Psalm Reflection: The Fourth Sunday of Advent - Cycle C

“Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.” - Psalms 80

This is a stereogram. The internet tells me that if you look at this image long enough and in the right way, you will see a tricycle.

I remember first seeing these in elementary school, and I thought my classmates were lying when they said they could see a hidden image. No matter how hard I try and how closely I follow the instructions, I have never been able to see the hidden image.

I am 80% sure it is all a conspiracy, and no one can actually see them.

Sometimes it is difficult to see the Lord working in our lives.

It is difficult to know if we are hearing His voice or our own.

It is difficult to recognize Him in our daily lives, especially when we are distracted and surrounded by noise.

At several points in my life, I have found myself in prayer saying something similar to the Responsorial Psalm this week: “Lord, make me turn to you.”

It is so hard to follow the Lord in the midst of our personal battles with the world, the flesh, and the Devil. It seems like it would be so much easier to hand over the wheel to the Lord and let Him force us to obey and to make the right decisions.

So, why doesn’t the Lord take over when I ask Him to?

Because the Lord values our free will as one of the highest gifts He bestowed on us. Without the ability to choose, we would be unable to freely love. Everything would be a robotic response to a command. There would be no room for personal creativity, discovery, passions, exploration, or courage. Everything would be figured out for us and we would simply be cogs in a machine of obedience. It would be technically perfect, but it would not be beautiful.

God does not desire technical perfection or robotic obedience. What He desires is your heart, freely given in love to Him as He has freely offered Himself for you.

I can accomplish the tasks associated with being a technically perfect husband and father, but freely choosing to do them when I could just as easily choose to do something else is an act of love and sacrifice that is far greater than blind obedience.

So, when we pray the words of this Psalm, what are we asking the Lord for?

We are asking Him to show us the way, to help us in our journey to love and serve Him in all that we do. “Make me see,” is not an invitation for God to enslave us to His will, it is a plea for help from a person stuck in the fog who does not know the way. We ask for God to reveal to us the path and to give us what we need to take it, but it is still up to us to choose to cooperate with His grace.

Where do you feel lost and in need of guidance or direction?

How is your view of the Lord obstructed?

What other voices get in the way of you hearing God’s voice more clearly?

Where is the Lord calling and equipping you to act?

God will never force our hand or make the solution fall into our lap. He made us co-creators and stewards of creation, which means we have a job to do. He has provided a guide in His teachings and the Sacraments. He has given us every resource we need, but it is up to us to use them and cooperate with His will.

Our view of the Lord and His will is obstructed by sin. In the same way I can never see a stereogram, we can never get back to the Garden of Eden on this side of Heaven, but we can be aware of the things that obstruct our view and our path forward. We can ask the Lord for his help, forgiveness, and mercy when we cannot see the way forward.

He will never lead us 100% of the way or force us to go anywhere, but he will illuminate the path, give us a map, and clear the obstacles when we come to Him in Reconciliation.

Brothers and sisters, do not make the mistake of waiting around for the Lord to fix everything in your life.

Act. Do something. Get to confession to remove the obstacles. Spend time in daily prayer to train your heart in the practice of hearing His voice. Readily bring your needs to the Lord, do not hesitate to invite Him to work in every decision and situation you face.

Before we know it, the image of His face will come into view, and we will ask, “how did I not see Him before, He was right in front of me!”

God is a divine stereogram. He is already present, we only need to train our eyes to notice Him but forming a persistent habit of prayer and frequenting the Sacraments.

In this Advent season, prepare the way for the Lord by focusing the eyes of your soul on the image of Christ’s face. He may not be clearly visible in your life, but keep trying. Sooner or later, if we work hard and we are faithful, He will come into view.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, December 22nd, 2024, The Fourth Sunday of Advent - Cycle C: Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19.