This week we Lectio the Liturgy with the Prayer Over the Offering for the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
O God, who by the wonderful exchange effected in this sacrifice have made us partakers of the one supreme Godhead, grant, we pray, that, as we have come to know your truth, we may make it ours by a worthy way of life. Through Christ our Lord.
There is a wonderful and descriptive “Who” phrase of this prayer, that reminds us of the exchange that happens during the Mass.
The exchange hardly seems like a fair trade. We give God our lowliness, which is our flesh, and He gives us His divinity. We give Him our weakness, He gives us His strength.
The exchange is also the bread and wine, which are symbols of our offerings. They are returned to us as the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus.
Through this exchange, we become partakers, or sharers, in the Godhead. You could say that Jesus became a son of man so the sons of men could become sons of God. We’re not just His children, we are invited into His divinity.
In the petition of the prayer, we ask that God would allow us to not just know but to live His truths. Sometimes this is more difficult than it seems.
I’ve been told that the longest distance in the world is the 12” from the head to the heart. It is the 12” between knowing and believing.
There are many things that we know about God, however, there comes a time when that knowledge needs to go from our head to our heart. For example, we know that God loves us. We are told over and over that He loves us. However, we also need to believe it.
Some time ago I met someone who told me that her kids wanted her to take them to church, but she said her sins were so bad that God wouldn’t want her. She knew that God loved her, she knew that He forgave sins, but she didn’t believe it would apply to her.
Sometimes we are quick to believe the lies of our enemy, that we are broken, we are not enough, that God is distant.
owever, if we would only spend time with Jesus, we would not only get to know Him, we would cling to the truths He gives us. We would not only know, we would also believe.
As I prayed into this prayer, I asked Jesus how we could close that 12” gap. I got a sense that the most sure way was to get to know who Jesus really is. We do that when we spend time in intimacy with Him.
Jesus invites us to spend time alone with Him every day. It is not complicated or hard and it doesn’t require hours of our time. Here’s what you need to do: nothing. That’s right, just be with Him. You can imagine being with Him in your imagination. If you’re not visual, just ask for Him to be present and know that He is there.
You don’t have to say a word, you just need to be. Be in His presence, be with Him. A few years ago I had an incredibly stressful day. I searched the scriptures for consolation and found nothing. I read the reflection on the scriptures for that day and the very last sentence was what I needed to know: To be in Your presence is all that I need.
Knowing Jesus is the way to become not just a knower but a believer. When we know the truth and make it ours, everything we do and say gives glory to the divine life to which we have been invited.
Thanks for praying with me.