of Christ Jesus.

Dearly beloved, that being the case, there is just one question remaining. In the words of our Introit: “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell I the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

Dear God, grant that we may abide with You here in Your Church on earth and with Your Church in heaven. To that end, bless us with the cross. Amen.

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