Parable and Conscience Meditation September 4

Obedience  September 4

The vow of obedience engages us in listening to the Lord in the Word, in spiritual reading and in the circumstances of life (Congolese Regional Statutes, Int. 1.26).

Obedience as the Christian response to the demands of the Kingdom of God is preceded by two other activities, those of contemplation and dialogue.  These activities are really two expressions of listening to God, the one direct, the other indirect.  Contemplation is nothing more than the sustained regard in prayer of God and the mysteries of God’s presence in the world.  Contemplation consists of an attitude of receptivity toward God.  The contemplative look at God permits the revelation of God to the contemplator.  By contemplation, a person develops a familiarity with God that facilitates the ability to interpret God’s will.  One is more certain about what to obey.  On the other hand, a person discovers God and the divine plan for the world through dialogue with the neighbor.  God is present in each human being and by engaging another in sincere conversation one encounters God.  Dialogue is a transparent exchange of the reality of the participants.  Listening and speaking, one sees how God animates the life of the other and uncovers God’s new appeals.  Dialogue helps in discerning the will of God for those dialoguing.   In effect, contemplation and dialogue clarify the whole business of obedience.

The woman who stays a long time at the fire will have the best sauce.  (Baoule)