Some years ago, I read The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. It is a fun read, written by a man who decides to follow all the rules of the Bible, as best as he can, through the course of a year. I thought the book was mostly going to be about the funny things that happen, and how strange some of the laws seem in today’s world. There is that, but there is much, much more. Jacobs discovers the value of prayer; and while he never becomes a believer, he shares wonderful insights into the nature of God. Upon exploring the meaning of Jesus’ parable about the man with two sons, he writes,
“When Ifirst read the parable of the prodigal son, I was perplexed. I felt terriblefor the older brother. The poor man put in all these years of loyal service,and his brother skips town, has a wild good time, then returns and gets a hugefeast? It seems outrageously unfair.
“But that’s if you are thinking quantitatively. If you are looking at life as a balance sheet. There’s a beauty to forgiveness, especially forgiveness that goes beyond rationality. Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one.” (Page 275)
We are constantly surprised by the seeming irrationality of God: the unconditional love, the overabundance of Grace. This is a mark of the divine. God is extra-ordinary and super-natural. God is interested in the quality of existence, not simply the quantity of stuff we collect. This strange season of sacrifice and “safer at home” provide us an opportunity to live this truth of God. We are forced to focus on that which is most important to us. We are able to explore quality of our relationships. We make do with the essentials of home and work. We rely on our own disciplines of prayer, meditation, study and service.
Eternal God, there is so much we do not understand right now. Help us to trust in your grace and mercy. Paying attention to the essentials, may we come to feel your gentle hands upon us. Guide us, comfort us, heal us, send us. Help us to be apart that which leads to abundant life. We pray this in Jesus holy name. Amen.