Many Hear the World Easily
Ordinary Time
Office of Readings · Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
My son, says the Lord, listen to my words, the most delightful of all words, surpassing all the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life and cannot be comprehended by human senses alone. They are not to be interpreted according to the vain pleasure of the listener, but they must be listened to in silence and received with all humility and great affection. And I said: Blessed is the man whom you teach, Lord, and whom you instruct in your law; for him you soften the blow of the evil day, and you do not desert him on the earth. The Lord says, I have instructed my prophets from the beginning and even to the present time I have not stopped speaking to all men, but many are deaf and obstinate in response. Many hear the world more easily than they hear God; they follow the desires of the flesh more readily than the pleasure of God. The world promises rewards that are temporal and insignificant, and these are pursued with great longing; I promise rewards that are eternal and unsurpassable, yet the hearts of mortals respond sluggishly. Who serves and obeys me in all matters with as much care as the world and its princes are served? Blush, then, you lazy, complaining servant, for men are better prepared for the works of death than you are for the works of life. They take more joy in vanity than you in truth. Yet they are often deceived in their hope, while my promise deceives no one, and leaves empty-handed no one who confides in me. What I have promised I shall give; what I have said I will fulfill for any man who remains faithful in my love unto the very end. I am the rewarder of all good men, the one who rigorously tests the devoted. Write my words in your heart and study them diligently, for they will be absolutely necessary in the time of temptation. Whatever you fail to understand in reading my words will become clear to you on the day of your visitation. I am accustomed to visit my elect in a double fashion, that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue. He who possesses my words yet spurns them earns his own judgment on the last day.
The Lord's diagnosis is uncomfortably familiar. Many hear the world more easily than they hear God. They follow the desires of the flesh more readily than his pleasure, and the reason isn't that the world is louder, exactly. It's closer, quicker, easier to act on.
He puts the two offers side by side. The world promises rewards that are temporal and small, and people chase them with great eagerness. He promises rewards that are great and eternal, and the hearts of mortals are slow to stir. That word sluggishly lands like a diagnosis. It isn't that we've rejected the better thing outright. We've just been slow about it, half-hearted, easily distracted by the worse thing that pays out faster.
Then the gentle sting: blush, you lazy servant, for people are better prepared for the works of death than you are for the works of life. They take more joy in vanity than you in truth. The passage is stern, but its rebuke is joined to a promise. God does not abandon those who trust in him, and his promise fails no one who confides in him. What he has said, he will fulfill for anyone who remains faithful in his love unto the end.
The way he stays close is also worth sitting with. He visits his elect in a twofold manner, through temptation and through consolation, reading two lessons daily: one to rebuke the fault, one to grow the virtue. Even in times of temptation, he has not abandoned us. He can use trials to correct our faults and strengthen us in virtue, drawing us back to himself. He has not stopped speaking. The question is only whether we have made ourselves ready to listen, with silence, humility, and a willingness to obey.
Today's intention
Today I'll notice one place where I'm sluggish in responding to God's invitation, ask for the grace I need, and take one concrete step with the same seriousness I give to lesser things.