CatholicSoup is a religious-run blog designed to provide Catholic insight through personal experience.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Unchangeable God in the Changeable World

Some months back a few of us were loading up a giant U-haul trailer preparing to make the move to San Antonio to begin yet another journey. A new journey of faith, formation, studies and fraternity that is. I guess in the midst of all of the moving, the transitioning, re-settling and adapting, it was easy to forget of the graces that can come from one thing: change.

Since July, I've been experiencing a crazy, weird and amazing excursion of change, both externally and internally. You come to a new place, move to a new city, begin adapting to the weather, the traffic, the streets, new people, new school, a new schedule of prayer and ministry, etc. Internally, there's emotional change, intellectual change (I hope) and even spiritual changes of learning new ways that God presents himself. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed the change and I think it's brought me to understand another very beautiful attribute of God: That in all of what has been happening, God is the one thing that does not change.

If there's one thing that I've been reminded of in these last few months its that God is the one and only constant. Through all the change that happens in life, in the day, in circumstance and situation, there is one thing that is certain and it can be said in three simple words: God is constant. That means God has no end, he is steady, true and forever. He remains the same in all the change. He is the steady in all the chaos, the sturdy hope in all of our full-of-doubt shakiness. He is the unchanging faithful, the one dependent friend that will always be there for us.

There are times when I might be going through every type of emotion, feelings of loss, feelings of despair even feelings of joy and amazing energy. To be able to sit with that and contemplate on God being a God who sees that, or witnesses that within me is amazing. A good reflection question might be what am I doing at the end of every day that allows God to enter into all of that change? I'm often fascinated at how God can be the one who enters into our world of change, my life of change. In all of that, whatever life brings me there is one incredible thing and that is God is there, as the one who never ever changes. He loves always, he guides always, he listens always, forever. To me that's amazing to think about.

In scripture, we learn of God's faithfulness and his continuous, steady presence within the lives of the Israelites. God remains faithful to his promise, to his people and he gives us a sign of his everlasting love by making a covenant with his people. In the book of Isaiah, the voice that we hear during every Advent season reminds us that God is everlasting.

"The grass withers, the flower wilts when the breath of the Lord blows upon it." Yes, the people is grass! The grass withers, the flower wilts, but the word of our God stands forever."  -Isaiah 40: 7-8

With all the changes that occur in our lives, everything can seem to happen so fast. We are moving, life is changing, people are changing, we ourselves undergo change! However, God is not and he reminds us of that. "For I, the LORD, do not change." (Malachi 3:6) He reminds us to turn to him, to seek Him who has been our foundation for all these years. We know this to be true from the Gospels. During the strength of the storm, Jesus presented himself as one who calmed the sea when fierce waves and strong winds threatened the lives of the disciples. He made himself known during the tumult and shaking sea!

"...He got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm." -Matthew 8:26

It was Christ himself who was Transfigured before the disciples, reminding them that the Glory of God, the Glorified Christ, will be in their midst even when frightening changes take place! Let's not forget the Eucharistic feast, when ordinary bread and wine become the very Body and Blood of Christ through transubstantiation. God makes himself known in these special changes. So too within our lives and the things that we experience, the changes that we are afraid of, the changes that we have trouble accepting. If we give God our time and give him the opportunity, He will present himself to us. With every change comes a chance to see God active in our lives. Not only is He inviting us to hold fast to Him every moment, but most especially when we experience change. By turning to God in prayer, and giving him of ourselves in silent meditation we are clinging to God, we are holding to his truths and we are allowing him to be our surety and our stability.

+Br Vince Mary

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