I forget which jerk I was reading recently who said that there’s a ‘certain kind of believer’ who believes not only that God exists, and even that He loves us, but that He’s responsible for that nice parking spot you just got.
Count me in as one of those kinds, or trying to be. The author, whoever he was, was very clearly sneering, although it’s mild as such sneers go. But what’s the substance of the sneer? It might go like this: God is very big, and we’re very small. He’s got weather systems, and Libya, to take care of, so your February sniffles will just have to work themselves out.
That’s basically a Christian argument, since it takes for granted the existence, power, and benevolence of God. The answer is just that God’s very big indeed, and quite able to take care of Libya and your cold at the same time, for the same reason that He doesn’t get confused and upset when several people come to adoration and start (silently) yelling at him all at once.
The sneerer, though, wasn’t making this argument. He also wasn’t making any of the other logical arguments he might have been making: that God tends to work through secondary causes, rather than directly (does He? That’s another post), or that if God’s going to be bothering with your parking spot then how come He doesn’t fix Calcutta, and so on. Those are respectable arguments, but they don’t require a sneer. The sneerer was sneering precisely at the childlike quality of the believer’s faith.
I’m all for intellectual rigor, and I’ve done my share of sneering too, but I have to object here. And my objection is purely anecdotal. What can I say? I’d give a logical argument, but God is a person, and you learn about a person by watching what he does. Here’s something that God did. In my mind, it shows that not only does He love us, but He also likes us quite a bit — and, as is normal with a person who likes you, He does little things for us. I beg pardon in advance for (1) stealing my sister’s story, and (2) probably mangling it.
Sorry, this is horrendous, but I swear it's appropriate if you keep reading.
So, my sister was supposed to go to morning Mass. No big deal, she goes to morning Mass all the time. The problem was that, in this case, she knew there was a box of Honeycomb in the house; and she further knew that, between her several hundred ravenous kids (who were all asleep at that point, but not for long), that box would be entirely empty by the time she got back. They might even eat the box. But if she had a bowl before she left, she wouldn’t be able to go to communion…
She tried to rationalize herself out of the situation — after all she didn’t have to go to Mass at all, so even going and not receiving communion would be a net positive — but in the end had to admit that she’d rather receive Jesus later than a bowl of cereal now, no matter how sweet and delicious.
So she went, and what was the Psalm? Number 19, of course:
The ordinances of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether…
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Wasn’t that nice of him? Call me naive, Mr. Sophisticated Progressive, but I’d pick my sister’s life over yours 1000 times out of 1000. God told her that He noticed, that He appreciated it, and that He was thinking about her. And He did it by making her laugh.
Let’s see your vast impersonal energy-field do that.
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Off to go search the Psalms for any mention of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch…
Thank you, J., I really enjoyed this post!
Haha! Nice.
When I was in seminary, I once woke up with a frog in my throat. Couldn’t say much of anything beyond a coarse whisper. I went through my typical routine and up to the chapel for morning prayer. I strained my voice through psalms, grumbling to myself about how I couldn’t speak, and this continued right up to the Benedictus. Suddenly, my throat opened and I found myself uttering the words of Zechariah, “Blessed by the Lord, the God of Israel…”
I laughed in the middle of the Benedictus. I thought back to Zechariah’s 9-month silence, caused by his lack of faith. I remembered that when he was ready to praise God, “immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God” (Lk 1:64), and the first words he proclaimed were the Benedictus I was praying just then.
God has a great sense of humor.
Anybody who thinks that God doesn’t care about something as silly as a parking space has never been a parent of a newborn. I remember just how in love I was with everything my child did; everything he found fascinating I found fascinating, what troubled him troubled me. I’ve grown somewhat callous as the years have gone by, but God doesn’t ever stop being that in love with us. If a parking space troubles us enough to call upon Him for help, He will gladly reach out to help us.
As for finding God speaking to us through the readings, I have experienced this so many times I have lost count. The truth is God wants to talk to us anytime we are ready to tune our spiritual ears in to him.
Ain’t it cool when this happens? And, boy, does it happen a lot (even once is more frequently than expected). Thanks for the smile!
JoAnna stole my joke.
I am a terrible fidgeter, and become even more restless when I am upset. Recently, the young son of a family friend sent us a card with a lovely colored pencil rendering of Jesus holding our little girl. It said, “Be STILL and know that I am God” Ps 46:10.
Thanks, kiddo.
My fourth child, 2 year old Gabriel Isaac, drowned five years ago. The readings the following Sunday included God commanding Abraham to “take your son Isaac, your only one, who you love, …. and offer him up…” The Gospel that day was the transfiguration. I felt so special that God would speak to us that way after such a profound loss.
No, I do not believe in coincidence.
I very much believe in God acting directly in our lives and that He has a wonderful sense of humor
The only thing I would caution against, though, is there is a danger to take it too far and say that ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ (one of my pet-peeve sayings 
If we follow that logic, then everything, including murder, rape, etc. was according to the will of God. I think what should be stressed is that God can make good come out of anything.
Just my 3¢ (inflation, you know).
recently I heard the best homily about this: Fr Lansch Schoenstatt: He says “if we give just one percent of our effort, of our love in our ordinary lives, God will transform our effort into great works of miracles and love”. Then he cited some Gosples to reflect on the magnitude of Gods love in our lives. First he reminded us,” that the apostles had to collect the fish and the loaves and then the magnitude of God’s love fed 5000 people”. Anoher was, the cleansing of the diseased leper Christ said ” go and wash seven times in the river and then he healed the man entirely”. Fr. was saying that we too have to give our effort our one percent and Jesus will magnify his glory through our ordinary lives…I so loved that. God is pleased by our consideration of him in our littleness, in our daily lives.
Touching post… I am also particularly touched by the additional comments – mostly the confirmation that this happens OFTEN, not just to me (Praise, God) and to the author!
…and to his sister!
Yes, & Yes again, GOD LOVES US SO MUCH !!! Much is Hidden from “Learned & Wise” & shown to “Little Children.” Catholic Simplicity Sure Goes a Long Way. My Husband & were worrying about parking – we had appointments at 2 different Hospitals. So we asked The Mother of GOD to help us – we said “HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE, PLEASE HELP US FIND A PARKING SPACE.” Amazingly, we had parking spots – Smack Bang! RIGHT IN FRONT OF EACH HOSPITAL. Prayers Sure Work Wonders !!! THANKS BE TO GOD !!!
This kind of thing happens to me regularly now that I have worn myself out by sneering and let the fatigue of life open me up a bit. It probably happened all the time before, too–I just never noticed it. ALL the time.
So glad TMCers are actually doing something great with their knowledge!
Thanks for that Joey. If we’re made in his image and likeness and we care about parking spots, why shouldn’t He care too, just a little. I hear you’re in Worcester? I’m in Boston. We should get back in touch.
No, you didn’t mangle it! What was so mind-boggling to me was thinking how many years had gone by between the time David wrote that psalm and the time the manufacturers invented that particular junk food and decided to call it Honeycomb, and then how He arranged the synchronization of the liturgical calendar, the grocery shopping, and my hour of wimpiness.
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