(BAR 5:1-9; PS 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; PHIL 1:4-6, 8-11; LK 3:1-6)
Each one of us is a work in progress. We’re a painting that is missing a few strokes. That musical composition lacking an effective bridge. Or a literary work that has yet to be edited. We are all unfinished. In the eyes of God, we are each His masterpiece that He continues to work on. God is the ultimate artist, and we are His passion. We are His work – a good work that He began in each one of us, and one that He intends to finish someday. I love that line from St Paul in his letter to the Philippians today, where he says,
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
We are all His unfinished work that He will complete. We have so much good potential and beauty in us. St Paul goes on to pray that,
“your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
To discern what is of value.
God has this grand design and plan for us. He has this great vision on what our masterpiece will be. To Him, we are destined to be more spectacular than the most picturesque landscapes on earth. More beautiful than the most spectacular painting or musical arrangement. More grand than any words can explain. He values this for us.
He paints a picture in the first reading of the Great Jerusalem. The promised land. Heaven. God tells us how to get there – through His Son. He’s coming. Are we ready? Are we prepared?
God writes the story for us, in bold print – “this is who you are meant to be, this is Who is coming to lead you, and this is where I want you to be. I can get you there. I can fill the valley’s and smooth the roads and make them straight. I can do all of this for you through my Son. This is how you prepare.”
But do we value this? When we discern what is of value, and what we want, is this the picture that we paint?
Because here’s the deal. God will give us what we value. He loves us that much! If we value Him and desire Him, He will give Himself to us. But if we discern that we value money, and power, and material things, and pleasure – well, that is what we will get. We always end up getting what we want. We always get what we desire, and where our passions lie, but it’s never as fulfilling as what we expect. We end up feeling more hollow. Only God is everlasting. Only God fills that void.
Our masterpiece – the good work that is our life – God will continue to paint. But if we continue to value other things, the colors may clash. He will continue to write our story, but the words won’t make sense. He will continue to write our song, but the notes will not form the perfect chord and will be off pitch.
He will continue to try to fix the masterpiece, but we will keep mixing up the paint. We will keep messing up the words, and keep singing off-key.
But Jesus keeps trying. He keeps crying out to us, asking us, “why do you keep abandoning me? Don’t you see how much I value you? Don’t you see how much you should value Me? I keep trying, yet you turn away. Come back to me!”
And Jesus keeps trying. He keeps trying to show us the way. But for some of us, the canvas rips. The guitar strings break. The manuscript falls into the fire. For some of us, it’s too late. We go down a road and choose not to return. We choose to do things that separate us from humanity, and from God. We choose to kill. We choose to take out our angers and frustrations at the expense of others. We choose to destroy lives, because we did not discern what is truly of value – the Love of Christ. The Love that Christ has for us.
If we seek to discern what is truly of value in our lives, and we seek to center our lives on Christ and His sacraments, we cannot lose. Period. The world may not be perfect. It will continue to be the breeding ground for evil, and there will be horrors and violence, but we, as Christians, will persevere. We will be His light and His example. Not only in this life, but most importantly, in the next. We will win. We will reach that spectacle of Jerusalem, and our masterpiece, that good work, will be finished.
Because throughout our lives, if we value Christ’s truth and love, He will continue to fix our masterpiece. He will cover up those bad strokes with magnificent colors. He will twist our words into the most amazing piece of literature. And He will turn our clanging instruments into a beautiful symphony.
As todays Psalm says, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
God already has it written out for us. He’s already painted us at the top of His Sistine Chapel. He’s composed the musical score of our life. We’re the ones who keep messing it up.
We’re all works in progress. I know I am. I keep trying to add my own colors to the painting, but it just ends up looking bad. I continually have to keep letting God touch it back up.
Let’s use this Advent to seek a deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ. Let’s seek to realize what we truly value in our lives, and if God is not front and center, confess it and put Him there. And then get out of the way and let Him work.
God Bless.
