Our Need for God

"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do." Mk 2:17

Like most catholics born in the middle of the last century, I was schooled to believe that the best way to live a devout life was to get to mass as frequently as possible, and to confession every week. These religious practices, good in themselves, often led people of my generation to worry about trivial matters in a way that was out of proportion to the faults themselves. Worse, we often struggled every day to be better, not so much to honor God, but to "earn" our salvation. Unfortunately, while we became good practicing Catholics, our call to discipleship often got lost in the shadows of our compulsions. When the focus of the spiritual life becomes our personal holiness, union with God often takes a back seat.

Today's gospel offers us a different perspective. God is not someone hovering over us, counting our sins, but a healer who wants to lay hands of hope upon us and draw ever closer to us on our journey. When we accept the help of the divine physician everything changes. Facing our weakness allows us not to obsess about our faults like we once did, but to celebrate God's tender mercy. More important, acknowledging our sins each day reminds us to be humble and non judgmental, and to look at every person with God's compassionate eyes.

Today, accept your need for God and glory in God's never ending acceptance.