It has been said that man has only ever had one problem; he wants to be like God.
Much of the strife and contention we experience in our daily lives, including the battles to preserve life and maintain the sacredness of matrimony, are due to the fact that we have forgotten who we are. We are subjects of the Kingdom of God. As such the task we are given is to expand that kingdom to all the corners of the world.
This does not mean we march in lock-step to a set of orders. We are not robots programmed with a set of instructions to follow. Out of His love and mercy God has given each of us gifts, and the free will to be creative in our use of them.
Ultimately God invites us to follow Him by obeying His commandments and His teachings given to us through His Church. But that is just the beginning. We all have the freedom to use the gifts God has given us in the most creative ways we can imagine. By coming to know Him, as subjects of His Kingdom, we come to know of His plan for us. The gifts we have been given are for us to build the Kingdom larger and stronger through our own creativity, intelligence, and imagination.
This is who we are, God’s children, His friends, and subjects of His Kingdom. May we stop trying to be God, and learn to love as he loves.
Pax Vobiscum
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time